Which genres work in self publishing and which don't?

Osiander · Apr 14, 2011

This is just a quick question. Which are the hot genres in self publishing and which ones sink without trace?

I'm guessing paranormal romance, thriller and crime would be at the top, while literary, memoir and children's would be at the bottom, but that's a complete guess.

Any thoughts?

Terie · Apr 14, 2011

Osiander said:
I'm guessing paranormal romance, thriller and crime would be at the top....

That seems to be a pretty accurate reflection of the self- and micropress-pubbed books that sit in most of the top Kindle spots. Romance, and particularly erotica, seems to be the top-selling genre in the world of commercial (including micropress) e-books at the moment. It'll be interesting to watch how this develops over the coming year.

efkelley · Apr 14, 2011

Heh. Doesn't surprise me that Erotica would be high on the list for e-readers.

"What are you reading there?"

"Oh, um, er....' <hits an inconspicuous button> 'Shakespeare's 'Hamlet.' See?"

/snarf!

Maryn · Apr 14, 2011

I have two relatives who've self-published to modest success. Each did non-fiction aimed at a niche market they could reach at little or no cost, one tarot and one industrial archeology.

Maryn, not sure self-pubbed fiction is making much money

Irysangel · Apr 14, 2011

I think you'll see a lot of romance successes because the romance market has been e-friendly for about ten years now. There have been lots of smaller e-presses so the audience is conditioned that e-books are not necessarily 'bad'. So romance does well, yes.

I think horror does really well also, mostly because the market lends itself well to a shorter work and frankly, no one in NYC seems to buy horror anymore. The fans are just as rabid as they ever were.

As for not making money, well, I made my rent payment last month with my e-published money. That's something! It's not ridiculous money, but it's nice to pad the income.

Osiander · Apr 14, 2011

Thanks for this.

Any ideas about genres that definitely don't work? (As yet, anyway.)

brainstorm77 · Apr 14, 2011

Irysangel said:
I think you'll see a lot of romance successes because the romance market has been e-friendly for about ten years now. There have been lots of smaller e-presses so the audience is conditioned that e-books are not necessarily 'bad'. So romance does well, yes.

I think horror does really well also, mostly because the market lends itself well to a shorter work and frankly, no one in NYC seems to buy horror anymore. The fans are just as rabid as they ever were.

As for not making money, well, I made my rent payment last month with my e-published money. That's something! It's not ridiculous money, but it's nice to pad the income.

I agree with everything in this post.

pixiejuice · Apr 14, 2011

Yes, I see a lot of paranormal romance in the self-pub crowd. Thriller, crime, and horror too.

I don't see much YA in self-pub, but that could be because YA does really well traditionally right now.

I also don't see much women's fiction/literary, which I happen to write and plan on going self-pub with. But ah well, I can't change what I write

dgaughran · Apr 14, 2011

I think genres like literary fiction and historical fiction, where authors don't tend to be anywhere near as prolific, won't do as well.

I think the demographics of the readership will have a part to play too.

Libbie · Apr 14, 2011

There have been a few rare bit hits in fiction (Amanda Hocking, obviously, is one) but in general fiction is hard to sell. Hocking seemed to be so successful not only because her books were high quality (I assume by her sales -- I've never read one, since her usual subjects really don't appeal to me) but also because she had something like fifteen novels done and well-edited already by the time she was ready to start self-publishing, so she entered the scene with an instant backlist -- and a big one, to boot. So people who tried her out once and liked her were able to very quickly get many more of her books.

I think that's the only way fiction authors will make decent money with current self-publishing models -- being able to produce a very large backlist very quickly. That sets you apart from your competition and gives readers a reason to talk about you a lot. If all you have to rely on for marketing is word of mouth, giving people a reason to talk about you a lot, everywhere, is key.

If that's how you're defining "doing well" (making good money), then genre fiction with a big backlist is probably about the only way to make it happen. "Doing well" can mean different things to different people, though. Typically niche nonfiction finds success with self-publishing, but there success is defined more in terms of reaching as many members of your niche audience as you can. For example, I am a rockhound and I have a lot of great self-published books on specific areas to collect cool rocks. Not something a typical traditional publisher would see much money in, and the books probably didn't make a lot of money for their authors, but they are the go-to sources for rockhounds, so their authors are very successful in that they've become authorities in their fields.

movieman · Apr 14, 2011

Irysangel said:
I think horror does really well also, mostly because the market lends itself well to a shorter work and frankly, no one in NYC seems to buy horror anymore. The fans are just as rabid as they ever were.

That's my primary interest in self-publishing, because I still like writing and reading horror but the kind of stories I like mostly seem to have disappeared from the bookstore shelves in the last few years to be replaced by sparkly vampires. I'll probably still try to sell the SF novels I write through the traditional routes, but publishing ebooks myself seems the most likely to work for the horror. Plus I have a bunch of unproduced horror movie scripts that I could probably convert into novels fairly quickly.

KellyAssauer · Apr 14, 2011

dgaughran said:
I think genres like literary fiction and historical fiction, where authors don't tend to be anywhere near as prolific, won't do as well.

As a lit fic writer, I hope to never see my own recent work available in an ereader format.

So it might not be just sales thing,
it might be an author thing as well.

Sheryl Nantus · Apr 14, 2011

I think nonfiction works out well - I just bought a book on writing by James Scott Bell who has plenty of professional credits and it's a faboo read!

Depends on the author and what you're looking for...

Sift Book Reviews · Apr 14, 2011

A lot of the self-pubbed books I'm seeing lately that gain a lot of attention are science fiction and fantasy but I'm talking about the big blown-out-of-the-water type successes.

As far as midlist, I don't know what's doing well.

rsullivan9597 · Apr 14, 2011

Libbie said:
There have been a few rare bit hits in fiction (Amanda Hocking, obviously, is one) but in general fiction is hard to sell. Hocking seemed to be so successful not only because her books were high quality (I assume by her sales -- I've never read one, since her usual subjects really don't appeal to me) but also because she had something like fifteen novels done and well-edited already by the time she was ready to start self-publishing, so she entered the scene with an instant backlist -- and a big one, to boot. So people who tried her out once and liked her were able to very quickly get many more of her books.

I think that's the only way fiction authors will make decent money with current self-publishing models -- being able to produce a very large backlist very quickly. That sets you apart from your competition and gives readers a reason to talk about you a lot. If all you have to rely on for marketing is word of mouth, giving people a reason to talk about you a lot, everywhere, is key.

If that's how you're defining "doing well" (making good money), then genre fiction with a big backlist is probably about the only way to make it happen. "Doing well" can mean different things to different people, though. Typically niche nonfiction finds success with self-publishing, but there success is defined more in terms of reaching as many members of your niche audience as you can. For example, I am a rockhound and I have a lot of great self-published books on specific areas to collect cool rocks. Not something a typical traditional publisher would see much money in, and the books probably didn't make a lot of money for their authors, but they are the go-to sources for rockhounds, so their authors are very successful in that they've become authorities in their fields.

Hocking actually has 9 not 15 books out - and her genre paranormal romace does very well in the self-published and small press communities.

Her editing has been a struggle and she cites that she did not do it well and one of the reason for going traditional.

I agree that "multiple books" are a key to success in self-publishing and after you get a bunch out releasing new ones quicky is important - just don't sacrifice quality.

efkelley · Apr 14, 2011

rsullivan9597 said:
I agree that "multiple books" are a key to success in self-publishing and after you get a bunch out releasing new ones quicky is important - just don't sacrifice quality.

That certainly seems to be a common factor. Makes me glad I write so damn fast.

juniper · Apr 14, 2011

I got led to a CreateSpace book on Amazon by a "friend" on FB. The author, on FB, has posted that she's sold over 1100 copies so far. It's a .99 Kindle book. The reviews aren't kind (except for the obvious 5 stars friends) - and she's posted on FB asking for more 5 star reviews.

It's got the "look inside" feature so I did ... and was appalled. Horrible writing, horrible editing.

It's a cozy mystery but it's got the Christian hook going. Some reviewers have said they only read Christian books. Author says if you search in the Kindle store for "Christian mysteries" hers is #1. And it's terrible.

I think having a niche book like that would help a lot. Built-in readership, rather than a more general genre, like just mystery.

<thinks about writing for money rather than pleasure. is it ethical to write positively, persuasively about a religion if you're not of that religion? or any religion?>

Writer'sNotes · Apr 18, 2011

I've been reading through these threads to learn a little about Kindle and ebook publishing, and I'm still wondering: do authors posting here feel that it's been worth it to go the Kindle route?

I have a book I love that was marketed by an agent (unsuccessfully) as a dark thriller but that I feel it YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi. I've knocked on every door and was considering letting it be a drawer novel. Now I'm weighing the pros and cons. Do apocalyptic sci-fi novels do well on Kindle? It is a bit literary. I was also considering having a cover designed professionally and getting interior layout done professionally, which costs money. Not sure if it's worth it for my genre.

ResearchGuy · Apr 18, 2011

Osiander said:
This is just a quick question. Which are the hot genres in self publishing and which ones sink without trace?

I'm guessing paranormal romance, thriller and crime would be at the top, while literary, memoir and children's would be at the bottom, but that's a complete guess.

Any thoughts?

Since neither the thread nor the question pertains to e-books, my answer does not pertain to e-books (although it does not necessarily exclude them as an ancillary product).

I've seen the following self-published with considerable success (large sales):

Textbooks (in a specialized field)
Business/technical books
Historical fiction
Light historical nonfiction
Thrillers (with a local setting; don't know his sales, but publishing book after book over years suggests success)

The success in each case reflected the expertise, professionalism, and relentless work of the author/publishers.

I have seen author/publishers who have had satisfactory (to them, apparently, although I don't know sales numbers) outcomes with children's books (young readers through YA). All of the above were offset printed.

The above pertain to individuals I know, and their books, not to genres per se.

--Ken

P.S. Dan Poynter, self-publishing guru, sells vast numbers of books. Total sales in the millions by now, I imagine. See www.parapublishing.com to learn more about his books. Wide trade distribution.

P.P.S. Self publishers who do everything right, with a publishing company name separate from their own name, writing and publishing to trade standards, and with trade distribution, have books in the trade that are indistinguishable from books from large publishing companies. That is, you would not know that the author is also the owner of the publishing company.

P.P.P.S. I think that the question is not necessarily which genres work, but which author/publishers do what is necessary to make their books successful. Even in the hottest of genres, a book will fail if not promoted and marketed well. And even in the least-active of genres or specialties, a book can succeed if the author/publisher effectively packages the book, targets the audience, promotes to that audience, and facilitates sales to that audience.

KevinMcLaughlin · Apr 19, 2011

Seems to me like it's not hard to view which genres are doing well yourself. I'd rely less on hearsay and more on doing a little footwork.

Amazon sells about 70% of the ebooks in the US, so while it's not "everything" by any means, it's a good place to get estimates about sales. Go to the site, click on a genre, and scan the first fifty or one hundred titles in the genre. See how many are indie published, and how many come from corporate publishers. Most of the $.99-2.99 books will be indie; some won't, so watch for those. The $4.99-6.99 range is harder, as these are a real mix. Most of the books above $7 are from major publishers, although even there you'll see some indie fiction as high as $9.99.

Took me about fifteen minutes to go through the current bestsellers for science fiction, for instance. I checked the top 50, even using Google to track down a half dozen publishing names, and realized that 38 of the top 50 bestselling SF ebooks are self published.

Yikes. Hadn't realized it was quite that big.

In contrast, only 22 of the top 50 bestselling fantasy ebooks were self published. Not even half.

I don't want to try to analyze those data points, just mentioning them, and how it's fairly simple to do the same for the genre of your choice. =)

Bookmama · Apr 20, 2011

Rather than thinking of genres, you may want to consider 'target audience.' Who will read your book and do you have a low-cost or no-cost way to reach those people?

Usually the more specific a target market and the more definite your action plan for reaching those people, the better your chances of success.

An example -- In general the children's genre is hard to sell to. But, consider a summer story set in a real location. People who visit that location with children would be the target audience and a way to reach them -- gift shops, restaurants, motels.

This exact formula was used by 3 children's book self-publishers that I know of. The one wrote about a sea lion and presold half the print run to some aquatic museum. Johnathon Rand created a series of books set in Michigan. Finally, Adirondack Kids series is another self-published children's book series by a father/son team that follow that formula.

Another example of the:

target audience + way to reach them = good sales

formula is Grandma's Scrapbook was self-published after its original publisher felt it wasn't worth reprinting. In this last case the author posted on scrapbooking forums about its availability.

Outside of children's genre, I could come up with many examples. The majority of them are non-fiction, but NOT ALL.....

poppyseed · Apr 23, 2011

KellyAssauer said:
As a lit fic writer, I hope to never see my own recent work available in an ereader format.

So it might not be just sales thing,
it might be an author thing as well.

Can I ask you why you feel this way?

KevinMcLaughlin · Apr 23, 2011

I'm kinda curious too, Kelly. I mean, I understand wanting to have a print version *as well* - it's nice to have that physical book there. And print sales ARE still the majority (2/3) of book sales, for now. And my mother refuses so far to buy an ereader, so I'd want anything I published to have a hard copy she could read.

But why would you want to exclude the (growing number of) readers who read digital primary, or even exclusively? Seems to me like that would be counterproductive. Not to mention that if you publish with a large press, you simply don't have that option anymore - your work will go into ebooks, or they won't buy it from you.

Old Hack · Apr 24, 2011

Kevin, one of the bigger publishing houses claimed recently that e-books now made up 25% of their sales--not 33% (unless you're talking about total copies sold, in which case I'd love to see your source: I've not been able to find any reliable figures on that).

I'm a bit surprised by Kelly's feelings about e-books too. The agents I know are delighted to have another format to sell their clients' books in; and the higher royalties per copy sold are an extra bonus.

KevinMcLaughlin · Apr 24, 2011

Old Hack said:
Kevin, one of the bigger publishing houses claimed recently that e-books now made up 25% of their sales--not 33% (unless you're talking about total copies sold, in which case I'd love to see your source: I've not been able to find any reliable figures on that).

I'm a bit surprised by Kelly's feelings about e-books too. The agents I know are delighted to have another format to sell their clients' books in; and the higher royalties per copy sold are an extra bonus.

I answered that last time you asked, but maybe you missed it; 29.5% based on February AAP reports; which although not perfect *is* considered the best-bet numbers in the industry for tracking sales. It's also conservative on ebooks, because they only tracked a small number of publisher's sales - so the $90.3m they tracked in sales for Feb didn't count any sales by most publishers, although it did track 16 of the biggest.

Anyway, link here: http://www.publishers.org/press/30/

Which genres work in self publishing and which don't?

Osiander

Terie

Writer is as Writer does

efkelley

ow

Maryn

Baaa!

Irysangel

She of Many Names

Osiander

brainstorm77

practical experience, FTW

pixiejuice

dgaughran

Libbie

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

movieman

KellyAssauer

The Anti-Magdalene

Sheryl Nantus

Holding out for a Superhero...

Sift Book Reviews

indie book reviewer

rsullivan9597

efkelley

ow

juniper

Always curious.

Writer'sNotes

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

KevinMcLaughlin

Bookmama

poppyseed

KevinMcLaughlin

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

KevinMcLaughlin