book-market-research

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
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 c