I’ve sold journals, planners, notebooks, coloring books, and activity books on Amazon KDP. After publishing tons of different titles,one thing is clear – puzzle books consistently outperform every other low-content book type for passive income.
This isn’t my just opinion, it’s can be clearly seen by anyone that has published puzzle books on KDP. This article explains why, and then shows you exactly how to get started.
What Are Low-Content Books?
Low-content books are books that have pretty much the same content on every page It’s very basic content that buyers can fill in with their own information. Examples include:
- Journals and notebooks
- Planners and calendars
- Coloring books
- Activity books for children
- Puzzle books (word searches, sudoku, crosswords, mazes)
- Prompt journals
- Log books (food diaries, workout logs)
Unlike novels that take months or years to create, these types of books can be created in a single day, using pre-made templates and puzzle generators.
For more info about low-content books, see our article: 40 Low-Content Book Ideas for Amazon KDP.
Why Puzzle Books Beat Every Other Low-Content Format
1. They’re Not Reusable
Journals are often used to keep track of people’s hobbies, which they may not have time for every day, but puzzle books can be done in buyers free time, and finish quite quickly. They’ll always need new one to replace their completed ones, and if you have a bunch of similar books, they’ll likely come back to get theirs from you.
This consumability makes puzzles books the best way to make money from KDP.
2. The Demographic Is Enormous
There are lots of puzzle books available online, but they don’t cover every single niche. There are tons of opportunities to makes something that no one else is doing.
- Large print puzzle books for seniors – this is a growing demographic
- Themed word searches (dogs, gardening, travel, sports)
- Holiday and seasonal editions
- Kids’ activity books by age range
- Travel-sized puzzle books
- Puzzle books for specific conditions (like dementia-friendly books)
Each of these is a niche within a niche. Most of the large publishers ignore these micro-niches, leaving them wide open for independent KDP publishers to take advantage of. See our full guide to 10 puzzle book niches you can start selling today.
3. Interiors are Super Easy to Make
Puzzle generators do all the work. Once you’ve found a good tool, it’ll handle all the work of creating different levels of puzzles and checking to make sure that they are solvable. You don’t have to spend a second testing or working on the puzzles at all.
While low content books are simply the same page repeated throughout the book, you sometimes have to create that initial page from scratch in Canva. This is especially true when you’re focusing on a micro-niche that doesn’t have any journals created for it yet.
Puzzle creation can be completely automated, giving you plenty time to work on keyword research and cover design – the parts that actually lead to more sales. Our guides cover the best tools:
- Free puzzle generators for KDP
- Best puzzle generator for PowerPoint (commercial use)
- Best word list generator for KDP word searches
- Best nonogram generator
- Best sudoku and word search generators
4. They Have Year-Round Demand (Not Just Seasonal)
Planners hit their peak in January as people are looking to make big changes to their life. Puzzle books peak in December, but still continue to make lots of sales all throughout the year. People play puzzles all year round, and often buy specific themed puzzled books for every holiday.
5. Production Costs Are Near Zero
Puzzle generators don’t cost much. You pay as little as $5 a month for a puzzle generator and make a near unlimited number of puzzles in that time. It’ll continuously work in the background while you work on making beautiful covers. Even if you only use a generator for 1 month, you’ll have enough puzzles to create books for the rest of the year.
6. You Can Build a Catalogue Quickly
Unlike novels that could take you years to release new books. You could release multiple puzzle books every single day and create a huge catalogue in next to no time. Within a few months, you’ve have a massive catalogue and only need to sell 1 copy of each book to make a decent side income, with zero additional work needed from your side.
See our step-by-step workflow guide: From Idea to Income: Launching a Puzzle Book in Under 1 Hour.
The Demand Is There Year-Round
Broad terms like “word search books for adults” and “sudoku books easy” have tens of thousands of monthly searches on Amazon. Even highly specific terms like “large print word search cats” often see hundreds to thousands of monthly searches.
The Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR) for puzzle books tells us the same story. Books with BSRs in the 50,000–200,000 range in the Puzzles & Games category are all selling multiple copies per day. So you can easily see that this is a very good sector to step into when so many people are making money with it.
Types of Puzzle Books You Can Create
Word Search Books
One of the most popular puzzle format on KDP are word searches. They’re easy to generate in bulk using tools like themed word list generators. Most people use random words, but niched word searches are where the money is, eg. animals, food, places, etc.
Sudoku Books
Sudoku books are the second most popular. You can generate games at multiple difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard, expert) to cover all different audiences. Large-print sudoku for seniors is always a popular option.
Crossword Books
These are more complex to generate than any other puzzle type and require some manual work, but because of this, they sell very well. Themed crosswords (sports, movies, history) do especially well and have buyers that always come back for more.
Maze Books
This is one of the best options for children. They fly through these books, so they’ll need to be replaced with new options regularly. See our guide to free maze generators with commercial use for KDP.
Cryptogram Books
This niche still has a lot of space to expand for sellers who have good cryptogram software. It’s a pretty big market, but many books get low reviews because they used bad generators. See our guide to creating good cryptograms for KDP.
Math Worksheet Books
This is an extremely popular option in the children’s educational market. Parents and teachers actively search for these books and need to buy new ones every year. There will always be kids in school, and they’ll always need new worksheet books to do. See our guide to free math worksheet generators for KDP.
Nonogram / Picross Books
This is a growing niche with a highly engaged audience and less competition than word searches or sudoku. See our guide to the best nonogram generators.
For a more detailed breakdown of tools, see our complete guide to writing, formatting, and cover creation tools.
How to Start Publishing Puzzle Books on KDP
- Choose your puzzle type and niche. Start with sudoku as it requires no manual work on your end, but put it in a themed niche (e.g., “large print sudoku for dog lovers”).
- Do keyword research first. Find a niche with good search volume and manageable competition. Read: Keyword Research for Puzzle Book Success.
- Generate your puzzles. Use a puzzle generator to create a bunch of puzzles. You’ll need to do some research to see what other sellers are offering and give buyers more puzzles for their money.
- Lay out your interior. Use PowerPoint or a similar tool to format puzzles into a clean, attractive layout. See our guide: Batch Import Multiple Puzzles into PowerPoint.
- Design your cover. Use Canva with a clear title, subtitle, and attractive cover image.
- Publish on KDP. Upload your files, fill in your keywords and categories, set your price, and submit.
- Launch a series. Don’t stop at one book one book, plan for 5-10 books in the same niche from day one. You’ll have more visibility on Amazon and a better chance to make sales.
Mistakes to Avoid
Most new puzzle book creators all make the same mistkes. We’ve covered them all here: 10 Mistakes New Puzzle Book Creators Make.
The biggest ones are:
- Skipping keyword research – Publishing without research is the #1 cause of zero sales.
- Generic covers – A cover that looks like every other book just won’t stand out.
- Too few books – One or two books aren’t enough to get noticed. Build a catalogue.
- Wrong pricing – Price too low and you’ll only make a few cents per book. Price too high and you lose impulse buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I earn from puzzle books on Amazon KDP?
It depends. A single well-optimised puzzle book might earn you $15–$50 a month. Publishers with 30–50 books in low-competition niches often make $500–$2,000+ a month. Read our full breakdown: How to Earn Passive Income with Puzzle Books.
Do I need design experience to create puzzle books?
Nope. Puzzle generators handle the interior content completely. Cover design tools like Canva are very beginner-friendly. You can drag-and-drop your way to an amazing looking cover. See our guide: How to Create a 100-Page Puzzle Book with No Design Skills.
What’s the best puzzle type to start with?
Sudoku and word searches are the best places to start and they have a huge market. Start there, then expand to other puzzle book types once you’ve developed a clear system.
How long does it take to create a puzzle book?
The interior can be generated in 2-5 minutes. The cover really depends on how long your design process is. You can often have a complete book ready in under an hour. Your first book will take longer as you learn to use the tools. See: Launching a Puzzle Book in Under 1 Hour.
Want the full KDP overview? Start with our Complete Guide to Making Money on Amazon KDP. Ready to pick your puzzle niche? See our list of 10 puzzle book niches you can start selling today.
Last Updated on May 22, 2026
With more than fifteen years of blogging experience, I have contributed to numerous respected websites and publications. I am also the author of multiple books that have sold thousands of copies and currently lead a successful digital sales business. Writing remains my core passion, and I am dedicated to creating meaningful stories and insights that resonate deeply with readers.
