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If you’re new to the book world, you might have seen the word “comp title” or seen authors mention how important comp titles are but what exactly is a comp title? 

Comp title is short for comparison title because you use them as a way to compare your book to other popular books, TV shows or movies in the same genre. A comp title is a fancy way of saying “if you like this, then you’ll like that.”

According to Penguin Random House, “Being able to say “It’s like x and y” can be one of the most effective ways to get attention from the buyer and to set expectations about audience and ballpark sales potential.” 

Comp titles are important because they help your ideal readers find your book and also help agents pitch your book to publishing houses. Once you’ve identified your comp titles you can craft a compelling pitch that can be used for your book synopsis, in ads, and in marketing materials to entice readers to pick up your book. 

 

For example: A book about a death match with teens who live underwater could be described as “Hunger Games meets Aquaman.”  Or sometimes writers use a familiar story but in a different setting or different context. For example: “Pride and Prejudice but in space.” Or you could say something like, “The book is like the King and I but with lesbians.” You get the picture.    If you can’t find a perfect parallel with your book, you could simply communicate that “fans of X will love my book.”   For example, “fans of Game of Thrones and the Mistborn series will love my new book!” Even without saying so, you’ve conveyed that your book is a fantasy epic.  

 

Here are a few more examples of real comp titles from popular authors: 

 

Ally Carter sold her book Heist Society on the premise that it was Oceans 11 but with Teenagers.   Marie Lu described her wildly popular dystopian book Legend as the cat and mouse chase from Les Miserables but with “a teenage version of Jean Valjean and Javert facing off against each other.”   The teen murder mystery One of Us is Lying was pitched as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars. 

 

Avoid comparing your book to a huge franchise such as Harry Potter and the Hunger Games because that’s not niche enough. Those types of books were well-loved by many so it doesn’t specifically communicate who your book is targeted for. Additionally, those types of comp titles have already be used to death and readers will get tired seeing yet another book marketed to them as the follow up to such a groundbreaking series.    Tell me what your comp title is in the comments! If you want to learn more about comp titles or what comp titles your book would fit with, schedule a free call with me!