Earning money by writing book summaries

There are numerous ways for book enthusiasts with writing skills to earn an income. Writing book reviews is a popular choice, either on a personal website, Amazon, or other platforms. Alternatively, another option we will be discussing today is being paid to produce book summaries.

Although not as widely used, writing book summaries can be a profitable endeavor. Additionally, if you prefer to read books in-depth, you may find this option more attractive than solely writing reviews.

Selling Book Summaries

One of the most reasonable methods to earn money is by submitting book summaries to other websites. Given the large number of books available, website owners will not have the time or inclination to read and summarize each book themselves.

In most cases, these will be sites that make money from book reviews themselves. For example, many companies provide full business book summaries. This can include actionable information taken from the book, as well as detailed breakdowns of key areas. In fact, if you want to sell summaries directly, these sites are probably the best place to go.

Regrettably, websites that provide book summaries do not typically post advertisements for authors. However, this does not imply that they do not purchase summaries. In fact, many of them might even engage freelancers to write summaries for them.

This implies that you must be proactive and reach out to businesses yourself.This often involves giving a pitch on what you can do and how you fit their goals and style. The process takes time, but even one success sets you on the right path.

To assist you in beginning, provided below are some websites that offer book summaries for sale. Some of these websites may also remunerate writers.

Stuvia

Stuvia is a comprehensive company that offers book summaries. Their complete summaries are about 3,500 words in length. This length makes sense since books contain many important ideas. They also offer other products, including a one-page summary.

With over 2 million documents sold on the site, Stuvia is an excellent way to sell your book summaries.

GetAbstract

GetAbstract is similar in style to the previous example and also provides contact information. In this case, there is no information about the length of the summaries. However, the emphasis is on business books, so they are likely to be at least 2,000 words in length.

Blinkist

The objective of Blinkist is different and the website offers summaries and “memorable ideas” from a wide range of books. The focus is always on non-fiction books, but the range of topics is wider. As such, you don’t need any knowledge or experience in business to write for them.

The site is also incredibly popular, which suggests that they hire more authors than others. Again, there is no information on how to write for them specifically, but you can check out their job section.

The site also has an affiliate program, so you can make money by sending people there.

Another approach

Another option to earn money is by selling book summaries on Amazon. These summaries are usually self-published as e-books, and some of them offer a way to make a profit.

However, if you take this angle – you must be sure that people will be interested in the summary. This usually means that you will focus on non-fiction books, those that can be expensive or lengthy.

If you summarize fiction books, your summary will need to be detailed and there must still be demand. And remember that books like Harry Potter or plays already have dozens of free summaries available. You should offer something truly unique to make sales.

Summarizing books on your own website

In many cases, it’s more effective to create your own website and summarize books there. This gives you control over what you summarize and also means that you can write about other topics.

There are also many styles. For example, I’ve seen sites dedicated specifically to a genre of writing, such as science fiction or horror. These sites offer a combination of reviews, summaries, and articles about the genre.

You can also create a site about a topic that interests you, such as cooking or any other subject. A section of this site could then be dedicated to books, while the rest would focus on other areas.

With so many different types of books, your options are practically limitless. The main goal is therefore to find an approach that will interest people and is related to books in some way.

Making money with a blog You can make money selling just about anything online, with enough effort. But, books are particularly easy. After all, many people who are looking for summaries or reviews of books will naturally want to read the book afterwards.

All you have to do is place visible affiliate links to various purchasing options, such as the hardcover book, the e-book, and the audiobook. You can also depend solely on Amazon to sell your book summaries.The site has a wide range of digital and physical books, and more are added every day.

The site is also powerful for making sales on its own. So, if you manage to attract people to Amazon, there’s a good chance they’ll buy something, even if it’s not the book you’re summarizing.

Actually writing book summaries

With a book summary, you are trying to explain the main concepts of a book in a relatively short amount of text. This includes highlighting key plot points, characters, and events that occur.

Book summaries vary greatly in length, depending on the person writing them and their overall purpose.

This means that you need to understand the audience and purpose of your summary before starting to write.

If you are considering making money by writing for other sites, then you will need to closely examine the other summaries they produce. This will enable you to customize your writing approach.If you are instead writing for yourself, you need to think about the audience you hope to attract and the overall purpose of your site.

However, regardless of these parameters, there are a few key approaches to take.

• Be concise. Even long reviews should be concise and get straight to the point. Remove unnecessary terms and carefully choose your wording.

• Stick to the main points. Don’t attempt to cover all the complexities of a book in your summary since it’s impossible. Instead, focus on the most significant ideas. If readers desire a more comprehensive understanding, they should read the book themselves.

• Spend enough time with the book. Book summaries bring out the main points of a book. To do this, you need to understand the book you are reading. For some, this will be simple. But for others, it may take longer. For example, many non-fiction books do not have a linear progression, so the main points are more difficult to find.

• Do not analyze. There is a time and place to analyze a book – and it is not in the summary. Instead, the summary should be objective and only focus on the content of the book, not on what you think of it. It is not uncommon for bloggers to have several sections on a single page, including a summary section and a section dedicated to analysis or review. Although this style is acceptable, it is important to avoid conducting analysis within the summary section.

• Avoid errors. This may seem obvious, but your summary should have correct grammar and spelling. Likewise, make sure your facts are accurate. A summary is not good at all if it misrepresents the book in question.

Conclusion

Overall, book summaries should not be difficult. They can even be enjoyable. Many people see them as an effective way to remember what they have read and to enjoy the experience more. If this applies to you, why not make some money from the process?

As a writer, you have a highly in-demand skill that can be used to make tons of money online. You can make money writing freelance, for sure, but it still involves trading euros for hours.