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AMAZON BESTSELLER
Go ahead. Guess.
What kind of book do you think is currently the number one bestseller on Amazon?
- Romance novel? Nope.
- Fantasy novel? Nuh uh.
- A short story? Wrong.
- Children’s book? No.
- How-to guide? Wrong again.
- Suspense thriller? Not even close.
Among print books,
the number one bestseller on Amazon,
presently,
first of all is
out of stock
and,
secondly,
(would you believe?)
is
a
coloring book
(no, children’s book is still wrong!)
for
adults.
That’s right:
The bestselling book on Amazon right now is a coloring book for adults.
Secret Garden by Johanna Basford.
But that doesn’t mean you should rush to publish one.
I typed in “adult coloring books” in the Amazon search and it pulled up nearly 2000 matches in books.
As usual, you need to deliver good content and market effectively to stand out from the crowd.
Chris McMullen
Copyright © 2015
Chris McMullen, Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers
- Volume 1 on formatting and publishing
- Volume 2 on marketability and marketing
- 4-in-1 Boxed set includes both volumes and more
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chrismcmullen 
Interesting and unexpected.
1.4 million copies sold!
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Believe it or not – IT’S A FACT…
This type of book also qualifies as “gift”, as in “gift market” which is huge! So immediately, many more outlets will stock and sell across the board (outside of Amazon) which will then drive up the demand for the book even further, and everywhere. Unfortunately, the gift publishing market has always been a big competition to traditional books, especially for shelf space. The sales agency I worked for went into the gift market in a big way, because that’s where they made all their money. It’s also why so many indie bookstores have been stocking and selling gift merchandise. So no surprise at all to me.
That’s right. Many customers shopping for print books are looking for gifts. 🙂
But many gift stores will never carry books, so it’s an unfortunate situation for all of us writers.
We have a whole shelf at the bookstore devoted to adult coloring books. It’s supposed to be relaxing. I prefer knitting, but to each his own.
Yes, it’s not just at Amazon. 🙂
I received a colouring book & pencils for Christmas. It’s very relaxing to do, you just switch the brain off and enjoy a childish pleasure! It seems to becoming ‘fashionable too’ so I can understand the Amazon success.
Thank you for sharing your experience with coloring book gifts. 🙂
Hey! Coloring relaxes me…
Coloring makes the world a better place. 🙂
I’d bet billions on that, Chris.
I love coloring!!!!!
It can be fun. 🙂
But that is not really the point of the post is it? It is the fact that a coloring book is Amazon’s #1 bestseller, which makes me think it is a darn good thing we as writers love to write, we do it for ourselves, because everyone else seems to be coloring. Hmmm?!
My first thought was, “Is that what everyone is ‘reading’ now?” 🙂
I love to color! Years ago, there were books of printed geometric patterns and dependent upon how you colored them, one design could be so drastically different – me and 3 of my 20 something friends used to have ‘coloring parties’ while we shared the ‘how many shades of blue can you really get in markers’ big arse pack! 🙂
Coloring parties! Sounds fun. 🙂
Well, since it’s an adult coloring party, we did have wine, cheese and crackers carpet picnic – but we laid on the floor, markers, wine, and cheese platter in the middle ( so every one could reach what was needed) – but OH! I completely ‘get’ why an adult coloring book is selling! 🙂 Thanks for triggering the fond memory!
I actually saw a post on FB mentioning this book and how happy the adult customer was to get it.
That kind of word-of-mouth exposure helped with the 1.4 million sales. 🙂
Lol! Seriously??? Who buys this stuff??? Maybe I’ll create a colouring book 50 Shades style… is that adult enough? Next year, I’ll be a millionaire, Rodney!!!
50 gray crayons. Seriously, you better do this before someone else does. 🙂
Lol! Pity I cant draw! Does that matter? 😁
Guess it has to be a draw it yourself and then color it book. 🙂
Lmao! That would really catch on… and how easy to produce! We should go into business together… we’re brilliant! 😂
Interesting, unexpected, and understandable if you think about it. It’s a distraction and artistic for even those with little training in art. It takes people back to their childhood which might have been a much happier time than they’re experiencing now. I dearly loved coloring books when I was a child. 🙂
IUU (interesting, unexpected, and understandable) should be the next big abbreviation, right up there with TT4N and OIC. 🙂
Who would have thought. It’s not even the bible … Who would have thought. Keep on blogging in a free world – The False Prophet
There is a good candidate for the top book. 🙂
Maybe it’s not in the top ten at the moment, but it must be in the best selling books of all times top ten, right?
At least in the most read category. 🙂
That is not easy to verify, is it? I know a lot of people who CLAIM to have read it … but have they really?