Do you want to start a book business but you want to go niche and be unique? If YES, here are best book related business ideas / opportunities. If you love books, you very well could be destined for entrepreneurship. There are so many different businesses that revolve around writing and books.
Even though having the skills and the desire to write for a living can make you money, there is still money to be made from books for those that are not too gifted in the writing department. Here are 50 Best Book Related Business ideas in united states of America.
Best Book Business ideas
1. Start a Book Blog
Due to the large amount of people that use and rely on the internet on a daily basis, blogging has become a very profitable business to start. For sustainability, it is best to specialize your blog on your area of interest. Book blogs are very popular among readers and writers who need exposure for their books.
The challenge is that it’s a crowded marketplace, so you’ll need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. This can be done in a variety of ways, from choosing a specific niche (i.e. YA dystopian novels or cozy mysteries) or a market group (i.e. best books for pre-teens). You can make money from book blogs in a variety of ways including:
- Selling books through affiliate marketing (i.e. from Amazon’s Associate program)
- Contextual advertising such as Google Adsense
- Selling ad space to authors and publishers
- Providing review services for a fee
Blogging can always be done as a side job in conjunction with your regular work. To startup and run this business, you will need to have an internet enabled computer or laptop. The key to success will be in generating avid readership for your book blog. To that end, you’ll need to develop a marketing plan that includes social media and an email list.
2. Become a Book Reviewer
Getting paid to read and review books is a possibility, but it requires patience and diligence. The best way to start would be to have a blog on which you leave reviews. This not only gives you practice, but also provides a portfolio of your reviews so media outlets that pay can see your work.
Once you have the experience, you can begin pitching yourself as a freelance reviewer to your local newspaper or magazine. You can also search for review jobs on freelance writing job sites.
3. Write Books
It is said that 81 percent of people have a book in them, but only 1 percent write it. Perhaps you’re the one percent that wants to share your stories or knowledge with the masses. Authorship isn’t the best way to make a living.
The reality is that most books don’t sell 5,000 copies and for many authors it’s way less, especially when self-publishing. However, with a great story that is well-written and prepared, and a marketing plan that reaches your target market, writing books can be profitable.
You have several choices when selling your books. You can go the traditional route, seeking an agent or pitching publishers directly through a proposal (non-fiction) or synopsis (fiction) and a query. Or you can self-publish your book through many of the free and affordable e-print book services.
A final option is to work with a hybrid publishing company, which offers a little of both. While you pay for hybrid services as a self-publisher, hybrid companies vet authors as traditional publishers do, and give access to their editors, cover designers and marketing experts
4. Start an Editing Service
Since the advent of Amazon, the publishing field has changed a great deal. These days, with very little fund on the part of the author, his or her book can be spread to millions of people without having to go through the traditional agents and publishers.
However, these authors need help in making sure their books are readable. As a result, there is a growing need for editors. To be an editor, you need to have a strong command of language, grammar, and styles of writing that fits the genre of books you want to edit (i.e. Chicago Manual of Style).
You can offer basic copy editing, in which you simply correct grammar and punctuation. You can also offer line editing, which also looks at paragraph structure, flow, and word choice. Finally, there’s developmental editing, which refers to evaluating the content. Does the story flow, are the characters well-developed, is the pacing right, etc.
The more in-depth your editing service, the more you can charge. But you need to have a good understanding of story developing and the craft of writing to offer developmental editing. To get started, create a website or at the very least a LinkedIn profile outlining your services, and if possible, references and samples of your work.
Then start networking with authors to get referrals. If you’re brand new, you might want to offer a free sample edit to help get new clients to try you out.
You can also check out freelance writing sites for editing jobs. Most freelance editors earn about $25 per hour, more for more in-depth editing services. Some prefer to charge by the page, anywhere from $4 to $7.50 depending on the type of editing.
5. Start a Publishing Service
A lot of authors will like to make their books reach avid readers around the globe but they lack the knowledge, skill and time to do so. That is where publishing services come in. You can offer a range of services including: Editing, Formatting for ebook and print, Cover Design, Submission to publishers such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
If you don’t have the skill or knowledge to do each of these services, you can hire contractors to perform the tasks while you operate as the project manager and CEO. You can charge one-time fees for your services, or you can start a full-fledged publishing company whereby you publish the books under your name, paying your authors’ royalties.
6. Sell/Rent Used TextBooks Online
There was a time when it was fairly easy to make several hundred dollars a week selling used books through services such as Amazon. Now that many used books are sold for a penny, it’s a little bit harder.
The exception is specialty books, such as text books. It’s no wonder students struggle financially when a single text book can cost $300 or more. The answer is to find the books used or to rent them. If you can get a selection of used text books, you can sell them online through places like eBay or BookScouter.
7. Freelance ProofReading
Proofreading and editing is officially an exhausting job for anyone, but if you love books it’s both exhausting and thrilling and can become lucrative as well. However, you must still maintain a business mindset to succeed here.
Like every other business, setting up freelance editing and proofreading business involves work. This business is best suited for people who pay attention to the smallest details in written documents and are able to spot and correct grammatical blunders.
To get started, you should register in any online freelance platform such as Fiverr or Upwork and wait till you get contacted by any client. It goes without saying that due to the online nature of this business, you will need an internet-enabled laptop device in order to carry out this duty. This is yet another job that can carried out right from home.
8. Story Telling
Who doesn’t like a good story teller? The ancient tradition of oral narrative is something that has been with humanity since time immemorial. However, these days, amid the multitudes of electronic transmission of sight and sound, story telling seems like it has become irrelevant.
In truth, there are significant opportunities for someone who wants to become a professional story teller. You can do this by volunteering at children’s schools, summer camp programs or libraries. This way you have a ready audience which can become a market.
9. Start up a Bookshop
A bookshop is a store where books of different genre from different authors are sold. There is a large market for books especially if you have done your homework before stocking your bookshop. Irrespective of what you may think, there are not enough book shops in the United States today.
Even though e-books are taking over, there is still nothing that can totally replace that feeling of curling up on the sofa with a hard copy book. In addition to operating a book store from a physical location, it will also be advantageous to have an online store from where your customers can easily buy your books.
You can decide on a niche specific bookshop, for instance a business and motivational bookshop or religious book shop. You can also start a full time business of selling used books. Used bookstores are often a good business idea. Start with selling off some of your old books, and then help some friends do same and before you know it Voila! You are in business!
10. EBook Writer
EBooks have become incredibly popular in recent years. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, are an experienced writer or a complete novice, you can make money by writing an eBook. You can write your own and go through a publisher or self-publish on platforms like Amazon.
This popularity in e-readers has opened up a whole new range of opportunities to writers who thought their dreams of getting a book published would never come to fruition. The emergence of electronic self-publishing has enabled anyone to publish an eBook to a potential audience of millions all over the world. There are now an estimated 700,000 authors e-publishing worldwide.
11. Freelance Blogger
But you don’t necessarily have to start your own blog and grow it from scratch in order to make money blogging. If you have some writing acumen, you can offer your services to other blogs for a regular fee.
12. Newsletter Writer
Email content can be another great avenue for aspiring writers. You can start your own email newsletter and run it much like you would a blog.
13. Copywriter
Businesses are constantly looking to hire contractors or freelancers to write online or print copy for things like ads or websites. You can offer your services as a copywriter to fill that need for a variety of businesses.
14. Magazine Publisher
Likewise, magazines can still be a viable business opportunity if you have the right audience and revenue stream.
15. Freelance Print Journalist
Just as you can offer your services as a freelance blogger, you can also submit your work to print publications like magazines and newspapers for a fee.
16. Fact Checker
Or you could offer some more in-depth services like fact checking to really dig deep into the content of the writing. This requires some researching skills as well as the ability to effectively communicate any necessary changes.
17. Speech Writer
Plenty of people, from business professionals to politicians, need help with speeches. So you can offer your services as a speech writer to fill that need.
18. Playwright
Playwriting is a specific kind of art. But if you’re well versed in the format of plays, you can build a business in this niche. The key is to make the same kind of contacts in theatrical circles as others would in other industries.
19. Screenwriter
In the same vein, you can write your own scripts for things like TV series and movies and then attempt to sell them or even produce them independently. Again, as in any other industry, the key is to market effectively to those in the television and motion picture industry.
20. eCourse Creator
You could also create and sell your own writing courses online so that students can purchase and then work at their own pace.
21. Writing Tutor
Or you could offer your services as a writing tutor to students or even professionals who need a bit of extra help honing their skills.
22. Author Coach
You can also work with traditional authors to coach them on anything from story creation to book marketing.
23. Zine Creator
Zines are small, independently produced publications that often include written work mixed with other visuals. If you enjoy writing and putting together those visuals, you can produce your own zines and sell them locally or online.
24. Comic book creator
Comic books and online comics are visually oriented. But they still require strong writing and storytelling skills. If you also have some artistic talent, you could write and draw your own comics. Or find or hire artists to handle the visual part of the storytelling.
25. Start a book club
Book clubs are back in fashion partly thanks to Oprah’s talk show and it is good news for people who want to make money from book related ideas. Book clubs are informal groups or gatherings where everyone in the club has to read a particular book.
It is a nice way to read a book and discuss it with people with similar interests who have also read it. A book club can make your book marketing easy.
Instead of going after individual book buyers you have a chance to convince one person in the group that the book is worth reading and it spreads through the club. People who usually join book clubs are avid readers themselves. And not only will they read, they will also tell others about it.
26. Writing how-to books
People want to learn how to do a lot of things. You could start writing books that teach such people how to do them. You could write a book on how to bake, how to get books for free, how to get good grades at school etc. Just search for a topic you are passionate about and share some tips and secrets with others through your book.
27. Printing press
You could make money from printing books, flyers, event programs, educational materials and magazines to mention few.
28. Book dating
There are so many stories about couples who met at book clubs, bookshops or libraries. You could start a dating service that focuses on helping book lovers find each other and start meaningful relationships. You can make money by charging a form of joining fee.
29. Virtual book museum
This involves creating an online gallery where people can have access to old books, scholarly research materials and philosophical writings. For example, books and writings by great philosophers like Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, Confucius, Plato and Aristotle could be showcased for people who are interested in them.
30. Book rentals
One of the challenges that book lovers face is lack of funds to buy as many books as they want. You could start a business of lending books to other people.
A book rental business could be done offline and online. You could even create a mobile application that allows people to have access to books for a specific period. Such an application must have security features to prevent unauthorized copying or duplication.
31. Library
A library not only allows people to borrow books for a token, it also grants book lovers the atmosphere and serenity needed to read and assimilate. You can start your own and make money from it.
32. Poetry
Even though poetry is not as popular or profitable as prose, there is still money to be made from it especially if you are good at writing poems.
33. Translation of books
If you know more than one language, you can make some money by translating books from English to other languages or vice versa. Even though there are a lot of translation software out there, but most of them pale in comparison to an actual human being that is skilled at this.
34. Audiobook narrator
While reading of novels may have decreased in recent times, one literary market has been on the increase; audio books. With the advent of smartphones or other mobile devices, people who don’t otherwise read much have found a way to “consume” books without actually having to read them. If you are an actor or a voice over artist, you can make money working in this market.
35. Selling book summaries
The most logical way to make money is to submit book summaries to other sites. With so many books out there, site owners aren’t going to have the time or inclination to read and summarize every book out there.
In most cases, these will be places that earn money from book reviews themselves. For example, many companies provide comprehensive summaries of business books. This can include actionable information from the book, along with detailed breakdowns of key areas.
In fact, if you want to sell summaries directly, such sites are probably the best place to go. Unfortunately, book summary sites don’t tend to advertise for authors. But, that doesn’t mean they don’t buy summaries.
Many of them may also hire contractors to write summaries for them. This means that you have to take the initiative and approach the companies. This will often include making a pitch about what you can do and how you fit in with their goals and style. The process takes time but even just one success gets you on the right path.
36. Blurb writing
When a reader first comes across your book online, two factors will determine if they pay any attention to it – the cover and the book description (also known as the blurb). Unfortunately, while most authors will hire a professional to create their cover, very few hire a professional to write their book description. The authors that do are usually the successful ones.
The book blurb is an essential part of the entire selling process for your book. The book cover may grab the reader’s eyes, but the description is what makes the reader think “I must buy this book!”
It doesn’t matter how amazing your cover is, how perfect the story is, how beautiful the interior looks, or how much time, money, and effort you’ve spent editing your book. If it has a boring description, readers are going to look elsewhere. If you are a skilled copywriter, you can offer this service and Make Money from it
37. Biographies
This is a unique opportunity that allows you to help people to tell their story. Many people want to publish a biography or memoir, but they do not have the writing skills to put it together. In fact, many famous biographies were not written by their “authors”.
Instead, they were ghostwritten and that is where your service comes in. In some cases, you may even get credit as a co-author.
38. Ghost writing
Despite its name, ghostwriting is not about writing ghost stories. Ghost writing in its simplest definition is writing for someone else as if you were that person. In other words, you will not be able to use your own byline or get any acknowledgement for your writing, because you are writing as if you were that person.
They will get credit for your literary work (book), but you will receive financial compensation. Your job as a ghostwriter is to take on the voice, style, and personality of the person for whom you are doing the writing.
If you have good writing skills as far as grammar and spelling go, you can write books for other people and get paid for it. Ghost writing gives writers the opportunity to offer another kind of service on a freelance basis. So instead of submitting articles or other pieces under your own name, it can be published under another name.
39. Illustrate for children’s books
Children’s books are filled with colorful stories that are made even more vivid with illustrations. If you are good in drawing, you can offer you services as an illustrator for authors that write children’s books.
40. Distribution of books
You can help published authors to distribute their books to schools, books shops, libraries et al and get paid doing so.
41. Promotion and marketing of books
Writing a book is not all. You will have to promote it. A lot of people make use of promotional services in order to get their books to as many people as possible. You can offer this service and make money from it.
42. Book cover design
A book cover is one of the very important aspects of a book that will attract customers to it. When an author writes a book, he or she will most probably not have the skill that is required to create an engaging cover page. This is where you come in.
If you are skilled in graphics design, you can put this skill to use by designing book covers for authors who will pay you in return.
43. Book agent manager
Book Agent Managers wear many hats and have an ever-changing list of responsibilities. Their range of tasks include, and is not limited to giving you editorial guidance, building a buzz for you, negotiating contract terms for a book deal, and assisting you in finding new opportunities.
Author managers can assist authors in molding their career, and developing relationships with bookstores, corporations, fans, and publishers. A good Book Agent Manager will:
- Streamline the search for a publisher.
- Find you the best publishing contract or way to get published.
- Possibly edit, or give recommendations to make your manuscript more marketable.
- Assist authors in finding the best publishing options that will fit their needs.
- Represent the author in business matters, building buzz, collecting and distributing royalties.
In today’s market, probably 80 percent of books published by New York houses get sold by literary agents. Agents are experts in the publishing industry and represent the interests of their author-clients. They have inside contacts with specific publishers and know which editors are most likely to buy a particular work.
Perhaps most importantly, agents can secure the best possible book deal for you, negotiate a fair contract, protect your rights, ensure you are paid accurately and fairly, and run interference when necessary between you and the publisher. You can offer your skills as a book agent manager and get paid for it.