Millions of books are released every year in the United States, and these statistics are only amplified if global numbers are taken into consideration. These books are of different genres, from fiction to romance to horror, you name it. Even though countless books are released in all genres, not all receive the same acclamation.
Authors are constantly trying to look for ways or insights to help them climb up these rankings on their own. The truth is there’s really only one way to know what’s working, and that is by taking a deeper dive into what genres are breaking the records.
Are you interested in learning more? Read on to find out what book genres are making waves.
What Are the Most Popular Book Genres?
Knowledge is power, and people from all walks of life need to understand its true potential of it. That’s why, as an author, you need to have a clear understanding of the market. Regardless of what genre you specialize in, you should be aware of what types of book genres the audience loves the most.
This insight can offer clarity on how to establish yourself as a bestseller. Moreover, it can also be a guiding light for first-time authors who aren’t sure which genre they should work on. So, without further ado, here are the best selling genre of books.
· Mystery
If we’re discussing the most popular books right now, we can guarantee that mystery books are dominating the lists. Amongst the top book genres, this genre has the ability to make the readers feel a rush of excitement and suspense.
As you already may know, mystery books revolve around a thrilling adventure or solving a puzzling crime, keeping the audience hooked and on the edge as they try to figure out the mystery and unravel the truth.
It is one of the most fascinating genres that are further divided into several subgenres that can elevate storytelling in different ways and are as follows:
- Cozy Mystery
- Police Procedural
- Hardboiled Mystery
- Historical Mystery
- Psychological Thriller
- Amateur Sleuth
- Legal Thriller
- Paranormal Mystery
Let’s get familiar with the most popular subgenres of this genre.
· Cozy Mystery
Cozy mysteries are known for amateur sleuths, charming settings, and light-hearted tones, and they are usually set in old-fashioned communities or small towns featuring characters that readers can’t help but fall in love with. These characters are solving crimes throughout the story.
· Police Procedural
As the name implies, this type of subgenre focuses on the investigative procedure and the work of law enforcement professionals. These stories offer an accurate depiction of police work, exhibiting the stepwise approaches used to solve crimes. These mysteries also include descriptive forensic analysis, interviews, and evidence.
· Hardboiled Mystery
Another subgenre of mystery, these are pretty intense and comprise morally vague protagonists, often private detectives or ex-law enforcement officers. These stories are known for their dark and atmospheric settings, complex plots, and a focus on society.
· Historical Mystery
These books are set in the past and usually feature well-researched historical events and periods. These books have a combination of mystery elements that have rich historical details, providing readers with an opportunity to experience a brilliant mystery in different periods.
· Psychological Thriller
Psychological thrillers feature a blend of mystery elements with some psychological suspense. They offer a glimpse into the minds of complex characters, evaluating their psychological states. Mind games, twists, and unreliable narrators are common features of this subgenre.
· Amateur Sleuth
These mysteries entail regular people who find themselves caught up in solving crimes. These protagonists are not professionals, but they make the most of their unique skills, hobbies, or professions to uncover the truth. It emphasizes the personal growth and development of the main character.
· Legal Thriller
This subgenre combines the suspense of a mystery with the intricacies of the legal system. These stories typically involve lawyers, courtroom drama, and legal investigations and explore themes of justice, ethics, and the complexities of the legal world.
· Paranormal Mystery
Paranormal mysteries incorporate elements of the supernatural or paranormal into the mystery genre. These stories may involve ghosts, magic, psychic abilities, or other supernatural phenomena. They offer a blend of mystery, suspense, and the unexplained.
Every subgenre of this genre has unique elements and can appeal to mystery lovers, making it a genre readers can’t get enough of.
1. Young Adult
Although there are book lovers of all ages, studies show that a huge fragment of them are teenagers and young adults. Well, that explains why young adult books are top selling books right now. This most read genre of books’ target audience is teenagers, and the stories revolve around handling coming-of-age plots. And so, the stories dive into the challenges of adolescence, friendships, first love, and finding your true self in the world.
2. Romance
If there’s one genre that surely falls under the category of the best genre of books, it has to be romance. While all thanks to women for making this genre a bestseller, there are actually many men who love reading romance books, too. A common misconception about romance books is that they somewhat feature the same old love stories, but that’s not the case.
Several subgenres appeal to all sorts of tastes, making it possible for everyone to find the perfect romance book for their liking. These books range from sweet and mushy stories to steamy and passionate ones and more.
This genre can be divided into numerous subgenres, and they are as follows:
- Contemporary Romance
- Erotic Romance
- Regency Romance
- Historical Romance
- Paranormal Romance
- Gothic Romance
- Romantic Suspense
- LGBTQ+ Romance
3. Fantasy
Fantasy belongs to the category of fiction, which entails authors penning down stories that comprise magical worlds, creatures, and adventures. These books teleport readers on thrilling adventures into imaginary worlds that are filled with epic quests, mythical creatures, and realms that go beyond our imagination.
Some popular subgenres of fantasy include epic fantasy, fairytale, urban fantasy, magical fantasy, low fantasy, comic fantasy, hard fantasy, allegorical fantasy, etc.
4. Non-Fiction
Generally, books are divided into two genres, each further separated into several categories, known as fiction and non-fiction. Non-fiction books are opposite fiction and are based on real, true events, individuals, or topics. They can include self-help books, biographies, true stories, or informative texts that inspire people, lead to personal growth, or keep readers informed.
5. Biography/Autobiography
These books give us a glimpse into the lives of real people. Biographies are written by someone else about a person, while autobiographies are written by the individuals themselves. They provide insights into the struggles, successes, and remarkable journeys of individuals.
How to Become a Best-Selling Author?
Every author wants to be a proud owner of the most sold book in the world. For many, this dream has been farfetched and outside their reach, but it can now become a reality with a strategic plan and expert guidance from our professionals.
Ready to make this prestigious title yours? Follow these tips:
- Pen Down a Relevant Book
- Get Recognized through PR
- Employ a Publicity Campaign
- Create an Author’s Website
- Witness the Results
Let’s discuss each tip in detail.
1. Pen Down a Relevant Book
Generally, bestsellers are determined by the total number of copies a book sells. Considering that, it’s safe to say that audience appeal plays a part in how well the book does globally. As a result, when writing your book, you can’t ignore this.
As long as your book speaks to a certain readership and offers insightful information, it can still be considered a niche. As you write the book, you have to consider your readership and assess whether you’re fulfilling their demands.
A well-written book is essential to getting reviews from readers and increasing word-of-mouth recommendations. Your target audience is more likely to read your book and suggest it to others if it is relevant to them.
Therefore, before you begin the book writing process, pay attention to the following:
- Determine and highlight the target audience, interests, industry, etc., for the book.
- Get in touch with a publishing expert who can help you with these intricacies, ensuring your book targets the right group.
- Another valuable tip to follow is to reach out to a ghostwriting agency where you can find proficient professionals to write gripping manuscripts for you.
2. Get Recognized through PR
If you’re looking for a book on a certain subject, you will probably trust an expert or author you are familiar with rather than someone who isn’t well-known. To become a best-selling author, it’s vital to focus on establishing a name for yourself in the industry. As a result, your focus must be on establishing and boosting visibility and credibility, especially before your book is published.
There is no denying that authorship automatically gives you a competitive edge. However, authorship isn’t enough to get recognized; you’ll need to make more effort. That is where PR can help you. A dedicated team for PR can help you establish yourself as an authority and expert in the industry, helping improve visibility across various channels and platforms.
Through PR, you can create a customized strategy to market you as an author on different platforms, such as podcasts, national or local TV, radio, social media, etc.
3. Employ a Publicity Campaign
While undoubtedly, your audience needs to know who you are, they also need to be familiar with your book. That’s where publicity campaigns for your book can come in handy. This can help establish more exposure for your upcoming book, leading to a spark in interest and awareness, too. Doing so can lead to a spike in book sales.
An effective aspect of such campaigns can be a book review plan. They can be valuable for building trust amongst potential readers as these positive reviews can serve as a green light for readers, ensuring them the book is worth reading. Besides this, you can also employ other tactics to help your book catch the public eye.
4. Create an Author’s Website
As discussed, authors need to have their own identity, and their book alone can’t do that. One of the most effective techniques for that is creating an author’s website. When you make a website for yourself, you provide readers or interested individuals a platform to get to know you or engage directly with you.
This allows readers to discover your other works while getting a glimpse into your life, which can work wonders for you.
5. Witness the Results
Once you’ve followed the above steps, you can finally begin your journey on the path of becoming a best-selling author. However, you can’t just stop there; you must monitor the results and measure the success. For instance, work on measuring your marketing efforts and tracking the campaigns to understand and evaluate the progress.
Are you ready to take your writing career up a notch? Well, then, becoming a best seller is one way to make it happen. However, pulling it off won’t be a bed of roses; it requires dedicating your time and money to it. Fortunately, we can help you with that!
As one of the most successful agencies in the industry, ABC takes pride in being a top choice for ghostwriting services, including self publishing services such as Amazon book publishing and Kindle direct book publishing. Take a step back as we write, edit, and publish your book while marketing it, too.
Get in touch with us to kickstart this journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Making the audience believe in what doesn’t exist can be one of the toughest challenges as an author. So, fiction is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack, but if we were to choose one subgenre, it would be horror. The reason why horror books are complex to pen down is because fear is subjective. As a result, writing horror books that appeal to everyone isn’t simple.
If you’re writing your first book, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed when deciding what genre to choose for it. We recommend choosing a popular genre, such as the ones mentioned above. This will ensure you pick something that appeals to a wide audience.
There are specific criteria that have to be followed to make a book a best seller. Generally, there is a certain number of copies that a book has to sell across different retailers in several locations to make it to the bestselling list. You can learn more about this by reaching out to our experts.
