Comparable Titles: advice from literary agents
Comparable titles, usually shortened to comps, are the published books you cite in a query to show an agent where your manuscript fits on the shelf and who its readers are. Choosing the right comps signals that you know your genre. Here is how literary agents say to use them.
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Questions on Comp titles
- What is a logline and how do you write one?, Ismita Hussain: A logline is a short, one-sentence hook that gets to the heart of your plot and can weave in your comps, and it closes your first paragraph.
- How many comp titles should you use in a query letter?, Ismita Hussain: Two is ideal; it lets an agent triangulate where your book sits. You can add a third in your second paragraph, but don’t cram in five or six.
- Can you use a nonfiction book as a comp for your fiction?, Ismita Hussain: Yes, but you have to explain the connection, and it can’t be your only comp.
- What is a comp title and what is it for?, Donovan Levine: A comp is a recent, established book with a premise like yours that signals where it sits on the shelf and who reads it. As Kate McKean puts it, comps are vibes.
- How do you balance originality against fitting the market in your comps?, Donovan Levine: Use comps to show where your book fits, then add a line or two on why it fits and what sets it apart, so it reads as filling a market gap, not copying one.
- How specific should a comp title be?, Donovan Levine: A high-concept comp makes the book instantly picturable, like Die Hard at an amusement park. It needn’t be one-to-one, but it should narrow the picture, not widen it.
- How recent do comp titles need to be, and should you chase trends?, Donovan Levine: Keep comps recent, ideally within five years, and don’t chase trends: the multi-year publishing pipeline means a trend can pass before your book ships. Be a trendsetter.
- Can you comp to movies or TV instead of books?, Donovan Levine: It depends on the agent. Donovan, who has a film background, is fine with screen comps, but to be safe most writers should lean on books, and keep any comp recent.
- How well should you know a comp title, and where can you research comps?, Donovan Levine: No, you don’t have to read a comp in full; do the research through summaries and reviews. Good sources include Goodreads, Amazon, Reedsy, BookBub, and library catalogs.
- How do synopses and comps differ for nonfiction versus fiction?, Donovan Levine: Nonfiction uses a proposal with an overview, not a synopsis, and can spend a full page justifying each comp, where a fiction query keeps comps to a line or two.