Side Notes While Reading Comp Titles

(Many more to go!)

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

I’m bingeing contemporary fiction. Why? To identify three-to-four “comp titles” before I query my own novel manuscript. It's interesting, moderately enjoyable, and slightly chaotic. Though my research (aka reading) has yet to finish, here are some tidbits I’ve already learned:

The public library, which includes ebooks and audiobooks (via Libby and Hoopla) is a Godsend—but it has also made life a bit chaotic. With three new sources for books, two of which require requesting and waiting, I must now make lists, cross-check them. Remember to request, then wait, pick up, put the due date on my calendar, and return. Despite all that planning, I now end up with either too much to read at once, or no book at the ready. Growing pains, I suspect. I just need to hone my system. Ultimately, borrowing books is brilliant, even if less efficient.

Genre Clarity. Ever since I accepted that my adult novel is somewhere on the fiction continuum between Literary and Commercial (aka genre fiction), I’ve been guessing where exactly it sits: book-club? women’s? upmarket? How would agents or editors classify it? Reading comp titles has given me clues, clues I didn’t find staring at shelves in a bookstore. By seeing where published novels, similar to mine, sit on the category spectrum, I gained a much better feel for where mine will be positioned.

Where to find similar titles. Each time I posted a completed book on TheStoryGraph or GoodReads, the platform suggested more similar books. TheStoryGraph brags that it is especially good at this. If you have been wondering what books might be comp titles for your book, read one and see what other books these apps suggest!

If it’s not a match, it’s okay to DnF it. There is no point in completing the reading once I’ve determined the book isn't a comp title. Of the six books I’ve read thus far, I have DnF’d two. I had a twinge of guilt giving up such well-respected novels but alas, I’ve moved on.

Different, yet Comparable. Countless agents and editors expound on how authors should evaluate comps, always saying some variation of comp titles “need not be a perfect match.” But they needs to be close enough that potential agents recognize the similarity, even if they haven’t yet read either story. My reading research is teaching me how this paradox is possible.

Recognize Dual Timelines. My two best comps thus far are both dual-timeline narratives. This confirmed for me that I too had more than a flashback, my novel also has dual timelines.

Bonus Items. As I wished for a cast list or encountered maps, a snippet of music, a recipe, or multiple illustrations, I pondered what bonus material I might include with my final draft manuscript.

Selling a book is hard. Really terrific novels often make it to the shelves without fanfare. I knew this fact, but reading these comps brought it home to me. I am gobsmacked by the challenge of it all!

What insights have you gained about your own writing through your publishing journey?