A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Making Sense of Amazon Categories

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.

This week we discuss Amazon categories. Such an enigma! Intentionally so. Amazon does not reveal much about its inner workings, but thanks to some research, we have been able to determine the following that might be helpful for authors to know.

📚 How Amazon Book Categories Work (with Niche and Volume Dynamics)

🧭 Initial Category Assignment

• When books are distributed via Ingram (LSI), Amazon pulls metadata from Ingram’s feed, including BISAC codes.
• These BISAC codes help Amazon place the book into relevant genre categories (e.g., “Spiritual Memoir,” “Parenting,” “Historical Fiction”).
• Authors and publishers can influence category placement by choosing strategic BISAC codes—but Amazon may still override or reinterpret them.

📈 Dynamic Category Ranking

• Amazon’s algorithm updates hourly based on recent and historical sales.
• A book’s visibility in category lists depends on its relative performance compared to others in that category.
• Amazon will only show the book in the top three categories where it’s performing best at any given moment.

🔄 Category Shifts Based on Sales Volume

• If a book gains traction in a particular niche (say, “Christian Inspiration”), Amazon may promote it to that category’s bestseller list—even if it wasn’t originally ranked there.
• If sales slow in one category, the book may drop off that list and appear in another where it’s relatively stronger.

🧠 Niche Size and Volume Thresholds

• Smaller niches (e.g., “Franciscan Spirituality” or “Disability Memoir”) often require fewer sales to reach top rankings.
• Larger, high-traffic categories (like “Self-Help” or “Religion & Spirituality”) demand higher sales volume to break into the top 100.
• When a book’s sales volume increases significantly, Amazon may shift it into a broader, more competitive category—even if it wasn’t originally assigned there—because the algorithm recognizes its potential to rank among higher-volume titles.
• This shift can be a double-edged sword: it boosts visibility in a bigger pond, but also raises the bar for maintaining rank.

🏷️ Bestseller Tags and Discoverability

• Hitting #1 in any category earns the “Amazon Bestseller” tag for that niche.
• This boosts visibility and can drive more sales—but the tag disappears if the rank drops.

 So, while Amazon makes its own decisions and does not share transparently how those decisions are made, some things are ascertainable from commonsense, logic, and observation.

The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 22 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.

 See more Publisher Conversations with Authors HERE.

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