Market research for authors means regularly checking what readers in your category are buying, how those books are packaged and priced, and what readers praise or complain about, so you can make better decisions about what to write, how to present it and when to launch. You do not need expensive tools: Amazon’s bestseller lists and book pages, reader reviews, Goodreads and Google Trends cover most of it. The trick is to check the same things on a schedule and write down what you see, so you spot real shifts rather than reacting to one viral post.

This guide includes a few product links near the end. As an Amazon Associate, Freyja Publishing earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

This guide gives you a simple, repeatable system: how to build a comp-title set, what to record, how to tell a real trend from a passing spike, how to read signals honestly, and a monthly routine that takes about an hour. Choosing keywords and categories for a specific book is a related but separate job, covered in the guide to KDP keywords and categories.

At a glance

• Start with 10 to 20 comparable titles (“comps”): recent, selling books your readers would also buy.
• Record the same details every month: rank, price, format, Kindle Unlimited status, review count, cover style and blurb hooks.
• Reviews are the richest free data. Three-star reviews show what readers wanted but did not get.
• A trend is a pattern across many books over months, not one breakout title or a week of social buzz.
• Use research to package and position well, not to chase every trend. Your next book will take months; trends can move faster.

What market research can and cannot tell you

Good research answers practical questions: what covers in my subgenre look like right now, what price readers expect, whether my category leans heavily on Kindle Unlimited, which tropes or topics keep appearing, and whether a niche is crowded or underserved. It cannot predict exactly what will sell next year, and it is easy to over-read. Rankings move hourly, social trends rise and fade, and sales estimates from tools are estimates. Treat everything as a signal to weigh, not a guarantee.

For the bigger-picture choices of niche and genre, see how to find a profitable niche and how your genre changes the best way to publish. This guide is about the ongoing habit of watching your market once you have chosen it.

Step 1: build your comp-title set

Comparable titles are books a reader of yours would plausibly buy next. Good comps are:

• Recent: mostly published in the last two to three years, so they reflect current reader taste and packaging.
• Selling: ranking well in your specific subcategory on a regular basis, not just once.
• Close: same subgenre, similar tone, similar length and audience. A huge traditionally published bestseller is often a weaker comp for an indie author than a steady indie series.
• A mix: some indie and some traditionally published, some series starters and some standalones.

Find them through your subcategory’s bestseller list, the “customers also bought” carousels on books you know your readers love, Goodreads lists and shelves for your subgenre, and book communities on social platforms.

Step 2: record the same details every time

Consistency is what turns browsing into research. A simple spreadsheet with one row per book per month is enough.

What to record	Where to find it	What it tells you
Best Sellers Rank (overall and category)	The book’s Amazon page	Rough relative sales; watch the direction over months, not the exact number
Ebook and print price	Retailer pages	The price range readers in your category expect
Kindle Unlimited badge	Amazon book page	How much your category relies on KU, which affects your distribution choice
Review count and average rating	Amazon and Goodreads	How established a book is and how satisfied readers are
Cover style	Thumbnail in search results	Current genre signals: imagery, colour, typography, illustrated or photographic
Title and subtitle style, series name	Book page	How books signal genre and promise
Blurb hooks and tropes	Description	What sellers lead with to attract readers
Length and series position	Book page, series page	What readers expect in length and how series are structured

Keep a screenshot of each subcategory’s top results each month too. Comparing covers side by side over several months shows packaging shifts more clearly than notes do, and it is useful to share with your cover designer; see the guide to choosing a cover designer.

Step 3: mine reviews for what readers want

Reviews are the closest thing to a free reader survey. For your top five comps, read a spread of reviews across ratings and note recurring phrases.

• Five-star reviews tell you what delighted readers, often in their own words. These phrases are useful for your blurb and ads.
• Three-star reviews are often the most useful: readers who liked the premise but wanted something more, such as a better ending, more banter, less filler or more practical detail.
• One- and two-star reviews reveal deal-breakers and mismatched expectations, for example “the blurb said romance but it was mostly mystery”. Ignore pure rants.

Do not copy anyone’s book. The aim is to understand expectations and gaps, then write your own book that meets those expectations and fills a gap well.

Step 4: watch for trend signals

Signal	Free or paid	Good for	Limits
Amazon Best Sellers, Hot New Releases and Movers & Shakers	Free	What is selling and rising right now in a category	A snapshot; one promotion can distort it
Your comp spreadsheet over several months	Free	Real direction of travel in your own niche	Takes a few months to become useful
Google Trends	Free	Relative search interest in a topic, trope or theme over time and by country	Shows relative interest, not sales or book demand
Goodreads lists, shelves and new-release pages	Free	What engaged readers are adding and discussing	Skews towards very active readers
Reader communities on social platforms	Free	Early buzz around tropes, aesthetics and specific books	Fast-moving; a viral moment is not a lasting trend
Publishing trade news and deal reports (for example, Publishers Marketplace)	Mostly paid	What traditional publishers are buying, which shows where they expect demand	Lags; traditionally published books take a long time to reach shelves
Amazon keyword and category research tools (for example, Publisher Rocket)	Paid	Estimates of search interest and competition for keywords and categories	Estimates only; at the time of writing (October 2026), pricing models vary between one-off fees and subscriptions, and prices change

If you publish only one or two books a year, the free signals are usually enough. Paid tools make more sense when you publish often and category choice is a big part of your income. The author toolkit guide compares research and sales-tracking tools side by side.

Real trend or passing spike?

Probably a real trend	Probably a spike
Many different books from different authors showing the same feature	One breakout book or one author
Visible over several months in your spreadsheet	A few weeks of buzz
Appears in several places: rankings, reviews, reader communities and new releases	Only visible on one platform
Readers ask for “more books like” it	Discussion is about the controversy, not the books
Fits naturally with what you already write	Would need a total change of genre and voice

Timing matters. A book takes months to write, edit and package, so by the time you publish, a fast trend may have moved on. Trends that fit your existing genre and can be expressed through packaging, tropes or series hooks are much safer bets than a complete pivot. For a wider look at where the industry is heading, see self-publishing trends every author should know.

Seasonal patterns worth planning for

Some demand is predictable. Holiday-themed fiction is naturally strongest in the weeks before that holiday, and books on goals, habits, money and health tend to get more attention around the start of a new year. Summer and holiday reading seasons differ between the northern and southern hemispheres, so if your readers are spread worldwide, look at Google Trends by country before timing a seasonal launch. Plan seasonal books early enough to publish before the season starts, not during it.

Turning research into decisions

• Cover: does your cover clearly signal the same subgenre as current top sellers, while still looking like your brand?
• Blurb: does it lead with the hooks readers in your category respond to?
• Price: is it within the range your comps sell at? See how to price your book.
• Distribution: if most comps carry the Kindle Unlimited badge, KU is worth testing; if few do, wide distribution may suit your readers better.
• Next book: is there a gap readers keep mentioning in reviews that your next book could fill?
• Launch timing: does the season or a related event favour a particular month?

Your monthly one-hour routine

1. Ten minutes: screenshot the top results in your two or three main subcategories, including Hot New Releases.
2. Fifteen minutes: update your comp spreadsheet (rank, price, KU status, reviews) and add any new books that have broken into the top results.
3. Fifteen minutes: read a handful of new three-star and five-star reviews on your top comps and note recurring phrases.
4. Ten minutes: check Google Trends for two or three topics or tropes you care about, in your main reader countries.
5. Ten minutes: write three lines: what changed, what stayed the same, and one decision or test for your next book or launch.

Once a quarter, look back across three months of notes. That is when real patterns become visible.

Common mistakes

• Using huge bestsellers as comps when the books that actually sell alongside yours are smaller, steadier titles.
• Reading one day’s ranks as a trend. A single promotion can push a book up for a few days.
• Chasing a trend you do not enjoy writing. Readers notice, and you are unlikely to sustain a series.
• Copying covers or blurbs too closely. Match genre signals, but keep your own design and words.
• Trusting tool estimates as facts. Sales and search estimates are useful for comparison, not exact numbers.
• Researching endlessly and never deciding. End every session with one concrete decision.
• Ignoring readers outside one country when seasons, prices and retailers differ around the world.

Research also feeds branding choices; if you are considering writing in a second, very different market, the guide to using a pen name the smart way covers whether to keep it under one name.

Sources this guide draws on: Amazon’s Best Sellers, Hot New Releases and Movers & Shakers pages and book detail pages; Google Trends documentation on how search interest is measured; Goodreads lists and shelves; Kindle Direct Publishing help pages on KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited.

FAQ

How do I do market research for my book?

Pick 10 to 20 recent, selling books in your subgenre, then record their rank, price, Kindle Unlimited status, review count, cover style and blurb hooks. Read their reviews for what readers love and miss. Repeat monthly so you can see changes over time.

What are comp titles?

Comparable titles are recent books a reader of yours would plausibly buy next, similar in subgenre, tone and audience. Authors use them to judge packaging and pricing, and agents and publishers use them to understand where a book fits in the market.

What does Amazon Best Sellers Rank tell me?

It shows how a book is selling relative to others in its store and category. Amazon updates it frequently, and it reflects both recent and historical sales. It is useful for comparing books and watching direction over time, but it does not give exact sales figures, and a single promotion can move it sharply.

Do I need paid tools like Publisher Rocket?

Not to start. Amazon’s lists and book pages, reviews, Goodreads and Google Trends cover most of what you need. Paid tools save time on keyword and category research and are more worthwhile if you publish several books a year.

Should I write to market or write what I love?

You do not have to choose. Most successful indie authors write what they enjoy within a genre that has steady demand, then use research to package, position and time their books well. Research should sharpen your books, not replace your interests.

Watch the same things on a schedule, write down what you see, and let patterns across months, not headlines, shape your next decision. An hour a month is enough to stay in touch with your readers’ market.