Readers Are Buying These Genres. Almost Nobody Is Writing Them.

Overview

The video argues that agent wish lists and claims about “underserved genres” are poor substitutes for reader-side market research, especially for self-published authors. The presenter compared demand, recent publishing volume, and bestseller-list composition across nearly 400 Kindle fiction categories.

The best opportunities are not simply genres with few new books. They combine meaningful sales at attainable chart positions, relatively low supply, and evidence that new authors can break in.

Market-Research Framework

• Demand: Estimate daily sales for the book ranked #50 in a category using its Amazon ranking and ratings. The presenter chose #50 as a more attainable benchmark than #1, which may reflect one exceptional book.
• Supply: Count new English-language books published in the category during the last 90 days using Amazon’s New Releases filter.
• Openness: Review top books’ publication dates, publishers, and author names. Recent indie titles and a varied set of authors may indicate room for newcomers; older hits or repeated authors may signal a harder market.
• Opportunity screen: Favor categories with strong #50 sales and relatively few new releases, then check whether the chart is dominated by one author or a small set of established titles.

The study filtered an internal database of about 13,000 Kindle books, selected 19 promising categories, and manually checked 371 books. The results are a snapshot, and sales figures are estimates.

Findings and Examples

Domestic Thrillers

The headline metrics looked attractive: the #50 book was estimated at about 155 sales per day, against roughly 2,200 new English-language releases in 90 days. However, the chart was heavily dominated by Freida McFadden: six of the seven confirmed books among the top 100 were hers.

A non-McFadden title around #57 was still estimated at about 140 daily sales, but the concentration makes the category’s apparent opportunity misleading.

Horror

About 16,000 new English-language e-books appeared in 90 days. In the monsters-and-creatures category, roughly 180 books per day were released, and about a third of the books displayed there had been released during that period.

This challenges the claim that few authors write horror, but it does not establish that horror is a poor business.

Clean/Wholesome Romance

There were roughly 6,000 new books in 90 days, while the #50 title sold an estimated 45 copies per day. The presenter describes this category as crowded relative to its demand.

Dark Romance

The estimated demand was stronger, at about 95 daily sales for the #50 title, but the category had more than 10,000 new releases in 90 days. Reader interest is high, but so is competition.

Mafia Romance

This category offered a more favorable comparison: about 140 daily sales at #50 and roughly 3,600 new releases in 90 days. The same title ranked #21 in dark romance and #32 in mafia romance.

Seven confirmed titles between #11 and #50 were indie books released within the previous five months. Several authors had multiple books, often in series. The implication: readers appear receptive to new releases, but the playbook depends on speed, series, and frequent publication.

Kidnapping Crime Fiction

This smaller niche had about 840 new English-language books in 90 days. The #50 book was estimated to sell 40 copies per day, or around 1,200 per month.

An indie author held five of the 12 confirmed chart positions in the top 100, across detective and FBI series. A small market can still offer visibility, but one prolific author may occupy a substantial share of it.

“Marriage in Crisis” Fiction

Several recent books used this phrase in their subtitles. Five of the top 100 checked books did so, and all were released in July.

One example at #5 had about 800 ratings and an estimated 390 daily sales, while The Wedding People, two places higher, had more than 200,000 ratings. The presenter treats the combination of a new book, comparatively few ratings, and a high chart position as a signal of an emerging subgenre trend—not a permanent gap.

Hard Science Fiction

The median confirmed top book was nearly eight years old, and the #50 title sold about 10 copies per day. New indie books existed, but most sales appeared to accrue to established titles, making the niche comparatively small and difficult to enter.

Practical Playbook for Authors

1. Identify the exact Kindle categories relevant to the book, and compare neighboring categories and subgenres.
2. Check bestseller positions #20 and #50, record ratings, and use a sales calculator to estimate attainable sales.
3. Count new English-language releases from the last 90 days in the category.
4. Inspect the top 20 for publication dates, publishers, and repeated author names.
5. Look for subgenres within the kind of fiction you actually want to write, rather than switching genres solely because another category looks more attractive.

Caveats

• Sales figures are rating-based estimates, not Amazon-reported sales. Category rankings and ratings change daily.
• A category with few new releases may also have few readers; competition is not automatically bad.
• A promising trend can fill quickly. Treat the numbers as a research aid, not a guarantee.

Presenter and Sources

The presenter is the unnamed host of AuthorClimb. The analysis draws on QueryTracker agent-query information, Amazon Kindle Store category and new-release listings, an AuthorClimb database of about 13,000 Kindle books, and its sales-estimation and category-search tools.