Dreams DO come true!

  "Dreams sometimes do come true. But not without something that looks a lot like hard work."         -Sylvia Aston Warner

We all have dreams, some of them are big, some are small, and some seem downright impossible. Some we have talked about for years and others we have kept hidden in our hearts, for fear that if we revealed them out loud, we would jinx ourselves. Do you believe that dreams can come true? I do. What about dreams that you never really thought to ask for? I believe those can come true too. How do I know? Because it happened to me. If you know me at all then you know what my dream job would be......go ahead, guess...I'll wait...Did you say mom? Well, yes, that is and has always been one of my dreams and it came true over 18 years ago. That is not the dream I am referring to here. I said on Facebook sometime last year something to the effect of "I wish I could get paid to read books!" Well, now I am getting paid to read books!!!!! There are several different ways to get "paid" for reading books, I am getting paid in different currencies for different sites. While this might not seem like a big deal to you, it is a VERY big deal for me. I am not getting paid very much money right now, but I am making more money than I was ($0). As a homemaker, and someone who has not had a paying job (lots of nonpaying jobs!) outside of the house in ten years (coincidence that that is the same amount of time I have been homeschooling 🤔?), I sometimes feel guilty that I am not contributing financially to our household. In case anyone is wondering, Matt has NEVER made me feel guilty. But, you can't always help how you feel. When money gets tight and we need things I always start wishing I had a paying job. Since I homeschool and I am needed at home it would have to be something I could do from home. I have looked into a lot of different jobs over the last few jobs, applied for a few, but nothing ever felt right. Then I came across this article from my author friend Sarah Geringer, and at the bottom of the article she talks about how to get more books for free or cheap and I was all over that!!!

What I realized from Sarah's article was that I ALREADY had a Net Galley account, but I had no idea how to use it, I had gotten it when I was on a book launch team in 2016 and hadn't used it since. I did not know you could read books there for free, much less that they were new releases!

Once I got started on Net Galley, I started doing some research to see what else I could find about being a book reviewer. I came across two articles that I found helpful. The first one from Angie Nelson is called "Get Paid to Read books" and the second is from Leisa Good on "How to Become a Paid Book Reviewer." While I have never heard of either of these ladies, I am very thankful to them for sharing their experiences and knowledge....which is what I hope to do in this blog post as well.

So, here are the Companies that I am currently getting "paid" to review books for, along with a brief overview of them:

Net Galley:

I use Net Galley quite a bit. I get free eBooks in exchange for an honest book review. They have a "read now" section on their site that anyone can read from. They also have free previews of new or upcoming books that you can request to read from the publisher. The publisher has the right to decide if you can read their book or not. (I have been declined quite a few times, but have read a lot too 😀) The review only has to be 75 words in length.

Moody Publishers:

To review books for Moody you have to have a blog. They send you a physical book to review and keep. They do not have a length requirement for the review, they only ask that you give an honest review and post on your blog. They start with allowing you one book at a time until you work up your "credits."

Revell:

You also need a blog to review books for Revell. They will send you an email each month and you decide which of their new releases you want to review. They will either send you eBook copies through Net Galley or physical copies in the mail. I have been blessed with both (I will always prefer physical books). Again, you only have to have a 75-word honest review on your blog, then you submit a form back to Revell to show that you have done it. 

Reedsy Discovery:

This is an interesting site and you do not have to have a blog to use it. You browse all the available books (all genres) and pick which ones you want to read (up to 3 at a time) and then write a review of 200-400 words depending on the book. Then, the authors have the option of giving you a tip of either $1, $3, or $5 for the review.  I have made a little bit of money in the 6ish weeks that I have used the site (about $25, and more than I was making $0), plus they ran a special promotion in December where you got $10 for each review, up to 10 reviews for an Amazon gift card ($100), which I did and received at the end of January. Not all authors will tip because again, they have the option. Readers can choose to give a tip too (which I thought was weird!). One other ongoing promotion they have is that if you refer someone to them you can get $50 when they write a review and then they get $50 as well. If this interests you click on my promotional link to join: https://reedsy.com/discovery/reviewers/apply?referral=cindy-davis

This has been a fun process for me.  Matt asked if I would be considered a paid reviewer now. I don't think so, I think I would have to be consistently making money and I am not. I do tell him and Elijah they need to give me time to read so I can do my job 😂😂 I have had authors comment on my book reviews on Goodreads and my blog, which has been very exciting to this book nerd!! I also had an author tag me on Facebook and Instagram thanking me for the review, which they are not required to do, but it was sweet. I have been reviewing books on my Goodreads account for several years and Amazon as well, so I am happy to take it to the next level. Even if I never got a free book or compensation in any way, I would continue to review books as I always have because I know how important this is to authors!! If you read books I would encourage you to take a few minutes and leave a review on your favorite book sites, it does not have to be long, at all, it just helps the authors. If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out to me and thanks for helping in any way that you can.

What dreams have come true for you lately? What dreams are you hoping will come true for you? Or what dreams are you currently working toward? Would love to hear from you!!!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

(This section new as of 10/8/21)  

Ritta reached out to me and told me she thought this article 95+ Blogging Statistics to help you create the best blog in the world would b a great addition to this post, so I am adding it here. Happy reading!