[debbie-nutley Posts: 5 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I am submitting my picture book to traditional publishers and they often ask for a market analysis. I know the similar books to mine in the market.  I assume I also should know whether these books were successful - how do I get that information?  What else do I need to know for a market analysis and where can I get the information?  Thanks  Debbie

[dinalapomy101 Posts: 1,875 Status: Offline Happy writing to all!]

I think as long as you use books published within the last 1-5 years (1-3 even better) as your comp titles, you'll be doing OK. If one of the comps happens to be a bestseller or won an award, you can mention that, too.

[Vijaya Posts: 7,104 Status: Offline Encourage]

Debbie, a crude way is to look at Amazon rankings (they can fluctuate wildly) but the lower the number, the more popular and successful the book. Good luck with your book proposal.

[dewsanddamps Posts: 2,320 Status: Offline]

Debbie, I think "market analysis" is more a matter of comp titles and any holes in the market the book might fill, or if it's a book on X sport and there's a new league for X about to get going, so interest may increase. Things like that.

You can't get numbers on how a book's done--heck, it's really hard even on your own books--and they can't expect that of you.
 

[DianaM Posts: 971 Status: Offline Writer, rhymer, runner, punner.]

I think Dews is spot on. Just comp titles and what makes your book stand out should be good. If a book is super duper successful, chances are, they've heard of it. If it has loads of reviews on Amazon, it's probably well-known/successful. If it's by a big author or illustrator, chances are also good that they've heard of it. You can also look at the editorial reviews listed on Amazon. If there are a lot of glowing reviews or stars from major reviewers (Kirkus, PW, SLJ, etc.) then it can be considered successful.

(Also, just want to note, I've never actually been asked for a market analysis.)