Prophet AI: Niche Book Trend Forecaster

Inspired by the predictive elements of Hyperion and the data-driven world-building of Metropolis, 'Prophet AI' aims to forecast upcoming trends within specific, often overlooked, book genres (e.g., LitRPG, cozy fantasy, grimdark fiction). The project leverages NLP techniques to analyze publicly available online data: 1. Scraping Pre-Publication Data: Similar to the 'AI Workflow for Companies' project, we'll scrape data from Goodreads (looking at 'want to read' lists for unreleased books), Reddit subforums dedicated to niche genres, author blogs, and early reviewer platforms (e.g., NetGalley). 2. Sentiment Analysis: Employing sentiment analysis algorithms (using libraries like NLTK or spaCy) to gauge public opinion and excitement surrounding upcoming releases. We will fine-tune the sentiment analysis for genre-specific jargon and slang. 3. Topic Modeling: Using topic modeling (LDA or similar), we will identify recurring themes and keywords within the scraped data to understand emerging narrative trends (e.g., new types of magic systems, specific character archetypes, etc.). 4. Trend Prediction: Based on the extracted data, sentiment scores, and topic clusters, a simple predictive model (using time series analysis or even basic regression) will be developed to forecast the popularity of different themes/tropes. This can be simple like aggregating weekly average sentiment scores for a topic over a set period. 5. Niche Focus: The key to its profitability and low cost is its niching down. Instead of trying to predict general bestsellers, Prophet AI targets specific, highly engaged online communities. 6. Output: The output is a regularly updated (weekly or monthly) report for each niche genre. These reports will highlight emerging trends, popular themes, and overall sentiment scores, offering actionable insights for authors and publishers on what readers are looking for. Earning Potential: Reports can be sold as subscriptions to indie authors, small publishers, or even to larger publishers seeking to diversify their portfolio. Individual trend reports can also be sold a-la-carte. The project is low cost as it primarily uses open-source libraries, readily available online data, and can be developed by an individual with NLP skills. It's easy to implement in stages. The niche focus ensures targeted value and high conversion rates for sales.