5 Book Reviewing Business Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start A Book Reviewing Business

Here are some real life success stories of starting a book reviewing business:

1. Foreword Reviews ($1.08M/year)

Victoria Sutherland, founder of Foreword Reviews, came up with the idea for her business while working for a small press magazine. She noticed that independent publishers were not getting much coverage and saw an opportunity to provide long-form reviews for these smaller presses. With her background in advertising and a passion for books, she started Foreword Reviews to fill the gap in the market and support indie presses.

How much they make: $1.08M/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
Current team size: 7

article

The Story Behind A $90K/Month Independent Publishers And Books Reviews Publication

Foreword Reviews is a media company that started out as a magazine with a print run of 7,500 copies, serving as a brochure for publishing services including foreign rights exchange and digital content, and twenty years and some intense pivots later, it has become one of the most profitable in the book business.

About
Victoria started Foreword Reviews almost 26 years ago
Revenue
Victoria grew the business to $90K/month
Costs
It cost Victoria $15000 to start the business
Read by 7,449 founders

Richard Reis, founder of Most Recommended Books (MRB), was inspired to start the business after writing a popular blog post in 2018. With the realization that he had a talent for creating content that resonated with people, Richard teamed up with his best friend, Anurag, to create MRB. The idea came to Richard after reading about how Mark Zuckerberg built various projects before Facebook, leading him to believe in the power of trying different ideas until one gains traction.

How much they make: $12K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 0

article

How Two Best Friends Started A Side Hustle Recommending Books

Most Recommended Books helps you discover books recommended by the world's most influential people, with 500+ experts and 6,000+ books, and garnered 70,000 monthly visitors with the goal of reaching 100,000 to start looking at other ways of making money.

About
Richard started Most Recommended Books over 4 years ago
Revenue
Richard grew the business to $1K/month
Read by 3,235 founders

So... can you actually make money with a book reviewing business?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. Book Club Chat ($48K/year)

Heather Caliendo, a journalist with a passion for reading, turned her love for books into a profitable business with Book Club Chat. Despite the saturation of the book blogging market, Heather stood out by creating a beautifully designed website and focusing on providing book club questions tailored to novels. With over 5,000 visitors a day and earning $4,000/month in ad revenue, Book Club Chat has become a go-to resource for book clubs around the world.

How much they make: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50
Current team size: 0

article

How I Started A $4K/Month Website Dedicated To Book Club Questions, Reviews And Book Lists

Book Club Chat founder Heather Caliendo started a website dedicated to book club questions, reviews, and book lists with no upfront costs by dedicating a lot of time to reading and writing high-quality content that attracts over 5,000 daily visitors and has made $4,000 per month in ad revenue alone by focusing on organic search, SEO, and Mediavine.

About
Heather started Book Club Chat almost 6 years ago
Revenue
Heather grew the business to $4K/month
Costs
It cost Heather $50 to start the business
Read by 5,502 founders