Get ready to dust off that old manuscript, because it’s time for the most profitable Kindle niches and categories. If you are hoping to self-publish an ebook then you will definitely want to take note of these segments.
There is a great debate still raging among book people as to what the ideal format is. Hardcover, paperbook, or ebook? Honestly, they all have their place. I prefer hardcover books, but I see how practical ebooks can be–why carry one book with you when you can carry 100? Plus, with an eReader like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)‘s Kindle, no one on the subway can judge you for the fact that you’re diving back into The Babysitters Club, or whatever literary choices you have decided to make for yourself as an adult.
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Hardcover books are classic. It is difficult to improve on the feeling you get pulling a story off a piece of paper with your eyes. Letting it swirl around in your imagination like ice in lemonade. The weight of a book reminds you that you are actually doing something–there is substance behind the style of the prose. That is representative of the knowledge or simply the experience you will have earned through the act of reading. Then of course, there’s that unmistakable smell of…nostalgia?, that book lovers enjoy. In short, books are cool.
However, getting an actual book published is harder than ever, which is why there’s clearly a market for ebooks. If you plan to write and self-publish a book, it is certainly a lot easier and more cost-effective to e-publish. In 2011, when Lulu reported that the number of published ebooks soared by 20%, outdoing its printed counterpart, the digital publishing industry has officially boomed. But in an article written this year by Simon Jenkins of The Guardian, he argued that not only is print making a comeback, but that it never really went away.
Based on what we’ve seen though, there is room for everyone at the table. Except for magazines–those have to sit on the couch. They know why. Although ebook sales plummeted in 2015, ebooks from small and medium publishing houses and even indie authors are still on the rise. But because the market is saturated, it has become hyper-competitive.
Therefore amateurs who would like to self-publish must ask themselves certain questions usually reserved for publishing companies. “Who is the audience for your book?” Truly, whether you’re an independent writer dipping his or her toes into the literary waters, or are more established and planning to send a book proposal to a publishing company–you need to know that you have people who would want to buy your book in order to generate sales. Especially in the case of the latter. Publishing companies are run by writers and editors themselves, who certainly care about good narratives and interesting topics, but they are a business more than anything. They need to earn in order to sustain their business.
It is imperative that you know what the most profitable Kindle niches and categories are if you want to become successful as an author. The internet is home to thousands of bloggers and indie authors offering different techniques on how to reach the most profitable Kindle niches and categories on Amazon. According to K-Lytics, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s sales listings fluctuate by as much as (+/-) 25% in a 24-hour period, so looking at the bestseller list alone can be misleading if you want to know the most profitable kindle niches and categories. There are other factors to consider.
K-lytics has put together a comprehensive report as a result of its evaluation of the 30 Amazon Kindle ebook categories based on 5 criteria:
1. Sales Volume
Ø Sales Rank of Top 20 Titles
Est. Sales per Day per Top 20 Title
Sales Rank of No. 1 Bestseller
Est. Sales per Day of No. 1 Bestseller
2. Rank Momentum
Rise/Drop in Top 20 Titles Ø Sales Rank
Rise/Drop of No. 1 Best-seller Sales Rank
3. Price Realization
Ø Price of Top 20 Titles
Lowest Price among Top 20 Titles
Price Change of Top 20 Titles vs. Prior Month.
4. Competition
Number of Titles
Change of Number of Titles vs. Prior Month
5. Effort
Ø Page Length (100 = shortest)
The data gathered based on those criteria above were then computed and they came up with a weighted index where 100 = best; 1 = Worst. Here then is the list of the 11 most profitable Kindle niches and categories, beginning on the next page.
Since you presumably like reading and writing, you might be also interested in education. If that’s the case, check out our list of the 7 Most Profitable Jobs in Education as well–you never know when you might want or need to change careers (you know, if the whole writing thing doesn’t work out).
