Research Niches Suitable for KDP and Other Self-Publishing Platforms

Hi, I'm Brett B and welcome to Niche Laboratory's Book Niche Idea Generator. I've had years of experience making money from digital products such as software and eBooks. Just lately I've been writing eBooks and selling them on Amazon through their Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. I've not made a million dollars so far. However, I have to say that it's been the most profitable online venture I've attempted since 2013. My debut eBook sold a few copies and I'm making a fairly regular passive income from my titles.

So how do you get started with Kindle publishing? Here's how I got started:

1. First of all it's easier to write about a niche or topic you're familiar with.
2. Even if you're familiar with your topic, I highly recommend that you read a lot of existing eBooks in your niche. One huge mistake I made at first was assuming I knew what my audience wanted to read about. I've found that in the eBooks niche, people who are into a certain hobby aren't always the same people who want to read about it. By the way, if you want to read a lot of books cheaply then it's worth getting a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This allows you to read an unlimited number of books each month. The authors get paid per page you read, and you get to really research your topic. So everybody wins!
3. The hardest thing to do in self-publishing is to actually write your first book. Oh man, I spent 13 months of lurking on writer forums before I actually started writing my debut book! Having said that, all that lurking was a good idea because I really did hit the ground running on my debut.
4. Short stories are a good place to start your self-publishing career. This is how I got started. Many best selling authors got started this way too. You need to write around 5,000 - 15,000 words for a short on KDP. More words is okay though - my debut was a 27,000 word novella. If you enrol in KDP then you can add your titles to Kindle Unlimited and then you get paid according to how many pages readers read. Obviously longer books = more earnings.
5. Amazon (and other book vendors) have many written and unwritten rules regarding formatting and content. Be sure to read all of these, particularly if you are writing in NSFW or erotica niches. As far as erotica goes, if your content is not acceptable to Amazon then you may be able to sell it through Smashwords.
6. To do well on Amazon you need to have a good cover, title and blurb. When you're starting out you can use keyword targeting just as you can do in SEO/article writing. Just don't make your titles too spammy-looking though.
7. To get more readers you can promote your books. You can also start a mailing list. A great way to get subscribers is to give away a reader magnet which is a freebie book that hopefully encourages author loyalty.
8. On KDP backmatter is really useful. Once you've written your book then put a list of your other titles at the back. You can also promote your mailing list there.
9. Although you can write your masterpiece in Word there are plenty of alternatives. I'm a big fan of Scrivener, which is an app for Windows and Macs that has a lot of cool features for writing short stories and novels.
10. Once your book is complete make sure you make a decent cover. I make mine myself using photographs bought from Deposit Photos and I add the text using Canva.
11. You don't need to use your own name as your book's author name. You can use Pen Names. Generally it's best to stick to the one pen name, one niche rule, otherwise you will run into complications if you start a mailing list or want to do other promotional activities with your books.
12. That's just about it, but remember the hardest thing is to get started. How do you make BIG MONEY self-publishing eBooks? That's easy - just find something that sells, then scale up...

Using the Book Niche Idea Generator

Get started with the book topic finder app by entering some keywords in the text box above to see your customised list of topics and titles. If you're totally out of ideas, then click on the Lucky Dip button!

If you find a topic you might potentially be interested in then don't forget to copy and paste the keyword into the main Niche Laboratory tool. Or download Niche Laboratory Pro to find even more ideas in your chosen niche, plus get a better idea of how competitive it is.