book-market-research — independently scanned and version-tracked by SaferSkills.
SaferSkills independently audited book-market-research (Agent Skill) and scored it 100/100 (green). The audit ran 55 deterministic rules across Security, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Transparency, and Community; it found 0 high-severity and 0 lower-severity findings. The full rule-by-rule trace and per-finding evidence are below. Free, methodology-open.
Findings & checks · 0 flagged
Every scanned point with the score it earned and what moved between them.
First recorded scan — no prior version to compare against.
The primary manifest — the file an agent reads to learn what this artifact does.
Determine if a book is worth writing from a business perspective, specifically for Amazon KDP self-publishing.
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.
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.
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 |
Quick Assessment (single session):
experience
Deep Dive (multi-session):
authors
Claude recommends mode based on author intent, validation status, category competitiveness, and KDP experience.
Phase 1: Qualitative Research
competitor-analysis.csv with:references/amazon-field-guide.md)Phase 2: Human Data Gathering
Phase 3: Quantitative Analysis
| 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 |
| Author Credibility | 15% | Does author's background match the claims? |
| Pricing Viability | 10% | Can price competitively and maintain margin? |
| Author Platform | 10% | Existing audience for launch velocity |
| Timing | 5% | Trend momentum vs. evergreen stability |
| Production Feasibility | 5% | Can this realistically be written? |
Scoring: Each criterion rated 1-10. Weighted average produces overall score.
| Score | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 7.0+ | Strong Go | Market conditions favor success |
| 5.5–6.9 | Conditional Go | Viable with strategic adjustments |
| 4.0–5.4 | Revise | Significant concerns—reposition or reconsider |
| <4.0 | Kill | Market conditions unfavorable |
Intent Overlay:
Claude performs qualitative research via web search. See references/research-methods.md for detailed methodology.
What Claude CAN assess via search:
What requires human data gathering:
For human data gathering, Claude provides a pre-filled CSV and the Amazon Field Guide from references/amazon-field-guide.md.
Use template from assets/templates/market-research-report.md.
To book-architect (if Go):
Back to idea-validator (if concerns):
Back to book-ideation (if Revise):
This skill assesses commercial viability, not:
idea-validator)book-architect)Commercial viability is necessary but not sufficient. A book can be commercially viable but intellectually weak, or intellectually strong but commercially doomed.
~30 seconds. Free. No account. Every finding cites a rule and a line of evidence.