How does one go about finding a job where you are paid to read?

September 3rd, 2008 | by admin |
Finding a job
memahizer asked:


I LOVE to read, and my dream job would be one where I am paid to read books to give my opinion of them. Do those sorts of jobs exist? I don’t really want to proofread, and I don’t care if the books are already released or if they are a “trial” to see if they are well received. If anyone has any ideas or info that might help me find my dream job, I would appreciate it!! Thanks for your help!!

Kansieo.com

  1. 4 Responses to “How does one go about finding a job where you are paid to read?”

  2. By alice on Sep 3, 2008 | Reply

    That’s what an editor does. (Contrary to popular belief, editors do not “proofread” - that’s the job of the copyeditor or proofreader!).

    Also, that’s what a literary critic does (like one who is employed by the NYTimes and writes book reviews)

    But both of those occupations depend less upon the “love of reading” and more upon the “skill of critique” - so I would advise if you were serious about pursuing either occupation, to immerse yourself in Literary Criticism classes, Publication classes, Editing classes, etc.

    Also, both of those jobs also depend upon a load of experience (you need strong credentials to be either) so don’t expect either job to be “entry-level” stuff you can sink your teeth in to straight out of undergrad. You’d do good to pursue your Masters degree in Literature and work lots of related jobs first.

  3. By Earl D on Sep 3, 2008 | Reply

    Yes, every publisher has that job, although you may have to do other things as well.

    It requires a BA in English minimum and a desire to be in the publishing industry. You become first reader for non-agent submitted books and sample chapters.

  4. By Elissa on Sep 4, 2008 | Reply

    There are a lot of web sites and publications that hire book reviewers–you would read whatever books they send you, then write a review of them to be published. Reviewers don’t get paid a lot, though.

    Look around on the Web for sites that focus on the kinds of books you like to read, and see if any of them tell you how to become a reviewer.

    Some literary agents have readers who read submissions and write up their opinions of them. In many instances, these are interns (unpaid), but some do pay a little bit. The problem with this is that you have to be local–most of the lit. agents in the US are concentrated in New York, with some in Boston, Chicago, and LA. If you’re not in one of those places, you’re out of luck.

    Other than being an acquiring editor at a publisher (a job it takes a long time to work up to), I can’t think of any reading jobs that pay enough to live on. And an editor does a lot more than read, as any editor in a publishing company will tell you. There are sales & marketing issues, budgeting, etc.

    I don’t know how old you are, but if you do want to get into publishing, focus on being wide-read, well informed, open minded, etc. You don’t have to be an English major in college, but you should look for an internship with a publisher or agent, possibly more than one internship over a couple years. Some schools (Columbia in New York and Emerson College in Boston) have publishing programs. These are really helpful. It’s a very competitive field.

    And if you find a job where all you do is read and give your opinion, let us all know!

  5. By Ali on Sep 7, 2008 | Reply

    articles.com/

    Easy to use links that will help with all your research needs, try typing a keyword or two into the search engine and see what happens.
    . edu/index.asp
    researchguide.com/
    cities.com/athens/troy/886…
    researcher.com/search/…
    cha.com/

    Due to some weirdness with Answers, I have to write the links in a disjointed way. They do work, all you have to do is cut and psate and join up the gaps.

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