What Makes a Good Comp Title?

"What are your comparable titles?" It's a question every literary agent asks, and it sends most writers into a spiral of confusion and stress. Comp titles are a critical piece of your submission package, frequently misunderstood and poorly executed.

Many authors believe comps are meant to describe their story's plot by using a mashup of two existing books. While there's an element of that, the true purpose of comparable titles is much more strategic. They aren't about finding a book with a similar story; they're about market positioning. Strong comps tell an agent exactly where your book fits on a crowded bookstore shelf and who its target audience is. Getting them right demonstrates professionalism and a keen understanding of the publishing landscape.

To do that, your comps must meet three non-negotiable criteria: they must be recent, they must be in your actual genre, and they must have a realistic (but good!) sales trajectory.

Criteria 1: Recent Means Recent

Why recency matters

Publishing is a fast-moving industry. Reader tastes, cover design trends, and marketing strategies shift year by year, more than you might think. For example: Greek Myth retelling were hugely popular for a couple years, but if you're writing one now, you likely need a fresh take.

Submitting a manuscript with comps from a decade ago signals to an agent you aren't familiar with the current market for your genre. It suggests you haven't read recent books in the category you want to be published in, which is a red flag.

The timeline

Think of your comps as having an expiration date. Here’s a general guideline:

• Ideal: Published in the last 2-3 years. This shows you have your finger on the pulse of what's selling right now.
• Acceptable: Up to 5 years. This is often fine for slower-moving genres like literary fiction, but the more recent, the better.
• Avoid: 10+ years or older. The only exception is if you're pairing a classic title with a very recent one to illustrate a modern update on a traditional theme, but this should be done with care.

Staying current

To find relevant, recent titles, you need to be an active reader in your genre.

• Follow new releases on platforms like Goodreads and BookTok.
• See what deals are being made on Publishers Marketplace.
• Subscribe to newsletters that focus on your genre.
• Spend time in the "New Releases" section of your local bookstore, paying attention to what's being featured.

Criteria 2: In Your Actual Genre

The mismatch problem

One of the most common mistakes writers make is choosing comps based on vague thematic similarities rather than genre conventions. A query for a book described as "having the literary prose of The Great Gatsby with the pacing of The Hunger Games" is confusing. These books serve completely different audiences and have wildly different narrative structures. An agent won't know who the intended reader is. This kind of mismatch often suggests the manuscript doesn't fully succeed in either category.

Finding your shelf

If your book were in a store, where would it physically be placed? That is your genre shelf.

• Look at the Amazon categories and subcategories of books similar to yours.
• Consider the expectations of readers in that genre. A romance reader has different expectations for plot and pacing than a hard sci-fi reader.

When crossing genres

If your book genuinely blends two genres, the best practice is to choose one solid comp from each. Be specific about which element each comp represents. For example: "My novel has the intricate world-building of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and the locked-room mystery plot of The Guest List." Stick to adjacent genres, like "sci-fi mystery" or "historical romance," rather than disparate ones.

Section 3: Realistic Sales Trajectory

Why mega-bestsellers don't help

Pitching your book as "Harry Potter meets Game of Thrones" tells an agent nothing useful. You might think you're being confident and exciting the agent with the prospect of a hit, but it comes across as highly amateurish. You aren't comping quality or your perceived potential; you're comping a market position you won't live up to. An agent's goal is to find a book they can realistically sell, and comparing it to a global phenomenon doesn't provide a practical roadmap.

The sales sweet spot

You're looking for the middle-ground comp: not too big, not too small. You want books that were successful enough to prove a market exists but not so huge that they're considered outliers.

• Look for debuts that received good buzz or mid-list authors with a solid track record.
• Use Goodreads ratings as a rough proxy. A book with 10,000 to 100,000 ratings generally indicates a strong, but not unattainable, performance.
• The ideal comp is often a book that readers in your genre have heard of and loved, but your friends who don't read much probably haven't.

Red flags

Avoid books that are:

• Too big: Anything with a major film/TV adaptation, a Reese's Book Club pick, or a long-running #1 New York Times bestseller.
• Too small: Self-published books with very few reviews or titles from small, obscure presses (unless you are specifically targeting those presses).

Research tools

• Publishers Marketplace: Track deal announcements to see what agents are selling and for how much.
• Goodreads: Analyze rating counts and read reviews to gauge reader reception.
• Amazon: Check sales rankings and "also bought" sections for your genre.
• "Best Of" Lists: Annual roundups from major publications can be a great source for successful, recent titles.

Putting It All Together

The formula

When you present your comps in a query letter, be direct and specific.

• Two comps is the standard. Three is acceptable if your book is a strong genre blend.
• Be specific. Don't just list the titles; explain why they are relevant. For example: "My novel combines the character-driven, found-family dynamic of A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet with the fast-paced, heist-style plot of Six of Crows."
• Mix strategically. You might pair a more established author with a recent debut, or a book known for its unique voice with one known for its compelling plot.

What your comps signal

Thoughtful comps show an agent more than just what your book is about. They signal:

• You're aware of the current market.
• You understand who your target audience is.
• You have realistic expectations for your book's place in the market.
• You've done your homework and are approaching querying as a professional.

Getting a head start

Many writers find querying more difficult than writing. When crafting a novel, the only limit is your imagination, but getting ready to sell that novel brings you into conflict with the rigid industry that is publishing. As is the case with a query letter and synopsis, starting can be the hardest part.

At Inkshift, in addition to providing comprehensive critiques of your manuscript's structure, pacing, characters, setting, and prose, we also write you a sample query letter and synopsis, and provide 10 comparable titles with reasons why they work. You might tweak or swap them out, but it's an easy way to get a head start.

Conclusion

Finding the right comparable titles isn't about finding a book that perfectly mirrors your own. It's a strategic exercise in market analysis. Good comps are specific, recent, and realistic. They act as a crucial shorthand in your query letter, giving an agent a clear and immediate sense of where your book fits into the literary landscape. Getting them right is one of the first and most important steps in demonstrating your professionalism and setting your query up for success.