How To Make Money Reading Books Aloud

Would you like a complete guide on how to get paid to read books aloud?.

There are multiple opportunities for all book lovers and avid readers out there.

Time to turn your favorite hobby into a money-making machine. Although it sounds a little unbelievable, there are people who get paid to read books aloud and they've been doing so for years!

It doesn't matter where you are in the world or if you just keyed in "get paid to read books in india", this article has listed the best sites to get paid to read books out loud.

Let's get started!

Summary of 17 Best Sites To Get Paid To Read Books Aloud

Audio Creative Exchange (ACX)
Voices
Spoken Realms
The Voice Realm
Bunny Studio
Voice Jungle
Backstage
Voice 123
Findaway Voices
Bodalgo
Mandy Voices
Voice Crafters
Vo Planet
Brilliance Audio
Fiverr
Upwork
People Per Hour

DISCLOSURE

Some of the links on here are affiliate links and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.

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17 Best Sites To Get Paid To Read Books Aloud

1.Audio Creative Exchange (ACX)

Undoubtedly the most popular site to read books aloud for money, ACX by Amazon is an amazing place to get started on this hustle. You will be able to read books out loud for money on platforms such as Audible, and iTunes.

If you'd like to be an audiobook narrator on ACX, you will be considered an audiobook producer. However, if you're an author, want to narrate your books, and would like to have the rights to the audiobook, you are considered a Right's Holder.

All you need to do to get started is sign up with your Amazon account!

The existing details will be auto-populated to ACX and you can get paid to read books aloud amazon.

The ACX Help Center covers all the nitty-gritty details on becoming a narrator on this platform. One tip to bear in mind and practice is to upload as many high-quality samples as you can on your profile.

If you're into contemporary romance books, create multiple samples in that genre to attract more people to reach out to you and hire you.

Once you've been selected by a Right's Holder, you'll get paid an hourly rate that you've set in advance. Not only that, but you can also earn up to 20% royalties, split among your Right's Holder.

2.Voices

Voices is another platform where opportunities are presented for anyone who'd like to get paid to read audiobooks. Brands like Shopify, Microsoft, and The History Channel use this platform for audio services.

To get started at Voices, you will need to sign up and set up your profile. Upload good-quality demos and samples based on your niche. Once your samples are up, you can start to audition for jobs.

You can earn anywhere between USD 200 – USD 300 per finished hour, depending on the length of the book you're reading. Voices have audiobook narrators in over 160 countries and vary between 221 languages!

3.Spoken Realms

Spoken Realm is a community of professional, experienced, and captivating storytellers.

Being a member of SAG-AFTRA (Union of over 160,000 professional actors, journalists, voice-over artists, stunt artists, etc), ACTRA (A Canada-based union with over 27,000 performers), or Equity (Actor's Equity Association), will be a bonus if you're thinking of applying as an audiobook narrator to this site.

In Spoken realms, you can narrate graphic novels or read podcasts. Payments terms are structured in terms of :

Per-Finished-Hour (PFH)

Per-finished-hour is the common payment term practiced in the audiobook industry. As studio time can vary, each hour of completed recording is used instead of studio hour to calculate your compensation.

Royalty Share

You can earn a certain percentage of royalties that is given to the authors. At Spoken Realms, they implement a flexible royalty share where the earnings can be split based on the type of production.

The percentages you earn are customized, depending on how many people are involved in the recording said audiobook.

4.The Voice Realm

The voice realm has managed to book over 100,000 voice-over jobs and it is the perfect place for you to get paid to read out loud.

If you're considering joining this company, these are a few factors that the company looks at :

Voice over studio quality
Ability to provide quick turnarounds with your recordings
A decent track record
Ability to follow through the existing roster of voice talent

The Voice Realms aims to provide their clients top-notch services in terms of voice actors. Brush up your demos, produce good quality audios, sign up here, and you can start reading books aloud for money.

5.Bunny Studio

Bunny Studio connects organizations with top-tier freelancers to provide the greatest voiceovers, audio advertisements, translations, and video services as quickly as possible.

As a narrator, you're referred to as a professional on their site. You're expected to produce only high-quality audios and you should be equipped with professional voice-over equipment if you'd like to get started.

You're free to set the rates based on your level of expertise, so if you're just getting started, your rates would most probably be lower than the professionals' as long as you're realistic with the rates.

As a beginner on their site, the estimated earnings are around USD 50 per finished hour whereas experienced narrators can charge up to USD 200 per finished hour.

One of the few perks of being a pro on Bunny Studio is that you will be paid for each deliverable you submit, even if it is rejected by the client, so long as you pass the quality control check of the site.

By being a narrator on this site, jobs will be sent directly to your email address so you can save time and avoid the hassle of browsing through multiple applications to land a project!

6.Voice Jungle

Voice Jungle is yet another voice-over platform where you can showcase your talents by reading books out loud for money. The two categories you can aim for on this site are the e-learning industry and narrating for podcasts.

The two requirements of this site are :

Any talent should be equipped with a home studio and the demos produced should meet the standard quality requirements
Talents should be able to provide projects within 24 hours when requested

If you're interested in being part of the Voice Jungle Roster, prepare a demo in mp3 format and upload them here. There is no listing fee on any auditions that you need to go through to secure a job.

You will be contacted directly once there is a paying job assigned to you and payments are processed swiftly once the client has accepted the demo.

7.Backstage

Backstage is a film and performing arts industry brand that focuses on casting, job opportunities, and career advice. Now, don't overlook this site just yet because you can still get paid to read books online.

There are multiple vacancies for different genres of audiobooks and podcasts, ranging from fictional spy books to horror-themed podcasts.

There are 3 different plans for you to choose from when you're signing up :

USD 8.25/month – billed yearly
USD 16.60/month – billed half-yearly
USD 19.95/month – billed monthly

Once you've picked your plan and become a registered member of Backstage, you can start scouting for projects for you to start working on.

8.Voice 123

Voice 123 is the go-to option for professional voice actors and clients all over the world where more than 250,000 projects have been submitted since 2003. This site has clients such as Coca-Cola, NBC, and The New York Times.

The project categories on this site are :

Narration
Cartoon
Commercial
Movies
Radio
Video Games

Before signing up, you're required to answer a few questions to gauge your level of experience and the services you can offer to the site. The site doesn't take up any agent or commission fees and you will be paid directly by the client.

9.Findaway Voices

Findaway Voices has a distribution network that opens up a healthy connection with wonderful alternatives to exclusivity, allowing new and experienced writers to quickly access a global audiobook market.

This platform also gives opportunities to narrators to get paid to record audiobooks .

Once you've set up your narrator's profile, read through the audiobook narrator guide to ensure that you meet the qualifications required of the site.

Narrators are paid based on the agreed PFH however you have the right to change your rates at any time. There is a built-in system on the site that keeps track of the final run-time of the produced audio that is uploaded, so no invoice is necessary.

Narrators will be paid within 14 days upon the final approved audio.

10.Bodalgo

Bodalgo, a Germany-based company, features over 10,000 voice actors, broadcasting their talents in over 80 languages. Bodalgo has over 12,000 loyal clients, many of them are big names such as Gucci, IBM, and Microsoft.

This site has native speakers for different projects such as audiobook narration, international commercials, podcasts, e-learning, and much more.

Voice actor, poet, and philosopher, Kabir Singh has been a part of the Bodalgo community for four to five years and shared a few tips on how to make the best of this site to get paid to read books aloud.

Create your profile, upload your demos, and start auditioning for projects on the website!

11.Mandy Voices

Mandy Voices positions itself as the number one network for creative professionals. Say you're looking to get paid to read books aloud in india, look no further than Mandy Voices!

This site is available across the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and many more.

You could sign up and enjoy a 30-day free trial before deciding to enroll on the site as there's a premium membership fee charged after the 30 days.

Free membership will give you access to "Opportunities" in the directory and a premium membership will give you access to all projects.

12.Voice Crafters

Voice Crafters offers voice-over services to different industries from audiobook narration to IVR. If you're a beginner ie; someone who is just starting in this field, then this site may not be the one for you.

Voice Crafters only hires experienced, professional, and full-time voice actors for any narration job. These are the criteria to follow should you wish to apply for a project on this site :

The talent has to have at least 5 years of commercial experience in the voice-over industry
If you're currently tied to another voice-over site, it has to be a non-exclusive contract
The talent has to be equipped with professional recording equipment, no background noises will be tolerated in the demo recording sent
Speedy turnaround time is expected – 24 to 48 hours for a 300 to 500-word recording

This is a great multilingual platform for you to explore if you fit all the requirements above.

13.Vo Planet

Vo PLanet aims to provide professional voice-over services as efficiently and quickly as possible. Once a client posts, all the voice actors are free to audition for the project immediately, giving way to a quick hiring process.

Vo Planet only hires experienced and professional voice actors with access to a professional studio.

Having high-quality demos is another requirement of this company. Once your application is submitted, it may take up to 2 business days for it to be reviewed.

There's an annual subscription fee of USD 199 per annum to join this site. All maintenance, digital storage, advertising, hosting, and promotion are included in the fee.

Vo Planet does not take any cut of your earnings. You're entitled to 100% of the earnings from your client. Another plus point to this site is that you can audition for as many jobs as you'd like as there isn't any capping set to it.

14.Brilliance Audio

Brilliance Audio is part of the Amazon Publishing group. A leading audiobook company, this site aims to elevate the audiobook listening experience for everyone across the globe since 1984.

This company is open to experienced and new audiobook narrator so if you're fretting about not having any experience, I'm going to ask you to stop right now, and send in your application to [email protected].

New narrators are encouraged to practice their narration for roughly 6 – 7 hours a day. Record yourself and read the books out loud to ensure you're giving the characters in the book a flair of their own.

15.Fiverr

Fiverr is an amazing platform for both beginner and experienced freelancers. It is a good place to start when you're searching for jobs that pay you to read books because of the minimal entry requirements.

So long as you are willing to learn and upskill yourself, or if you already have the skill to become a narrator, you're sure to find opportunities on this platform.

You will probably need to allocate some time to do research on the platform and the job roles offered, but hey, this goes for any job you're trying to apply for.

Ms. Ione Butler, a Pro member on Fiverr, is now a professional voice-over artist, actress, and producer/host. She can bring any book to life with her voice-over talent in an American, Australian, and British accent and charges USD 200 for a 4,500-word recording.

Even though you won't be charging this if you're starting, you should know that it is possible to reach this amount along the way!

16.Upwork

Upwork is a legitimate networking platform the connects freelancers and clients across the globe.

If you're new to the industry, you can gain significant experience without pitching clients cold all the time.

However, the site is flooded with enthusiastic freelancers who are prepared to charge a cheaper rate, which may lower your earning potential in the long run.

Voice-over talent, Jim, has completed over 75 projects on Upwork. He now has over 20 years of experience in the industry and charges around USD 155 per hour for his service.

Set up your profile well, treat as professionally as you would with your resume, and upload a few demos to attract clients. Once all the necessities are sorted, you can start looking for clients and secure a job, and get paid to read books aloud.

17. People Per Hour

People Per Hour is a site that showcases the talents of freelancers in various industries from illustrations, graphic design, and voice-overs.

An important tip to keep in mind if you're venturing into this site at to create an excellent profile. People Per Hour utilizes an AI system to pair clients with freelancers that have all the qualifications they're looking for.

Your profile has to be complete with defined skill sets to ensure the AI system will be able to analyze it and select your profile to be paired with a client.

FAQS –

How Can I Get Paid To Read Books Aloud?

You know all those podcasts and audiobooks that constantly seem to flood the internet? They're all read by someone and that person got paid for it.

Reading books aloud isn't confined to just reading fiction, there are many more publications you can read and make money reading aloud.

You could be an audiobook narrator or even be a podcast host !

If you can read smoothly, articulate your words well, and maintain clear pronunciations, you can get paid to read books out loud. Being a voice-over artist would serve well for you if you have a good voice and can read words out smoothly.

Diving into the specifics here, by being an audiobook narrator, you'd want to equip yourself with specific tools that will set you up for success and help you sound more professional when you're sending your demos to potential clients.

At the very least, you should have these items :

A quiet space for recordings
Microphone
Headphones
Audio editing software

There are many people out there who are inspired to be audiobook narrators because they love reading out loud or simply due to their love for reading. Being prepared with these pieces of equipment above will definitely serve as a plus point in this venture.

However, if you're feeling a little shy or if you're not ready to read books out loud, you can still leverage your love for reading by writing reviews! You can read and get paid to read books in English by dropping reviews on the many apps available on both Android and iOS.

Go through these recommendations where you can read and earn money through apps :

Scribd
BookYap
Booksta
Goodreads

How Much Do Book Readers Get Paid?

As a freelancer on platforms such as Fiverr, or Upwork, the rates you earn are discussed between you and your client. This number will depend on the type of projects you can deliver and the experience you have in this field.

In a more professional studio like ACX or Voice 123, the amount you make will be dependent on your qualifications, experiences, and the publisher you're working for. Most narrators get paid per-finished-hour or through royalty shares.

According to Zip Recruiter, the average professional salary is USD 44,218 per annum.

For experienced narrators, you can expect to make around USD 120 – USD 500 per finished hour, and as a beginner, you can expect to make around USD 50 – USD 350 per finished hour.

How Do You Make Money Reading Audiobooks?

Let's face it, not everyone has the time to read. Some don't even like to read. However, audiobooks have gained their fair share of popularity recently.

Many millennials and gen-Z are resorting to audiobooks because of their convenience.

You could be doing chores, cleaning the long-accumulated clouds of dust under your sofa while having a book played in the background.

You may not know of Renee Raudman, but her voice has been played in over 300 books, reading books by famous authors like Nora Roberts and Ally Carter.

Let's not forget Jim Dale, the narrator that has read the Harry Potter series in 134 different voices! He was also the voice books like Around The World In 80 Days, The Night Circus, and the Peter Pan series.

People are paying money to listen to these books every day!

Is Previous Experience Mandatory To Get Paid To Read Books?

To get into the professional studios, having previous experiences is encouraged.

However, if you're a beginner, build up your portfolio on sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and People Per Hour. A credible profile will help you along the way into this industry.

In the meantime, you could try out different ways of making money with your voice :

How To Make Money With Your Voice
Voice Acting Jobs: Earn Extra Money With Your Voice

Conclusion

It's important to note that you shouldn't fret about not having the most enchanting voice to captivate your listeners if you're just starting out. Instead of staring at the empty wall and wondering how to make money reading books, you now have all the channels to take actionable steps and get paid to read books aloud.

With every other job out there, it will take time to get to an established position but know that effort and determination will go a long way.

Good luck to all those trying out and may this hustle turn out to be a lucrative one for you!

Get Paid To Read Books Aloud