We work with Alex Newton of K-lytics to bring you a high-level look at publishing trends based on what’s currently being read and sold at Amazon. These trends relate strictly to the Kindle ebook market, where Newton has been tracking sales rank data since 2014.
The mystery, thriller, and suspense category (MTS) is the second bestselling genre fiction category on Amazon, after romance. This expansive category includes crime fiction as well as popular subcategories like cozies, domestic thrillers, hard-boiled mysteries, police procedurals, historical mysteries, and more.
Sales patterns for mystery, thriller, and suspense books are quite similar to each other, but crime fiction isn’t as popular and has more volatile sales. Thrillers in general have been on an upward sales trajectory over the last year, with the best improvement for psychological thrillers along with the “cousin category” of domestic thrillers and those featuring a woman sleuth.
Other highlights:
To learn more about MTS trends, you can purchase the full K-lytics report.
A definition of psychological thrillers (including domestic thrillers): Such books emphasize the mental state of the characters and often their struggle to grasp reality. Characters can have extreme psychological disorders (e.g., serial killers, psychopaths, and people with split personalities) leading to the key conflict. Newton has helpfully summarized the key elements of such works in the charts below. One of the most prolific Kindle authors in this subgenre is Blake Pierce; an active traditional publisher is Bookouture, part of Hachette UK.
About mafia romance: Over the last 15 years, interest in dark romance has been on the rise. Newton has been following the mafia romance subcategory, which currently outperforms billionaire romance, for two years. A quick definition of mafia romance: It’s a “bad boy romance” where a protagonist is a member of the mafia or similar criminal organization. Stories typically feature mafia families, mob ties, and romance mixed with crime, along with trigger warnings—they’re not for the faint of heart. Mafia romance books rely on Kindle Unlimited as a sales channel. Some of the top-performing authors as of this writing: Nicole Fox, Sadie Kincaid, and Sophie Lark. The market is dominated by self-publishing authors; you won’t find the big publishers at all.
Mafia romance has benefited from the rise of TikTok. That’s because TikTok allows more “steamy” books to be promoted. Restrictions on other platforms have often prevented or limited erotica and steamier romance from being effectively marketed and promoted. Romance authors of all subgenres can also run into trouble advertising their books if the cover is too racy. But TikTok, so far, has been more permissive and accepting of such content, which Newton says has helped boost sales of mafia romance and erotica suspense, among others. To learn more about the mafia romance market, you can purchase his full report.
Final side note for all self-published authors: Newton discovered that even though a book can now rank in only three Amazon bestseller lists at a time—a change that happened in September 2022 (learn more)—a book’s placement on standard category browsing lists, which are sorted by popularity, has remained unaffected. This is good news for Amazon discoverability.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
by Jane Friedman
April 24, 2024
by Jane Friedman
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by Jane Friedman
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by Jane Friedman
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Just dove into this Amazon trend report on mystery, thriller, and suspense genres such a fascinating breakdown! If you’re an author or reader in these genres, the insights here are pure gold. The trends highlighted give a fresh perspective on what’s capturing readers’ attention right now. Highly recommend checking it out for anyone looking to stay ahead in the game or just understand what’s keeping us all on the edge of our seats!
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