How to Conduct Book Market Research for Your Fiction Writing
A great book has the power to move a reader. Entertain them. Inspire them. Perhaps even make them see the world in a different way.
But that great book only made its way onto bookshop shelves (or the top of online bookseller listings) because the writer or their representatives conducted comprehensive book market research.
Boring, perhaps. But undoubtedly true.
Maybe you’ve got an incredible idea for a book. Or maybe you’re struggling to get publishers and agents interested in a book you’ve already written.
Either way, book market research can help turn your book into something that an audience is excited to read – and to buy.
The importance of book market research
If you’re writing purely to express yourself creatively or to get your thoughts down on paper, then I’ll stop you right here: there’s no need to read any more of this blog post.
However… if even a little, tiny part of you is hoping for a few book sales at the end of your writing endeavour, then you need to put your business hat on – ideally before you’ve written too much of your book.
Publishing is an industry like any other. So whether a publishing house or you yourself are taking responsibility for releasing your novel, it needs to have sales potential.
How do you write a book with sales potential? You start with book market research.
Book market research helps you to figure out:
What books people like to read right now
Where your book will sit within the market
Who your audience is
How you can appeal to your audience
And it’s particularly useful in any of the following scenarios.
When looking for agent and a publisher
Agents and publishers look at things from a business perspective. Because, at the end of the day, they have to eat too!
While many people working in the industry love to discover new and exciting writing, they have to balance their own passion for the written word with the risk involved in taking on an author’s book.
They need to get a return on their investment – so they have to have faith that there’s a market for your writing.
Conducting book market research before you write, and before you pitch your work to publishers and agents, improves your chances of landing a book deal. Because when publishers see the market potential in a book, they’re much more likely to take it on.
After your book has been rejected by a publisher
If you didn’t conduct book market research before you penned your book, you’ll definitely want to do some investigating after a manuscript has been rejected.
When you’re struggling to get publishers or agents interested in your work, it may be because your novel lacks market appeal.
Want to change that? Then get to know what readers want.
You can then go back to your novel – or start afresh – with a clear idea of what to avoid and what to dial up within your story.
When self-publishing a book
Even if you don’t have to convince an agent and a publisher that your book has market value, you still need to create something that an audience actually wants to read.
That’s why book market research is really important when self-publishing too.
If your book is to leap out at someone from a list of other titles in your genre, you have to be strategic when writing, when designing a book cover and when devising your title.
How to conduct book market research
So book market research is important. But how do you actually go about it?
Step 1. Get to know the latest trends
Great literature may be timeless. But fiction writing is, nonetheless, subject to trends that come and go.
Right now, regency romance à la Bridgerton is still sizzling hot. In fact, readers can’t get enough of romance in general, particularly novels based around familiar but ever-appealing “enemies to lovers” and “fake dating” romance tropes.
Historical fiction set in Ukraine is also on the rise. And cosy crime (think Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz) is thriving.
When conducting book market research, try to get a sense of the genres and trends proving popular in the here and now. But bear in mind that these trends aren’t to be followed slavishly.
You don’t have to shred your fantasy novel draft and start channelling Agatha Christie. Trends are simply an indicator of what people are keen to read at the moment.
So you might choose to add a “friends to lovers” romance to your story. Or switch a gritty subplot for something gentler and more reassuring. It’s about giving readers at least some of what they know they want.
Step 2. Look for books in your genre
Time to check out the competition. What books are popular and selling well within your genre? Which books will yours hopefully sit alongside on the shelf?
The easiest way to find out is by searching on Amazon.
You can type a genre or keywords related to the book you’re writing into Amazon’s search bar.
Alternatively, go to the Amazon bestseller webpage and narrow results by genre, using the list in the sidebar.
Make a list of the novels you find towards the top of these pages. Read at least a few of them. And try to figure out where your book fits within the genre.
Then do a little more digging…
Step 3. Check out book reviews
Ultimately, publishers are interested in whether the book-buying public will be excited to read your novel. So why not go straight to the horse’s mouth and find out what readers are saying about similar titles?
Amazon – again – is a good resource. Readers on the site often go into surprising detail about what they liked, and what they didn’t, when reviewing a novel.
You can also follow book reviewers who specialise in your genre and post their opinions on social media, to see what is going down well. Find reviewers on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube to get the lowdown.
You’ll (of course) be interested in what reviewers say about the big bestsellers on your list. But also take a look at reviews for books that haven’t done so well.
Knowing what readers like – but also which pitfalls to avoid – can really help you when crafting your novel.
Step 4. Analyse how books are presented
There’s more to writing and self-publishing a book than developing a compelling story. You also need to package your book in such a way that people can find it – and are enticed to leaf through it when they do.
So when conducting book market research, take note of:
Book covers
Book titles (and subtitles)
Book descriptions
How books are marketed
What catches your eye? Which titles make you want to find out more? What keywords have writers used in subtitles and descriptions?
Take inspiration from books that are already selling well to craft a book that appeals to readers from cover to cover.
Step 5. Keep an eye on new releases
So you might be sitting down with a cup of tea thinking that all of that hard book market research is done. But remember: a book market researcher never sleeps!
OK, they do sleep. But in their waking hours they always try to stay up-to-date with new book releases.
That’s because the book market is constantly changing and evolving. Only by keeping an eye on it can you discern emerging and waning trends.
For example, in adult fantasy, the standard medieval world populated by elves and dwarves is going slightly out of favour, and on the rise are fantasy worlds inspired by non-European cultures (think Jade City by Fonda Lee, The Poppy War by R F Kuang, and The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter).
It also seems that cosy fantasy is becoming a thing (which I am very much here for). Typically, high fantasy books are full of epic yet perilous and often emotionally intense adventures, but readers are increasingly looking for more light-hearted escapism from stories set in fantasy worlds. We can see this from the growing success of books like Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree.
Step 6. Make use of your research
The final step of the process is all about putting your research into action.
Use your book market research when writing.
Crafting a novel shouldn’t be a write by numbers exercise. So try to let your book market research inform your writing in a holistic way. Treat it as inspiration you can call upon as you build worlds and let your characters do their thing.
Use your book market research when pitching.
A publisher or an agent will feel much more confident in a writer who can demonstrate book market insight. So use your market research when pitching your manuscript to convey the solid sales potential of your book.
In summary
When you want to publish a book, you have to (however much it galls you) play the popularity game. You need to do thorough book market research to find out what a bestselling book currently looks like.
That way you can give readers, agents and publishers just enough of those popular elements to demonstrate your book’s appeal.
Of course, you don’t write a page-turner by being completely and utterly predictable. So throw in a few surprises along the way too and you’ll have a compelling and commercially viable book to pitch or publish.
Need some professional guidance on your story?
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with the writing process and/or the publishing industry, know that you don’t have to go it alone.
I offer a range of services for authors – from proofreading, to copyediting to manuscript assessments and structural editing. So please get in touch if you’d like any advice on your current writing project.
Until the next time,
Candida
