11 months ago
12
As part of my marketing efforts, I occasionally look at the new books released on Amazon. For this article, I thought it would be fun to conduct a mini-survey to evaluate the new releases and categorize them. Thus, I reviewed 40 web pages of new releases from the last 30 days and made check marks in each category.
What was I expecting? I hypothesized romance books would dominate, but the results surprised me. Starting with the largest category, erotic books occupied 20%. The topics spanned the entire spectrum, ranging from hardcore S&M to light-hearted Amish. Overall, I did not see a dominant subcategory (no pun intended). I noticed all the titles and covers were suggestive and graphic. It surprised me to see several four-letter words in the titles and erotic cover pictures. I did not think Amazon would allow this indecency to be part of a basic “new book” search.
I thought this book genre died out in the 1990s due to the existence of easily accessible adult video and picture sites. I recall that in the 1970s, adult bookstores were prevalent throughout town, but by the 1980s, they had largely disappeared. I suppose this entertainment category has found new life.
Self-help occupied 15% of the new books, and most were tune-up guides for your life. Are you depressed? Make these ten changes. Here are two example titles: “Lets Tide Up: A complete life changing guide to tiding up and get organized” “Psi Power: Shape Your Life With Psychic Power.”
Yet, the self-help books were not the ones I remember from the ’80s and ’90s. One of my favorites is “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” The book offers a detailed guide on how to be a better person, but today’s self-help books seem more like get-rich-quick schemes.
Alternative adult books occupied 15%. They have graphic titles and lusty book covers, but these are not in the same category as erotic. Instead, they were alternative stories that included romance, adventure, science fiction, and drama.
Fiction took up 10%. The subcategories were fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Many of the books had similar covers, and most of the fiction stories were part of a long series. (Essentially, soap operas.) I saw very few that I would call basic fiction, meaning they were outside the popular themes.
Cookbooks were also at 10%, but there has been a change. I expected the cookbooks to be well… Cookbooks. You know. A book full of recipes and how to prepare them. Instead, they were all hyper-niche-focused and here is a perfect example: “The Essential Star Trek Cocktail Book: Damn It, Jim, I’m A Doctor, Not A Drink Mixer!” I found many focused on low-calorie options, such as quinoa or kale.
The following categories each accounted for 5%: Mystery, Religion, Kids, Conspiracy/Government, Romance, and Re-Release.
Of all the book categories, mystery books remained the same as when I was a kid. They still follow the same plot formula and have the same book covers. Yet, I can see this category declining.
The religious book category is growing, but the books are not what I would expect. Given that we have access to the internet, databases, newly discovered materials, satellite maps, archaeological digs, big data analysis, and new ideas, this category should contain some great new ideas and materials. Instead, the category is settling into unusual niches. Here is an example: “3 Biblical Ways to Publicize Your Business.”
Many books in this category explore modern life or politics through the lens of religion. The results blur the line between conspiracy and religion. In the past, religious books focused on being a better person, but few follow this traditional pattern. Instead, they have a us versus them spin.
The next category, which I describe as “kids,” is different from “young adult.” This category has undergone radical changes since I was a kid in the 1970s, and I think I know why: the Harry Potter series. Allow me to explain.
The Harry Potter books were written for children, but adults also enjoy reading them. The result is that now everybody reads “young adult” books, meaning that young adult books are sold in the general fiction category. So, if you went to the young adult category and searched for “teenage romance,” you would find book X. If you searched in the romance category, X would also appear. Thus, new books similar in theme to The Hardy Boys are now written with adults in mind. So, in a way, the category of “young adult” books no longer exists.
The kids’ category is for the eight-and-under crowd, but the books have changed since I was a kid. Now, they must have a learning component, be environmentally friendly, and convey a positive message. Essentially, the formula has become narrower, resulting in a loss of edge. Meaning you will never see a controversial or complex plot in a kids’ book.
The next category is conspiracy and government. In the past, these were separate categories, but politics and people have changed. In the 1980s, government books read like textbooks. “Here are the facts about a government topic, and this is my conclusion.” Now we see titles like: “QANON: The Most Complete Report on the Great Conspiracy Against the United States.” Conspiracy and government books are now laser-focused, with a powerful slant. You are for the author’s side or an enemy of all that is good.
Romance books dominated the 1970s and 1980s. I remember entire romance bookstores, and every book followed the same basic formula: A relationship.
Today’s romance books still focus on relationships, but they fall into distinct subcategories. There are period romances that are generally set in 1800s England, often on ships. Another subcategory is what I term fantasy romance. These books push the limits of plausibility, much like the average person falling in love with a super rock star. Another subcategory is odd combinations, like a doctor falling in love with a married patient. Amish romance is quite popular. There are crossover romance stories, such as romance/science fiction or romance/erotic.
The last “new book” category should not be a category; it is re-releases. This is when a publisher takes an established book and repackages it. This tactic enables old books to be categorized as new, leading to increased sales. Remember reading Charles Dickens in high school? He’s dead. Right? Nope. He is alive and well. He even releases new material every year.
I dislike that publishers attempt to deceive readers with this deceptive tactic. Here are two examples: “Agatha Christie Premium Collection.” “The Complete Works of Jane Austen (In One Volume)”
For example, “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind.” It was released three days ago, and in that short time, it has already garnered 21,760 ratings. However, on Goodreads, it has a release date of 1963. Yeah, a new release… Some rules are getting bent.
But… What about the other popular categories? They obviously still exist. Westerns, science fiction, non-fiction, how-to, law, educational, reference, history, crafts, business, medicine, money, art, and travel. I bet you just pulled up your Amazon page and saw those categories.
I agree that these categories exist, but they comprise only a tiny percentage of new releases, perhaps 1% of the total. If you search a category like “westerns” on Amazon, you will only see established authors and the release dates from many years ago.
Let’s look at one specific category: Westerns. In the ’50s and ’60s, this category dominated the entertainment world. However, if you look at television and movies today, you will not find many Western stories. I suspect the classics still sell, but a new author would have a tough time. Why? I guess people no longer like cowboys.
Where are books going? From my search, I believe they are following the same path that music took in the ’90s. Since Edison first recorded music and sold the first record, the formula has been the same. Record a song and sell it at a store. Radio, big concerts, music merchandise, cassette tapes, and CDs changed the game slightly, but the basic formula remains.
In the 1990s, MP3s and the internet emerged, and the combination significantly impacted music sales. Record companies had no idea what to do, and musicians stopped getting huge checks. Concerts for new groups went from selling ten thousand tickets to popular bands playing at local pubs with 30 people.
When the dust settled, musicians continued to create music, but they now distribute it online through streaming sites. Music categories (listening tastes) now focus on niche markets, and a wide-reaching musical hit is rare, even for well-known artists.
My study revealed that publishing follows this same formula. Authors used to write a book, send it to a publisher who would print it, and sell it at a store. Now, books get printed on demand, downloaded, or offered for free. The word “publisher” or “bookstore” only applies to the top 0.01% of authors.
To be successful, authors need to target specific audiences in specific categories. This new online market has a better chance of success, is easier, faster, direct, more controlled, and (potentially) more profitable. However, direct eBook publishing has significant limitations, but I would argue that those limitations are diminishing as readers take advantage of books that are better tailored to their evolving reading tastes.
My conclusion is that readers are getting more of what they want and less of what they don’t. The only battle remaining is to get somebody to buy my book.
You’re the best -Bill
June 28, 2025
Hey, book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:
Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.
Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.
Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.
Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.
