Thank you for these tips, Kelly! When I pitched my first novel to an agent, I looked through my own book shelves and chose two comp titles. You have taught me what other sources are available - I'll try that for my new novel because it's not easy to find a good comp title for that one!
Thanks for sharing your methods on this. I am still drafting my first novel (and blogging the e perimeter and resources here), but about once a week I pause on the writing and start thinking about other steps in what I hope is my eventual publishing journey. Comp titles are a huge challenge, and I have tried some of these approaches, but you gave me some new ones to think about. Much obliged!
Thank you so much for this! It’s been a very frustrating process for me to find comps, mostly because I haven’t been reading a ton lately (I know, I know) and there are SO MANY BOOKS, so there are some great hints for me.
Super interesting, thanks! I wonder though why an author has to think about those comps? Isn't it the task of the publisher to figure out where this manuscript would fit in the literary market. If they read it, they'd know right away what its upsides are, I assume? They're the ones who put money on market research and such. At the very least, I'd assume the agent could end up with a comp list, instead of the writer who's been busy writing and rewriting the book in the last several months and even few years. // I don't have an agent, it's not the traditional way of working here in Quebec, especially for those who are not A-list writers. I didn't have to pitch either of my two books apart from the submission form on editors' websites or word of mouth. It's been mostly the publisher's PR representative who did that comp list to sell it to critics and librarians...
You’re asking an agent/editor to buy into your product. Comps are the same as sales report for similar products.
It’s showing that there is a market for your book and an audience willing to buy it.
Yes an agent would know if they read but they get so many submissions, they can’t read every single one. Comps help narrow it down: “if you liked this book, you would like mine.” Same with editors. And many agent/editors do come up with comps after the fact but you still have to do a little work upfront. It’s your book, not theirs until they buy it.
Sounds like you have a system that works for you, but I know many canadian authors and agents who deal with comps 🙂
It works, but it might just be a specificity that comes with the small market of French-Canadian litterature. Officially, publishers read "everything" they receive.
I can't imagine the amount of manuscripts that publishers and agents receive everyday in English speaking countries and regions.
I can't say I wouldn't like an agent, though! But they're hard to find here, authors rarely brag about having their help. 😉
Thank you for these tips, Kelly! When I pitched my first novel to an agent, I looked through my own book shelves and chose two comp titles. You have taught me what other sources are available - I'll try that for my new novel because it's not easy to find a good comp title for that one!
Thanks for sharing your methods on this. I am still drafting my first novel (and blogging the e perimeter and resources here), but about once a week I pause on the writing and start thinking about other steps in what I hope is my eventual publishing journey. Comp titles are a huge challenge, and I have tried some of these approaches, but you gave me some new ones to think about. Much obliged!
Thank you so much for this! It’s been a very frustrating process for me to find comps, mostly because I haven’t been reading a ton lately (I know, I know) and there are SO MANY BOOKS, so there are some great hints for me.
Thanks for the tip. I checked out my husband and he (oddly enough) matches a lot of our friends.
Super interesting, thanks! I wonder though why an author has to think about those comps? Isn't it the task of the publisher to figure out where this manuscript would fit in the literary market. If they read it, they'd know right away what its upsides are, I assume? They're the ones who put money on market research and such. At the very least, I'd assume the agent could end up with a comp list, instead of the writer who's been busy writing and rewriting the book in the last several months and even few years. // I don't have an agent, it's not the traditional way of working here in Quebec, especially for those who are not A-list writers. I didn't have to pitch either of my two books apart from the submission form on editors' websites or word of mouth. It's been mostly the publisher's PR representative who did that comp list to sell it to critics and librarians...
You’re asking an agent/editor to buy into your product. Comps are the same as sales report for similar products.
It’s showing that there is a market for your book and an audience willing to buy it.
Yes an agent would know if they read but they get so many submissions, they can’t read every single one. Comps help narrow it down: “if you liked this book, you would like mine.” Same with editors. And many agent/editors do come up with comps after the fact but you still have to do a little work upfront. It’s your book, not theirs until they buy it.
Sounds like you have a system that works for you, but I know many canadian authors and agents who deal with comps 🙂
It works, but it might just be a specificity that comes with the small market of French-Canadian litterature. Officially, publishers read "everything" they receive.
I can't imagine the amount of manuscripts that publishers and agents receive everyday in English speaking countries and regions.
I can't say I wouldn't like an agent, though! But they're hard to find here, authors rarely brag about having their help. 😉