KDP Books: Trending Categories & Profitable Niches

Okay so I just pulled my Q4 sales reports last week and here’s what’s actually selling right now versus what everyone thinks is trending on KDP. The puzzle book wave isn’t dead but it’s definitely morphing into something else and you gotta pay attention to the sub-niches within sub-niches now.

Where the Money Actually Is Right Now

Log books are still crushing it but not the basic ones anymore. I’m talking hyper-specific tracking journals – like medication trackers for people managing chronic conditions, pet health logs that go beyond the basic vet visit stuff. Made $847 last month on a single blood pressure tracker that I designed while my cat was literally walking across my keyboard. The key is solving an actual problem that people search for on Amazon, not just making another “gratitude journal” that competes with 50,000 other ones.

Budget planners are saturated BUT paycheck-to-paycheck budgeters is where I’m seeing traction. People who get paid weekly or biweekly want planners that match their cycle, not monthly spreads. I tested this in March and one version is doing about $200-300 monthly with basically zero ads.

The Coloring Book Situation

Adult coloring isn’t dead, it just got really specific. Forget mandalas unless you’re doing something unique. What’s working: occupational therapy coloring books, large print designs for seniors with vision issues, and this is gonna sound weird but geometric patterns marketed for anxiety relief actually convert. I published one targeting “fidgety hands during meetings” and it found an audience I didn’t even know existed.

Kids coloring is harder because the competition is insane but toddler coloring books with REALLY simple designs (like 3-4 elements per page max) do okay. Parents search for “first coloring book” or “coloring book 18 months” and there’s less competition in those super specific age ranges.

Niches That Surprised Me in 2024

Composition notebooks for specific subjects – I know it sounds too simple but hear me out. “Chemistry Lab Notebook” with pre-formatted pages for experiments, observations, data tables… sells way better than generic college ruled notebooks. Made one for my nephew who’s in AP Bio and then published it, now it’s one of my consistent earners at like $150-200/month.

Recipe journals where people can write their own recipes are doing well but you need the right formatting. I tested like 6 different layouts and the one that gives space for “substitutions I tried” and “family ratings” sells 3x more than the basic ones. People want to actually use these, not just have them sit on a shelf.

The Planner Category Deep Dive

Daily planners are tough competition unless you niche down hard. Teacher planners for specific grade levels work. I have one for kindergarten teachers that includes attendance trackers, parent communication logs, all that stuff. It’s seasonal obviously but August-September is like Christmas for that book.

Oh and another thing – Undated planners are having a moment because people are tired of wasting half a dated planner when they start in March or whatever. The search volume for “undated planner” went up significantly and stays consistent year-round.

Side hustle planners are everywhere now but “gig worker planner” with mileage logs and multiple income streams tracking is less saturated. Etsy sellers want specific things, Amazon FBA sellers want different tracking. Don’t make a generic entrepreneur planner, pick ONE type of business.

Low Content That’s Actually Selling

Guest books but make them specific – wedding guest books are oversaturated but “lake house guest book” or “AirBnB guest book” or “baby shower guest book with advice cards” all have their own search traffic. I published a vacation rental guest book last year that just keeps selling steadily. Nothing crazy, maybe $80-100/month, but I spent 3 hours making it.

Password logbooks still sell despite everyone saying they’re done. Older demographics don’t trust digital password managers and they’re actively searching for physical books. Basic black cover, alphabetical tabs, nothing fancy. One of my first ever KDP books and it still makes $50-70 monthly.

Wait I forgot to mention notebooks with prompts. Not journals, notebooks. Like “meeting notes notebook” with prompts at the top of each page: Date, Attendees, Action Items, Follow-up Needed. Corporate people eat this stuff up. Same with “1-on-1 meeting notebook” for managers.

Activity Books Beyond Coloring

Word search books for adults are steady but you need a theme. I made one around medical terminology for nursing students and it found its audience. “Large print word search” for seniors is consistent. Don’t bother with kids word searches unless you’re going super niche like “dinosaur word search for kids 6-8” level specific.

Sudoku is saturated but variations aren’t. Kakuro, KenKen, other logic puzzles have way less competition. The audience is smaller but they’re passionate and they buy multiple books.

Crossword puzzles are hard because people have high expectations but cryptogram books, those letter substitution puzzles, have decent search volume and lower competition. Made one during a binge-watch session of The Office and it’s been chugging along at $60-80/month for over a year.

Seasonal Stuff That Actually Works

Everyone jumps on Christmas in October and the market floods. I focus on lesser holidays now. Father’s Day gifts, specifically books targeted as gifts FOR dad, do well May-June. “Dad joke book” format stuff but also practical things like “Dad’s camping journal” or fishing logs.

Back to school isn’t just August. Homeschool parents shop year-round and they want specific grade level stuff. “3rd grade writing practice” or “5th grade math workbook” – if you can create actual educational content (or low content frameworks for practice), this niche is solid.

Summer activity books for kids is obvious but “road trip activity book” sells April through August. I have one that’s just games and activities kids can do in the car and it peaks before summer break starts.

The Trending Categories Right Now

Anything related to health tracking is up. Migraine diaries, symptom trackers, food and mood journals for elimination diets. People are trying to figure out their health issues and doctors are telling them to track stuff. These books solve real problems.

Financial literacy books for teens and young adults – not advice books, but workbooks and planners. “First apartment checklist” or “college student budget planner” type things. Parents buy these as gifts.

Pet stuff is always good but it’s getting specific. “Puppy’s first year journal” does okay but “German Shepherd puppy training log” does better because German Shepherd owners are obsessive (I can say that, I have one, she’s currently destroying a toy behind me).

How I Actually Research This Stuff

I spend way too much time in Amazon’s search bar watching autocomplete. Type “journal for” and see what comes up. Type “planner for” and note what Amazon suggests. Those suggestions are real search queries.

Publisher Rocket is worth the money if you’re serious but you can do a lot with free tools. Google Trends shows you if something is growing or dying. Search “blood pressure log book” in Amazon and look at the bestseller ranks of the top results – if books ranked 200,000-400,000 are on page one, there’s room for you.

Check the reviews on existing books. What are people complaining about? “Wish it had more space for notes” – okay, make one with more note space. “Boxes are too small for my handwriting” – make one with bigger boxes. People literally tell you what they want.

Stuff That Seems Good But Isn’t

Motivational journals are so saturated unless you have a unique angle. I tried making “entrepreneur mindset journal” type things and they went nowhere. The market’s flooded and people don’t search for that stuff, they stumble on it.

Sketchbooks are tough because artists are picky about paper quality and you can’t control that with KDP. Stick to lined or blank notebooks for specific purposes instead.

Sleep tracker journals sound good but don’t have much search volume. Turns out people use apps for that mostly.

What I’m Testing Next

Habit trackers but for specific habits. Not “habit tracker” generic, but “reading habit tracker” or “exercise habit tracker” with purpose-built pages for that one thing. Early results look promising but I only published these like 3 weeks ago.

Sobriety journals and recovery workbooks have consistent demand. It’s a sensitive niche so approach it respectfully but people in recovery actively search for these tools.

Grandparent journals where they answer questions about their life for grandkids. Different angle than the oversaturated “letters to my grandchild” books. This one’s more like an interview format.

Real Talk About Profits

Most of my books make $20-100/month each. That’s the reality. I have maybe 5 books that consistently do $200-500 monthly. One outlier that hit some algorithm magic does $800-1200 but I couldn’t replicate that success if I tried. The money comes from having a bunch of books that each make modest amounts.

You’re not gonna get rich off one book unless you get really lucky. The strategy is volume – publish consistently, test different niches, see what sticks. I’ve got like 180 books live right now and maybe 40 of them make the bulk of my income. The rest are just… there. Some make $5/month, some make nothing.

Don’t spend money on fancy covers for low content. Clean, clear, professional looking but simple. I use Canva for most of mine and keep it straightforward. Your cover needs to communicate what the book is at thumbnail size.

Pricing – I test between $5.99 and $8.99 for most low content. Workbooks or more complex content can go to $12.99. Don’t underprice thinking it’ll help, you just make less money per sale and Amazon’s algorithm doesn’t necessarily favor cheaper books.

The real trick is finding those micro-niches where there’s enough demand to make sales but not so much competition that you’re buried on page 10 of results. That’s the whole game honestly. Everything else is just execution.