Comparison Titles
Wednesday Writing Weekly #68
When you are pitching your book for publication—whether querying, pitching, or even advertising for indie-publishing sales—knowing what your comparison titles are is essential! What is a comp title? How do you find one? Let’s learn!
What is a Comparison “Comp” Title?
When you are querying a book, literary agents often ask for comp titles. A comp title is a book that is similar to the one you have written and are currently pitching. A comp title can be a book that is representative of the themes, ideas, style, or genre of your book. If I was writing a fantasy book that features an anxiety-ridden male teen, his classmates, and a magical school, I might pick out Rainbow Rowell’s book, Carry On. Carry On is about an LGBTQ cast navigating their senior year at a magical school and are more dealing with their personal relationships than with the backdrop of a political-magical meltdown happening in their world. By comparing my hypothetical book to this, the agent can get a quick reference to the kind of writing I am hoping to deliver.
What Makes a Good Comp Title
A good comp title does several things:
Gives an example of your book’s genre and themes.
Gives an example of the audience you are writing for.
Shows your book’s compatibility in the current market.
A good comp title should show what genre your book is and what themes it represents. If you are writing a sci-fi piece with a real-world twist, find a book that does the same thing. For example, a space opera would not be a good comparison if it does not match your story’s scope.
You will want to pick comp titles that are written for the same audience as you. If your book is young adult, your comp titles should be written for young adults as well. It doesn’t help if you write young adult and say your comp title is new adult. That doesn’t match.
The purpose of a comp title is to show that your work is marketable, as well! If there are other books with similar ideas to yours (while remaining unique, of course) that means there is an active consumer audience waiting for a book like yours to appear.
How to Find a Comp Title
There are a few ways to do this. As an avid reader, I usually have already read something that has either inspired me and my writing; or I am well read in the genre I am writing in, so I can usually review books I have already read to pick my comp titles. If you have not read something like your work (Which you should, it’s important to read books in your genre and audience to know what is popular and working!) here are a few ways you can find books like your own:
Goodreads.com reading lists.
Bookstagram hashtag searches i.e. #friendstolovers #romancebooks
New book publication email lists or publisher websites.
Go to the bookstore and look around!
Ask a bookstore worker or librarian.
Ask online—give a list of themes in your work and ask for similar titles.
Best seller lists online.
Additional Tips
Here is a rush of tips!
Pick Recent Publications: Your book’s marketing capabilities and relevance can be highlighted by a new book, rather than an older work that is not representative of works being published now. Pick books that have been published within the last five years.
Pick a Good Fit: Don’t list only the biggest and best books that just came out and are in your genre. Focus on the content of your comp titles to see how they match your own. In a way, they are speaking for you.
“As Good As:” Avoid mentioning comps by saying your work is “as good as” those selections. That’s not what we are measuring here (and that is a huge assumption on your part.) Comps represent the content and style of your book. You are not supposed to select them to say, “my book is comparative to and is as good as insert popular title here.”
Major Bestsellers: Avoid listing major bestsellers as your comp titles. This can sometimes make an agent roll their eyes when they read this. This can show that you have either not done your research to find something very specific (and just chose a popular title) or this is some wishful thinking. Can your book be like a major bestseller? Yes! But avoid this to give yourself a better shot. List books that have commercial success but are not the top of the top.
How Many Comp Titles: Two or three are enough. One looks as if you have not done enough research, more than three looks like your results are not specific.
Conclusion
Comp titles are used when pitching your work and are often a part of your query letter. It can be frustrating to think about what books are similar to yours because some writers view this as a challenge to their “uniqueness.” But, for a work to be marketable and operable within a certain genre, it will inevitably share some traits with other works. Rather than letting this turn you off to the idea of comp titles, use this as a strength. Find something that really highlights and represents what your work does well.