How to Build a Winning Book Marketing Strategy (Before You Even Start Writing!)

Breaking out as a new author isn’t just about writing a great story – it’s also about writing the right story for the market. Successful authors often treat their book like a startup, researching reader demand before they start writing. In business terms, they ensure there’s a “product-market fit” for their novel. In the writing world, this means understanding what readers are buying and aligning your book with those desires from the outset. This approach, known as “writing to market,” doesn’t mean compromising your passion or creativity – it means finding the overlap between what you love to write and what readers love to read. By building marketing considerations into your book before you even draft chapter one, you greatly improve your odds of capturing readers’ attention in a crowded marketplace. Below, we’ll explore key components of this strategy: identifying lucrative genres, leveraging popular tropes, analysing competitors’ reviews for insights, gauging genre competition, discovering profitable niches, using research tools, and learning from authors who have done this successfully. And if you’re unsure where to start, you can always hire a book marketer or seek out affordable book marketing services to guide you through the process.

Writing to Market: Aligning with Genre Trends

“Writing to market” is about tailoring your book to meet current reader demand. Think of it as a Venn diagram: one circle is the genre/topics you’re passionate about, the other is a large audience’s current reading preferences – the sweet spot where they overlap is your target. The goal is to write a book in that sweet spot. In practice, this starts with researching what genres and subgenres are trending and what readers seem eager for right now. Fiction is subject to trends that come and go. For example, in recent times Regency romance à la Bridgerton has been “sizzling hot,” and readers can’t get enough of romance in general – particularly novels featuring tropes like “enemies to lovers” and “fake dating.” Meanwhile, certain niches of historical fiction (e.g. stories set in Ukraine) are on the rise, and “cosy” mystery/crime novels are thriving. Paying attention to such trends helps you pinpoint where demand is high.

How can you identify these trends? Start by scanning bestseller lists and industry news. The Amazon Kindle Best Sellers page (which you can filter by genre) is a free quick indicator of what’s selling. Note which genres dominate the charts and what new subgenre categories are appearing. Social media and communities can also reveal trends – for instance, BookTok (TikTok’s book community) might suddenly propel a genre or theme into popularity. Dedicated market reports go even deeper: for example, BookBub’s editorial data highlighted specific trope trends across 15 fiction categories, showing exactly which story elements had been engaging readers lately. Tools like K-lytics regularly publish trend analyses by genre, showing sales rank changes or surges in particular subcategories over time.

When you spot an upward trend that excites you, consider how you can align your book with it. This doesn’t mean cynically chasing every fad – it means being aware of the market’s pulse. As one guide put it, give readers “at least some of what they know they want”. If, say, paranormal vampire novels are booming but you’re more inclined to write mystery, you might weave a supernatural mystery or a vampire detective element into your story. In other words, leverage popular themes in a way that still feels authentic to you.

Many successful indie authors have done exactly that. For instance, author Chris Fox describes how he weighed two genres he loved – “weird western” vs. military sci-fi – and chose the one with a far bigger audience. “Weird western” (a Western with supernatural elements) was a personal passion of his, but “that genre has a tiny audience,” so he knew it likely wouldn’t sell well. On the other hand, “tons of people love military science fiction” at the moment (fueled by popular TV shows and movies), so by writing a military sci-fi series he could enjoy the process and “sell a ton of copies.” This illustrates classic write-to-market thinking: identify a viable, high-demand genre that you also love, and craft your book for that space. By doing this kind of market-informed planning before writing, you’re effectively choosing a fertile field to plant your story, rather than scattering seeds on rocky ground. If you want help navigating these trends and finding the right niche for your book, book marketers and book marketing services can provide expert advice. They can help you ensure that your book is aligned with market demand and make your self-publishing journey smoother. Also the notion of literary citizenship and how developed your reading/writing networks are can reap a lot of valuable genre information.

Using Tropes and Meeting Reader Expectations

Every genre comes with beloved tropes and conventions – recurring themes, plot devices, or character types that its readers eagerly expect. Far from being a bad thing, tropes are the building blocks of genre fiction; they set up the familiar elements that draw readers in. Smart authors research and leverage popular tropes deliberately. By understanding which tropes resonate with your target audience, you can craft a story that scratches a proven niche for readers. Begin by identifying the top tropes in your genre. If you’re writing romance, for example, you’ll find readers often adore setups like fake relationships that turn real, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, love triangles, billionaire bachelors, small-town charm, etc. In fantasy, common beloved tropes include “the chosen one,” the mentor figure, quest narratives, and so on. In mystery/thriller, you might encounter the hardboiled detective, the unreliable narrator, a race-against-time plot, etc. There are many resources to help catalogue these. Guides and lists enumerate popular tropes by genre. The website TV Tropes is another goldmine, documenting countless tropes and examples. You can also glean tropes by simply reading the bestsellers in your category and noting patterns. If five of the top ten books all involve, say, a secret royalty identity, that’s a strong hint.

Once you know the tropes your readers expect (and enjoy), the key is to use them effectively. Tropes are popular for a reason – they deliver a certain emotional payoff or excitement. Meeting those expectations helps satisfy readers. As thriller author Dan Padavona explains, by recognising the tropes associated with your genre, you can “tap into reader expectations” and craft a story that really resonates. For example, a thriller reader might expect a “race against time” scenario or a clever final twist – delivering on those can leave them thrilled. A fantasy reader might expect a chosen-one hero’s journey – including that familiar arc can be rewarding for them. However, using tropes doesn’t mean writing a paint-by-numbers cliché. The trick is to incorporate popular tropes while adding your own fresh twist or unique voice. Readers enjoy the comfort of familiar elements, but they also crave something new. Perhaps you combine two well-worn tropes in an unusual setting, or subvert a trope halfway through to surprise the reader (just be careful to still satisfy the core expectation in some way). The goal is a balance: “the familiar with the innovative.”

Many bestselling books are essentially inventive re-imaginings of classic tropes. For instance, a recent wave of YA novels put modern spins on fairy tale tropes (e.g. a Cinderella retelling with a sci-fi setting). They hooked readers with something old-but-new. Another benefit of studying tropes is learning what to avoid or handle carefully. If a trope has been overused to the point of reader fatigue, you might downplay it or give it a new angle. For example, some romance readers have grown tired of the billionaire-playboy trope, as Jessie Gussman notes experiencing “billionaire fatigue” in her genre, so she shifted focus to cowboys and small-town romances that readers were currently more excited about. Likewise, certain tropes come with pitfalls – e.g. the “chosen one” can feel too predictable if done straight, or a love triangle can frustrate readers if not resolved satisfyingly. By reading reader discussions or even BuzzFeed-style lists of “tropes we love vs. hate,” you can gauge which familiar story elements need a fresh approach. The bottom line is that popular tropes are your friends: they are storytelling ingredients that already have an audience. Use them as a foundation to build on. Deliver the emotional beats readers crave (the meet-cute in a romance, the big showdown in an action tale, etc.) and they’ll be far more likely to enjoy – and recommend – your book. Satisfying reader expectations creates positive word-of-mouth, which is the best marketing an author can get. If you’re unfamiliar with which tropes are most popular, book marketers can provide insights into reader preferences through detailed market research and analysis, helping you align your book with popular themes.

Competitor Analysis: Learning from Reviews and Reader Feedback

Another crucial way to bake marketing into your book idea is to study the competition – not to copy it, but to learn from it. Competitor analysis for authors means looking at books similar to yours (existing or forthcoming in your target genre/niche) and gathering insights from how readers respond to them. In particular, reader reviews are an invaluable source of market research for writers. They’re essentially free user feedback on what your target audience loves or hates about books like yours. Start by identifying your “comp titles” – the novels that would sit next to yours on the bookshelf. Use Amazon or Goodreads to find the top-selling or most-reviewed books in your genre (especially ones published in the last few years, as tastes evolve). For example, if you plan to write a cosy mystery, note the bestselling cosy mysteries currently and in the past year. Make a list of perhaps 5–10 relevant titles (both big hits and a few mid-list or lesser-known ones). Then, roll up your sleeves and dive into the reviews. On Amazon, you can click the number of ratings to see all reviews, and even sort by “Top positive” and “Top critical” to see common praise and complaints. Readers on Amazon often go into surprising detail about what they liked and didn’t like when reviewing a novel. Pay attention to recurring themes in these reviews. Are many readers gushing about a particular character or plot twist? Are there frequent criticisms about pacing, or maybe disappointment in the ending? Take notes on these patterns.

What you’re doing here is listening to the voice of the customer – in this case, the reader. For instance, you might discover that in thriller novels similar to your idea, readers consistently say things like “I loved the action, but the characters felt flat.” That’s a cue for you to ensure your thriller’s characters have more depth alongside the action. Or you might find that a common gripe in a romance series is “too predictable” or “uses the misunderstanding trope too much” – which suggests you should handle those elements more deftly or try a different twist. Conversely, see what readers love about comparable books. If multiple reviews rave, “I couldn’t put it down because of the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter,” or “the banter between the love interests was hilarious,” those are elements you could aim to incorporate in your own way. Even negative reviews of other books can guide you by highlighting pitfalls to avoid. One writing coach advises looking not only at bestsellers but also at books that flopped or garnered tepid reactions. Understanding what went wrong (maybe a mismarketed genre mashup, or poor editing, or an unsatisfying trope subversion) can help you not repeat those mistakes.

Assessing Genre Competitiveness

Not all genres are created equal when it comes to competition. Part of your pre-writing market research should be figuring out how competitive your chosen genre or category is, and whether a new author has a fighting chance to stand out in it. Think of it this way: if you choose to write in a massive, wildly popular genre (like “epic fantasy” or “police procedural thrillers”), the reader demand is high – but so is the supply of books. You’ll be vying for attention among thousands of titles, including those by big-name authors with established fanbases. On the other hand, if you write in a very narrow or niche genre, you might have little competition, but also a much smaller pool of readers to begin with. The trick is to assess that balance of demand vs. supply and decide where to position your book.

Start by looking at the size of the field. On Amazon Kindle, note how many results appear for your genre’s keywords or how many titles are in its top 100 – this gives a rough sense of supply. Next, gauge the demand by examining sales rankings. A handy metric is the Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR). For instance, if the #1 book in your category has a Kindle BSR of, say, 150 (extremely high sales) and even the #20 book is around 1,000, that indicates strong demand – lots of books are selling well. But if those top 20 books all have, say, 10,000+ ratings and are from major publishers, competition is also fierce. In contrast, if in a smaller category the top books have BSRs around 50,000 but only a few dozen reviews, that category might have moderate demand and lighter competition (easier for a newcomer to chart in). Some experts have even set benchmarks to identify a reasonably competitive niche: for example, one Kindle publisher suggests that on an Amazon search results page, you ideally want 5-6 books on the first page with a BSR better than 100,000 (meaning each is selling decently, indicating reader demand), and that there are fewer than ~2,000 results total for that keyword/category (indicating the niche isn’t overly saturated). Additionally, those top 5-6 books shouldn’t all be blockbuster hits with hundreds of reviews – if each has under 100 reviews, it implies the niche isn’t dominated by one or two mega-sellers yet. These criteria help find genres that have room for a new author.

Conclusion

In the modern publishing landscape – where thousands of new books hit the virtual shelves every day – writing a great book is only half the battle. The other half is positioning that book so the right readers find it and buy it. By building your marketing strategy into the book from the very beginning, you essentially engineer a book that is designed to please a specific audience and meet a known demand. This approach involves research and planning: identifying trending genres and aligning with them, incorporating the tropes and emotional beats readers expect, analysing competitor feedback to avoid missteps, choosing a genre/niche that offers opportunity, and utilising tools to make data-driven decisions. It’s a blend of creativity and commercial savvy – as one author put it, “writing to market merges the heart of creative writing with the strategic acumen of a savvy marketer.” For new authors, this strategy can shorten the path to finding your fanbase. Rather than writing a book and then desperately trying to find an audience for it, you’re writing for an audience you’ve already found. If you're unsure of how to navigate this process, you can always hire a book marketer or use book marketing services to help with your strategy, especially when self-publishing a book on Amazon.