/book-market-research

name: book-market-research
license: Proprietary
metadata:
  author: robertguss
  version: "1.0"
description:
  Assess commercial viability of book concepts for Amazon KDP self-publishing.
  Use when the user has a Book Concept Document and wants to understand market
  demand, competition, pricing, and positioning before committing to write.
  Produces a Market Research Report with viability scorecard and Go/No-Go
  recommendation. Works standalone (commercial analysis only) or after
  idea-validator (integrated assessment). Nonfiction only.

Market Research

Determine if a book is worth writing from a business perspective, specifically for Amazon KDP self-publishing.

Core Philosophy

**Commercial viability is separate from intellectual merit.** A brilliant idea can fail commercially. A mediocre idea can succeed. This skill assesses the market, not the idea itself.

**Better to know the odds now.** Authors deserve realistic expectations before investing months in writing.

**Author intent shapes interpretation.** A 5/10 viability score means different things to someone seeking income versus someone writing for legacy. Same data, different recommendations.

**Claude does the analysis; human gathers the data Claude can't access.** Claude performs qualitative research via web search. For quantitative data (BSR, prices, review counts), Claude provides a pre-filled spreadsheet and field guide—human gathers the numbers and brings them back.

Dependency Model

**Standalone Mode:** Book Concept Document only → pure commercial analysis. Claude flags that intellectual validation hasn't been done and recommends `idea-validator` if concerns arise.

**Post-Validation Mode:** Book Concept Document + Validation Report → integrated assessment. Combines intellectual merit with commercial viability for definitive pipeline gate.

Author Intent

**Ask before researching.** Author intent determines how to interpret the viability score.

| Intent | Description | Score Interpretation | | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | **Income** | Book must generate meaningful revenue | Score is decisive—low score means revise or kill | | **Authority** | Position as expert, book is a credential | Moderate score acceptable if positioning is strong | | **Passion/Legacy** | "This book needs to exist" | Low score = proceed with eyes open, not a blocker | | **Lead Generation** | Funnel for services/consulting | Score less critical if book serves the funnel | | **Audience Service** | Serving existing followers | Platform strength matters more than market size |

Session Modes

**Quick Assessment (single session):**

• Claude-only qualitative analysis via web search
• Identifies competitors, positioning gaps, review themes
• Produces preliminary viability assessment
• No manual data gathering required
• Best for: early-stage filtering, passion/legacy authors, authors with KDP

experience

**Deep Dive (multi-session):**

• Full qualitative analysis PLUS quantitative data
• Claude provides pre-filled CSV with competitor URLs
• Human gathers BSR, prices, review counts from Amazon
• Claude analyzes completed data for full scorecard
• Best for: income-focused authors, competitive categories, first-time KDP

authors

**Claude recommends mode** based on author intent, validation status, category competitiveness, and KDP experience.

Session Flow

Starting Research

1. Ask for Book Concept Document (and Validation Report if available) 2. Read carefully, note the core thesis and target reader 3. Ask about author intent (Income/Authority/Passion/Lead Gen/Audience Service) 4. Recommend session mode with reasoning 5. User confirms mode 6. Proceed to research

Quick Assessment Flow

1. Search for competing books in the category 2. Analyze search results for:

• Competitor titles, authors, positioning
• Bestseller badges (indicator of demand)
• Publisher patterns (traditional vs. self-pub)
• Review themes from Goodreads/snippets

3. Identify market gaps from complaint patterns 4. Assess author credibility fit 5. Produce preliminary Market Research Report

Deep Dive Flow

**Phase 1: Qualitative Research**

1. Perform Quick Assessment steps 2. Identify 5-8 key competitors for quantitative analysis 3. Generate pre-filled `competitor-analysis.csv` with:

• Title, Author, Amazon URL (filled by Claude)
• BSR, prices, reviews, rating, pages, KU status (for human to fill)

4. Provide Amazon Field Guide (see `references/amazon-field-guide.md`) 5. Output CSV file for user

**Phase 2: Human Data Gathering**

• User opens CSV in Excel/Sheets
• User visits each Amazon URL (~10 min for 5-8 books)
• User fills in the quantitative fields
• User uploads completed CSV

**Phase 3: Quantitative Analysis**

1. Parse completed CSV 2. Calculate market indicators:

• Average BSR (demand signal)
• Price range and median
• Review velocity patterns
• KU saturation

3. Score each criterion 4. Produce full Market Research Report with viability scorecard

Ending Any Session

1. Summarize what was accomplished 2. Output all documents as files 3. State clearly what comes next 4. If mid-Deep-Dive: remind about CSV and field guide

Viability Scorecard

| Criterion | Weight | What It Measures | | ---------------------- | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Market Demand | 25% | Are people buying books in this space? BSR patterns, bestseller signals | | Review Landscape | 15% | Review counts/ratings, gap signals from complaints | | Competition Gap | 15% | Differentiation opportunity, positioning white space