Are you an aspiring author who wants your book to join the best genre of books? Then, it’s about time you get familiar with the most read genre of books. Are you curious to find out which genres have been making waves globally?

Here is all you need to know.

What Genres Do the Most Popular Books Right Now Belong to?

Before we do the final reveal and share the top genres, you need to know that they are divided into two main categories:

  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction

Most genres fall into one of these types, but sometimes, they can be a blend of the two. Both genres are intended for diverse purposes and have different tones.

Here are these genres in detail and the bestselling genres for each of them.

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1. Fiction

Fiction is a book genre that entails imaginative storytelling and often comprises characters, narratives, events, and settings that don’t exist in the actual world. When writing fiction books, authors need to be highly creative to pen stories that offer readers an escape from the mundane.

As mentioned, genres like mystery, romance, thriller, fantasy, science fiction, horror, crime, etc., fall under the umbrella of fiction writing. Here are the top 2 popular genres of fiction writing.

• Romance

If there’s one genre that can melt the coldest hearts, it is romance. While not all romance subgenres may be loved by all readers, these readers are likely to find one that appeals the most to them, considering the diversity. Romance books often sell much faster than other genres because readers usually love seeing love conquer all and get the perfect happy ending.

In today’s world, modern romances have grabbed the attention of readers as they don’t feature the typical love stories; they’re all about finding love in the era while overcoming obstacles that exist in this time. With this genre, readers get the opportunity to take their pick from a broad selection of subgenres of romance, which means you surely will find something to tickle your fancy. Here are some subgenres:

  • Regency Romance
  • Historical Romance
  • LGBTQ+ Romance
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Gothic Romance
  • Contemporary Romance
  • Romantic Suspense
  • Erotic Romance

Besides these subgenres, there are many others.

• Mystery

Although romance books are dominating bestselling lists, another genre has readers hooked. We’re talking about mystery books, which are known for taking readers on a thrilling adventure packed with suspense and twists.

Throughout the book, readers find themselves guessing what’s next as the wheels of their brains constantly turn to solve the mystery. Therefore, mystery is a top choice for readers and has different other subgenres, including:

  • Hardboiled Mystery
  • Legal Thriller
  • Historical Mystery
  • Paranormal Mystery
  • Cozy Mystery
  • Psychological Thriller
  • Police Procedural
  • Amateur Sleuth

2. Nonfiction

In contrast to fiction, nonfiction features real people, real stories, places, and events. When writing nonfiction books, authors need to focus on penning down the truth without any inaccuracies. These stories are often written to document real life occurrences or to educate the readers.

Let’s discuss which genres are selling the most in the nonfiction category.

• Autobiographies, Biographies, and Memoirs

Nonfiction writing’s bestselling genres include autobiographies, memoirs, and biographies. These genres focus on the life story of a particular person. Autobiographies and memories are penned down by the person themselves, while biographies are in the third person and are authored by others rather than the person.

It’s essential to keep in mind that biographies can be written on living and dead. However, autobiographies and memoirs can’t be written for dead people; the person in memoirs and autobiographies has to be alive.

• History

As the name implies, historical books discuss true events in history, ensuring every detail is true. As an author penning down a historical book, you have complete control over how you present the information. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the information needs to be historically factual, verifiable, and accurate.

Some books are based entirely on impartial truths, while some may be written depending on the author’s beliefs.

How Can You Become a Bestseller as a Self-Published Author?

Finding a spot on a bestseller list can completely change the course of an author’s career. It’s a huge milestone for them and signifies they’ve made a mark for themselves in the industry. This can kickstart your journey to success as an author and lead to more sales, opening doors for you.

However, as a self publishing author, becoming a bestseller or even aspiring to make your book the most sold book in the world can take ages. Lucky for you, our experts have taken this task on themselves, putting together a list of some tips that can help you navigate this path, eventually helping you gain success.

• Have the Right Book

If you want your book to climb up and make it to the bestseller list, it needs to have a mass appeal. Before you say anything, we don’t mean to say that having a niche-focused book isn’t good; a mass appeal is just more beneficial for you, so moving forward, keep that in mind.

When your book is niche-specific, it limits the audience it appeals to. However, when you appeal to huge masses, it can lead to more sales. As a result, your book will be selling more copies on a global level.

• Use Sales Channels Wisely

Ideally, your book needs to be on a minimum of two sales channels. As a self-published author, chances are Amazon will be one of those channels, which is a good thing considering it’s one of the biggest platforms. When selecting the second platform, keep in mind that you will need to sell hundreds of copies.

In most cases, authors settle on Barnes and Noble, which is a traditional bookseller. We recommend exploring your options and looking into various platforms, choosing the one that suits your requirements and can be most beneficial for you.

An important factor to consider during the decision is the audience and how it can be appropriate for the demographics of the sales channels. While sales channels are valuable for your book, adding too many channels can become problematic for you. So, avoid using excessive avenues.

• Release an Ebook

Nowadays, convenience is the new black, especially with the rise of digitalization. Many readers want to engage in reading that doesn’t take up their time and get in the way of their daily activities; they want their books to be as accessible as they can be. That’s why eBooks and audiobooks have become incredibly popular.

So, if you want your book to become a bestseller, you will need to release an eBook version, as it leads to more sales at low prices. Given that even major publishers find it difficult to sell enough print copies of certain of their books in a single week, providing an eBook version may help you avoid this problem.

• Get Amazon Reviews

It's important to establish your credibility as an author to draw attention from bestselling lists, so make sure you have starred ratings, especially on Amazon. That being said, it’s not compulsory to get reviews with five stars. In fact, research shows that ratings between 4.2 and 4.5 stars are good enough. So, try inviting members of your email list or close followers to post a review to boost engagement.

• Work on a Marketing Campaign

The toughest part of the process is working on a suitable marketing strategy for your book. Unfortunately, in many cases, there is a huge risk of wasting a good amount of money on a campaign only for your book to not make it to the list. If you are in a position to take this risk, you will need to take a few things into consideration.

For starters, timing can’t be compromised at any cost. Considering how bestselling lists are determined, your campaigns will need to be run the entire week without fail, as it will increase the chances for your book to sell. As for the marketing campaign, here are some components to include.

1) Pay-Per-Click Ads

An excellent way to create hype for your book and spread awareness is through pay-per-click ads. You can run these ads on platforms like Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Goodreads, etc. For this, you have two options—hire a professional to produce the ads for you or learn how to do it yourself. While you’re generating these ads, keep the target audience in mind. We know we’re stating the obvious, but many times, it’s forgotten about.

2) Make the Most of Ebook Promo Sites

There are several eBook promotion sites that can be highly beneficial for your book as they offer placement ads. Many of these are categorized as per genre, so there isn’t any option that suits all. So, the only thing you can do is make sure these promotion sites are the right choice, keeping your book’s target audience in mind. If you do this, you’ll be good to go.

3) Think Out of the Box

While there are several strategies that are sufficient to make your book one of the top selling books right now, think outside the box and use different means to gain exposure. For instance, you can reach out to a book blogger or influencer with a huge fan following and interview them. This can allow you to expose yourself and your book to a different audience. The best part about utilizing channels that aren’t that common is that there are fewer people competing for the readers’ attention since they aren’t that crowded.

4) Leverage Your Network

While many authors may be leveraging other methods to help their books become a bestseller, it’s important to ensure you don’t miss out on word-of-mouth promotions. The rule of thumb for that is sharing the necessary book details, especially where readers can find them easily. Although these details can be helpful, don’t be hesitant to ask the people in your network to spread the word about your book.

Chances are you’ll have enough people in your circle to rely on for reviews or recommendations. So, don’t overlook this, as it can be helpful.

Are you ready to elevate your book writing and take your career to another level? Then, becoming a bestselling author can be one of the quickest ways to guarantee that. But pulling it off can become time-consuming and pricey, too. That’s where a ghostwriting agency can help you out.

Companies such as AMZ Expert Publisher are known for providing affordable and premium quality solutions for authors and interested individuals. Our services comprise writing, editing, formatting, and publishing, including Kindle direct book publishing, Amazon book publishing, and more.

Schedule a call with us for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

One of the biggest obstacles for authors when working on fiction books is making the readers believe what their story contains. Since this is an intricate task, our ghostwriters focus on creating characters that our readers can relate to. We also make other elements of the book realistic.

An essential tip to keep in mind when producing nonfiction books is research. Since this genre is based on true events, you need to get your facts straight, and that can be done through research. Moreover, organize your ideas meticulously before putting them on paper.

Every author has a distinct writing style, even though they are working in the same genre. As a result, all romance authors will have a unique way of penning a love story. However, there might be certain common elements, including:
  • The main characters should be relatable.
  • The main characters must have obstacles to overcome during their love story.
  • There has to be a happy ending.

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