Comp Titles

Comp titles.  Say the phrase and watch writers shudder and swoon.  We hate trying to come up with good comp titles.

For those of you who don’t recognize the term, comp is short for competing titles. That said, I’ve also heard people say it stands for complimentary titles. Personally, I would go with competing. Comp titles are titles that are similar in some way to your manuscript.  When you select good comp titles, you tell the editor something about your manuscript and also demonstrate that you know the market. How do you do that? You pick recent titles. Don’t go with something that is 15 years old. You need to show you know the competition and the current market.

When you come up with a comp title, it generally doesn’t work just to plunk it down in your query letter.

“My manuscript is perfect for fans of Mother Bruce.”

Really? Why? You need to show that it is something more than the fact that the books are for the same age level. You should include something about how they are similar.  Is your character a lovable grump like Bruce?  Maybe you have also written a humorous story about a character who is forced to take on a role they don’t want.  Make the reason for the comparison clear.

It is also a good idea to use pairs of comp titles. Don’t look for two books that share the same quality with your manuscript. Go with two books and two different qualities. “Combines the grumpy protagonist of Mother Bruce with the STEM component of Ada Twist, Scientist.”

Also note these things when you are looking for comp titles:

Don’t compare your book to a blockbuster.  Yes, that means that Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss are out.

Compare you book to something that is fairly new – two years old or less.  If you used paired comp titles, one can be recent and the other older but two recent titles is better. This means I shouldn’t use either of the above titles.

Your comp titles should be for your audience. In other words, don’t compare a picture book to a young adult title or an early reader to new adult.

Pick strong comp titles and you will reveal a lot to the editor or agent about your industry knowledge and also about the manuscript you are submitting. Not that I include them in every query. Sometimes I’m talking about how my book is different from other titles and that’s a completely different situation.

–SueBE