How to choose the right comp titles for your novel

There are a lot of hurdles to overcome on the road to publication. One of the elements that many writers find really stressful is finding the right comp titles. Not only are they an essential part of writing an effective query letter, there’s a lot of misinformation floating around about how to choose the perfect ones.

Not to worry. We’ll cover everything you need to know about choosing comps for your novel that stand out and get results.

What is a “comp title”, anyway?

“Comp title” is short for “comparison title”, and it refers to books or other storytelling mediums that are similar in some way to the book you’re pitching. They create an easy-to-understand framework for someone who’s never read your book to get an idea of what it’s about.

For example, if you say “My novel is like The Hunger Games if it was written by Jane Austen and set in the world of The Room on Rue Amélie”, that creates a pretty clear idea of what sort of book it is! And someone who likes all those books will want to read it. This is important when you’re trying to drum up interest from literary agents, publishers, or booksellers.

How many comp titles should I have?

Three comp titles is a good benchmark to aim for, but two can also work if you provide a lot of detail (we’ll look at what sort of details below): My book is this meets this because of this and this. More than three can get a bit crowded, especially if you’re trying to fit all your comps into one snappy pitch.

What to look for in a good comp title

Now, let’s look at the most important things to keep in mind when choosing comp titles to include in your pitch.

It’s in the public eye

Notice that we didn’t say it has to be a new book. You’ll often hear people say that your comp titles should have been released in the last five years — and that is a good goal to aim for, but it’s helpful to understand why. Comp titles should be works that people are paying attention to.

Often these will be recent releases, because those are the ones that are going to be in bookshop windows and “Best of” lists. But they could also be older books that have gotten a recent film adaptation, or had a high-profile anniversary re-release.

It’s in a similar genre

The goal of comp titles is to show the person on the other side that it has a readership: “Readers who love this book will also love my book, because they have elements in common.”

Centering your comp titles around a particular genre will give a sense of where your book belongs on the shelf — and, if you’re pitching to a literary agent, which publishers or editors they should send your work to. It makes the path of publication easy to quantify and understand.

It shares common themes

If you’re struggling to come up with comp titles, a really good way to look at it is to think about the key messages of your book. This might be something like the unbreakable bonds of family, the dichotomy of independence and tradition, the struggles of a minority community, and so forth. Then, look for other books that explore these same ideas.

These books don’t have to be the same style or specific subgenre as your book. But through a different set of characters, settings, archetypes, and metaphors, they tell the same kind of story.

Comp title mistakes to avoid

Now that we know what to look for in our comp titles, let’s look at some pitfalls to avoid as you develop your pitch.

Don’t limit yourself to just novels

A lot of writers seem to think that because they’ve written a novel, all their comp titles should be novels too. But this is unnecessarily limiting your pool of inspiration. Comp titles should be narratives, but narratives can take a lot of forms: films, TV shows, comic books, broadway plays, even video games.

If you’re looking for one last comp title to complement the one or two you’ve already chosen, try expanding your search to other kinds of storytelling.

Don’t choose works that are too similar

Another mistake new writers often make is trying to find a comp title that sounds just like their book. But if your comp titles are too similar, it will suggest that you’re not doing anything new.

For instance, if you say “My book is the next Harry Potter”, an agent or publisher probably isn’t going to be interested. Why? Because there’s already one Harry Potter. They don’t need two. Show them that your work is a fresh take on familiar ideas.

Don’t choose works that are too obscure

Remember how we said comp titles should be in the public eye? You might think you’ve found the perfect comp title, but if it’s a niche arthouse book that printed under 1,000 copies, it won’t show that your novel can sell.

Remember, the goal isn’t to show that you know how to write a story. Your manuscript will do that. The goal is to show that your book will find a foothold in a competitive marketplace.

Don’t choose comp titles from polarising writers

Now, we’re not condoning cancel culture or saying you shouldn’t love your favourite books just because they’re attached to a contentious name. But if you cite a work by someone who’s been receiving a lot of negative press, you risk alienating some of the people you’re pitching to.

Does a contentious comp have any reflection on the quality of your work? Not at all. But it could make your life just a little bit more difficult than it needs to be, so it’s best to stick to safe picks.

Don’t choose comp titles that are too broad

Finally, when you choose a comparison title, make sure you know why you’ve chosen it. If you just list a series of titles and say “My book is like these”, it won’t create a very clear idea of your story. Instead, pick an element from each one and string them together into a pitch: “[My novel] has the immersive worldbuilding of [this book] paired with the strong female friendships of [this other book] and the jazz-age attitude of [this Netflix series].” Now, your novel looks really intriguing.