The dreaded ‘comp’ or comparative title is every querying novelist’s nemesis. You spend years writing and perfecting your novel—a book only you could have written, a story unlike any other—and then you’re asked to list the similar books.
What? Are they crazy? Of course, there is nothing exactly like your novel—that’s why you wrote it.
The trouble is—this is the business of books. If you want an agent to promote your work, if you dream of the day a publisher will commit to printing your pages and you can’t wait to see your glossy hard cover baby mingling on the shelves of your favourite bookstore, then you need to help everyone to position your book.
Book buyers know what they like, and they believe they know what they don’t like. I say believe, as even I have been surprised by avoiding a book because I judged it by the cover, only to discover I loved a novel once I gave it a chance. As an author, you need to find your audience and that means understanding who will pick up your book and then take it to the cash register.
So, where will your book be in the bookstore? Do you know this? Are you confident?
And don’t cop out and say, “I don’t need comps, I’ll be listed alphabetically!”
I can’t claim to be like Tom Clancy just because we both write fiction, and our last names start with the letter ‘C’. My writing is not a political thriller with people getting shot at, where the stakes are countries crumbling and people dying. Is there even a single dog or cat in the Patriot Games?
We all hope and pray our books will some day be a Heather’s Pick or a member of Opra’s Book Club List or land onto the next best Reader’s Choice list for novels about—feel free to insert your book topic here—but even if you are lucky enough to get chosen for these walls of glory or tables of greatness, eventually, someone else’s book is going to bump yours to the other shelves. So which shelf will I someday find your book?
Finding your book family, isn’t an easy or overnight process. You need to start early. Not ready to query yet? Then this is the perfect time to look for great comparable titles for your current work in progress.
Like an agent’s voice on Twitter? Look them up. Who do they represent and what have they published recently in your genre? Read book jackets. Find similar topics or themes and then read their books. Then ask yourself, how does this book compare to mine?
Once you’ve found a decent comparable title, jot down the title, author, and year of publication to keep for future reference. It’s also a good idea, while the novel is fresh in your head and heart, to record what made this novel like yours.
Ask yourself the following questions to help polish your comparison.
- Why would fans of this book enjoy my book? (How are they the same?)
- Why would a reader want to read my book? (How are they different?)
- In what feature do these books compare? Is it the topic, the setting, the voice, the internal conflict, the themes, the writing style, or the humour?
Your final task is to write 1-2 powerful lines that share how your novels are the same but different, keeping in mind, why the reader should care.
In verbal pitches, or elevator speeches and twitter pitching contests, it is acceptable to list movies and other popular culture references. However, for your formal query, you should list 1-2 books, in the same age category and genre as your book. It also should have been published in the last 3-5 years. If you are publishing an adult novel, then your comp shouldn’t be YA. If you are publishing a Paranormal Romance, then your comp should at least be a Romance. (P.S. I know it’s been said before, but don’t compare yourself to Harry Potter or any other novel that is out-of-this-world successful and furthermore, this comp is too old.)
In my search for a comparable title, I came across a novel set in a veterinary clinic. Yeah! Of course, this book was going to make a great comparable title for ‘fumbling to succeed, new veterinarian story’, right? Nope. Although this novel was set in a vet clinic, every time they mentioned an animal it skimmed their health problem and the impacts, instead focusing on how the buff vet looked so sexy cuddling up to the adorable fur bomb, causing the heroine’s heart to swell. Obviously, this novel was mostly about the romance, and not the medicine.
While my novel, is more like a veterinary grey’s anatomy—where you get to know the dog by name, and find out how the disease is impacting the pet and the family who adores him. My writing is about the emotional investment of curing animals, the cost of failing, and doing your best to save the animal-companion love relationship in a family. Sure, there is romance and desire, but the leading story is about a young woman’s battle to find her voice, to save a special horse who means the world to someone.
Alternatively, The White Coat Diaries by Madi Sinha, set in a human hospital, is a much more appropriate comparison. The novel is about a young doctor discovering how it feels to transition from student to doctor; the long hours, the stress of applying books of knowledge and when a medical error occurs, it explores the guilt, internal conflict, justifications, and repercussions of taking a stand. It puts ethics into action—trying to do what is right when no matter what you do, someone is going to get hurt. Exploring the angst and burning desire to be great at your career, when there is so much at stake, and you are exhausted. This is a great comp—even though there isn’t a single pet.
So, on this special day, dedicated to family, I challenge you to start searching for your comparable titles. You’ll need this list sooner than you think. Get reading! And once you find your comp family, hug them close. Happy Family Day!
For more on this topic, check out these references;
Must Knows When Picking Comparable Titles, by Abigail K Perry
How to Choose your Comp Titles, By Bookends Literary Agency
