'Comp' titles - what are they, why do we use them, and how to find yours...

An insight into the publishing term 'comparison titles', used when pitching your novel...

Hi everyone,

Firstly, welcome to my new subscribers, and thank you to those of you who so kindly reached out about my new job news. I’m very excited to be joining Simon & Schuster UK in October - I will be there just in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Today I wanted to cover a topic that a reader emailed me about as I thought it was a great idea. So let’s talk about comp titles!

A comp title is short for ‘comparison title’ and we use this term a LOT in the publishing industry. I’d say it is in the top three questions we’re asked if we want to acquire a novel (along with what is the hook and who is the author). It forms the basis of our pitching (as editors) and it is a key part of our vision documents and our emails to the sales, marketing and publicity teams when we are trying to get them excited to read a new book (or an old book - backlist titles are gold!)

It also forms a key part of sales presentations when that team pitches to retailers (Waterstones, supermarkets, independent bookshops, etc) - this is often because there are a lot of books to pitch and not always a huge amount of time, so the comps are almost a shortcut to a retailer or a buyer understanding where we’re wanting to position this book in the market, and what kinds of readers might be attracted to it.

As an author, it is good to think about your comps, but please don’t worry if you don’t get this quite right, as I’d say it is actually more the job of an agent and an editor than it is yours. We know the markets and the publishing processes in a way you as a writer are not expected to (we just want you to write brilliant books, please… no pressure!) and often the comps will be thought about by marketing and sales as well, with each department bringing their own expertise. It’s also worth talking about comps if you meet with a potential agent, to check you’re on the same page as them (no pun intended) when it comes to how they will position your book.

I like to think of comps as signposts, and we usually have a couple of different comps per title. It’s common to use X meets Y: for example, Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Agatha Christie could tell you that this is going to be a funny murder mystery featuring a thirty-something singleton and it might be in diary format (actually that’s quite a good idea…it’s probably been done!) Each comp should tell the reader something: either a hint at the genre or tone, the format, the characterisation, the readership, or the plot. I think a lot of writers worry about using comps that feel too successful or lofty because they think it can sound egotistical, but you don’t need to worry about this. We as publishers know you are not saying you ARE the next Charles Dickens; you’re just saying your book has elements of his themes or his plots or his overall vibe. That’s fine! (Who doesn’t like Victorian orphans?!)

Comps also don’t have to only be other novels. We often use film and TV references, podcast references, entertainment references, and in the commercial fiction sphere I work in, these are super useful too as I am always trying to reach a large, mass-market audience with the books I publish. If a comp is very well known, it can get used a lot, and I would say we do reach saturation points with some things: there was a time when EVERYTHING was compared to Richard Osman for example, or to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It is still okay to use these as they do give clear indicators but I’d suggest you also add a few more comps if you are starting with these bigger ones.

I thought it would be helpful to give you some examples of lines from agent emails (I hope they don’t mind, all anonymous, but if you are an agent reading this and you want me to remove yours just DM me) that I’ve had recently to show you how the comp line is positioned (these are emails from agents to editors that I have received lately). Each bullet point is from a separate email (so a separate book on submission).

• Unforgotten meets Erin Kelly in XXX by XXX, a debut crime novel following…

• It would sit alongside novels such as Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, Penance by Eliza Clark and Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka.

• I’m pleased to introduce you to XXX by XXX, the first novel in a breathtaking new psychological thriller series for fans of Lisa Jewell, Claire Douglas, Karin Slaughter and Freida McFadden.

• Think Knives Out and The Twyford Code by way of Only Murders In The Building. This is a brilliant debut from an exciting new writing talent…

• The book will appeal to fans of the mounting tension and “just one more page element” found in other titles by authors such as Mo Hayder, Simon Beckett and the inimitable Patricia Cornwell (yes, it is that good!).

• Think Daisy Jones & The Six meets Tana French.

• Think Phone Booth as penned by Casey McQuiston, for fans of Claire Douglas and John Marrs.

• For fans of Francine Toon and CJ Cooke, XXX is a compelling exploration of…

• It is perfect for fans of The Secret Place, The List of Suspicious Things, The God of the Woods and Penance.

• I am excited to share the latest cutting-edge mystery by XXX, a cross between Harlan Coben and Alex Michaelides with the timely appeal of the TV series Black Mirror.

• With the current appetite for spicy tales like Gillian Anderson’s Want and Miranda July’s All Fours, this is an even more commercial approach that is ripe for our times.

As you can see, each of these emails gives me as the editor clear comps straight away - some are TV, some are specific books, some are authors known for their genre or style. I usually will use these comps if I then want to circulate the novel in-house for wider reads, but I’ll also add more of my own. Often, editors add visual aids to grab the attention of the other departments - so we say ‘if you liked’ and then an image of the book cover or TV show we mean, and ‘if you wanted to see more of X character’ etc. - this just helps our sales and marketing teams who are inundated with reading too.

So as an author wanting to add comps to a query email (when you are looking for a literary agent) - where do you start? My recommendations are:

• Think about your genre, and your tone. Are you aiming for cosy, funny, tragic, dramatic, action-packed, emotional? Think about which adjectives sum up your book and then about which authors or titles are known for evoking the same feelings in readers.

• Get out and about! Browse your local independent bookshop or Waterstones, have a look at the tables and the shelves and the way the retailer groups books together. Would you see your book sitting alongside those?

• Look online. Amazon lets you view books ‘similar to’ and you can also click on an author’s name and read the ‘customers also bought’ section. Find a book that you think is similar to yours and have a look at what else readers of that one are drawn to.

• Think about recognisability - don’t go too niche, as you need comps that agents and editors will have heard of. What have people been watching on Netflix, or listening to on Spotify? For example, if someone used the TV show Apple Cider Vinegar as a comp, I’d think the book was probably about the wellness industry, or scamming, or alternative therapy, or cancer. If they mentioned Dexter I’d think serial killers, with comedy. If they mentioned Dirty John (the podcast) I’d think about true crime, bad men, and women being lured in to unhealthy relationships.

• Test your comps out on your friends - if you say a comp, what do they immediately think of? Don’t overcomplicate it - keeping it simple and mainstream works best. If you tell a friend your comps and they guess entirely the wrong genre, that’s a potential red flag!

• Look at the way publishers do it - on Amazon or on the back of physical books you will often find comps, which are useful to look at and consider.

• Pick and choose - there is nothing wrong with using contrasting comps, so for example, the humour of Adrian Mole with the apocalyptic feel of The Road. But be clear about why you’re using them - add markers (humour of, apocalyptic feel of) so that the agent isn’t too confused.

• Don’t go mad - a handful of comps is fine - no more than four I’d say.

I hope this helps to explain why we use comps and how to find your own! Remember, comps might feel reductive to you as a writer, but they are not - they are a crucial sales tool and nobody reading the comps thinks that they are all your book is - we understand that there is nuance, originality, and your own authorial voice on top of the comps, but we need them to help us when we’re acquiring, because publishing is a business. So get comping!

Thank you as ever for reading The Honest Editor, and do reach out if there are any subjects you would like me to cover. A reminder that this is all totally free, so word of mouth really helps motivate me to keep it going!

Phoebe x