MSI Press Blog

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 placemen...

  Most authors love the idea of having a “niche.” It sounds focused, intentional, even strategic. But when we talk about a small niche — especially on Amazon — we’re talking about something very different. A small niche is not just a topic with a narrow audience. It is a topic with very little traffic , very few daily sales , and very low algorithmic activity . And that reality affects everything: rankings, visibility, expectations, and what “success” looks like. Let’s break down what authors need to know. 1. What a Small Niche Actually Is A small niche on Amazon is a category where: Very few books sell each day Many books sell nothing on most days A handful of downloads (even free ones) can move rankings dramatically The category has low competition because it has low demand This is not a judgment about the value of the topic. It’s simply the math of the marketplace. A niche can be small because it is: Highly specialized (e.g., “Chr...