by Jean M. Cogdell
Is your genre one of the top percenters?
I hadn’t given this much thought, until reading a great article on Medium by Erica Verrillo from the Writing Cooperative. And boy howdy, the stats were eye-opening. Erica gives stats on most popular genres with readers, agents and includes which genres make the most money.
What surprised me most?
Most books sold by genre…
- #1 – Children’s Fiction sells more than three times the number of adult books.
- #2 – Adult General Fiction came is second in sales.
Agents most requested genre…
- First Choice of Agents is NOT Children’s books, although these books are number one in sales.#1 – Request by agents is YA Fiction.
- #10 – Last on the lists for Agent request is Women’s Fiction. I’d expected this to be higher.
- Agents generally work on commission of 15%.
The genre that makes the most money…
- #1 – Dollar maker is Romance and Erotica, this includes self-published romance.
- #2 – Crime and Mystery novels
- #3 – Inspirational and Religious books, (go figure.) This includes self-help books.
- #4 – Fantasy and Science Fiction
Guest post contributed by Jean M. Cogdell. Jean grew up in a small SC town, near the Great Smoky Mountains. Her stories and essays are available in Fiction Southeast, Anthology Once Upon A Time, Flash Fiction World II, Scissors & Spackle, Squawk Back, WTD, YAREAH, and Angie’s Diary Online Magazine.
A Writer's Path 
No surprise there. What is women’s fiction?
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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I too am astonished that children fiction sales three times more than adult fiction. Good to know.
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I guessed right with romance and mystery being in the top 3. I was surprised that religious books were above sci-fi. I expected them to be dead last.
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Reblogged this on Cynthia Hilston – Author & Blogger.
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Reblogged this on luna's on line and commented:
Interesting article! I found it encouraging too, since I’m working on a novel for children during #NaNoWriMo.
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Reblogged this on Stow-away Book.
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Interesting information, Jean. I’m surprised at where Fantasy and Science Fiction placed.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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This is very interesting.
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Reblogged this on WILDsound Festival.
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Not surprised by the list. I don’t think it’s a good idea for a writer to follow a list. Write what you want, excel at it and don’t worry about it.
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I’d like to say that the statistics you provided surprised me but, in all honesty, they don’t. Your information does make me wonder about all those genres in between though.
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