Analysis of Comparative Books...

KTC

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I received a request, based on a query. Along with the MS, I'm to send an 'analysis of comparative books'. I'm a bit at a loss here. Do I just name a couple books that would fall into the same readership? Do I actually compare its content to books on the shelf? I'm thinking it's more 'people who read ___________ will like my manuscript.' OR something like that...name a few books that would have similar readership. Am I wrong? Are they actually looking for books on the shelf that would be similar?
 
waylander

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What recently published books (last couple of years) would you compare yours to? Whose readership are you looking to steal?
 
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thank you for the insight. So it's a bit of a mix...kind of target the readers of other books on the market. I think I get it. I just didn't want to say, 'it's just like...' because I hope to think it's a bit original. BUT I can picture the books it would sit alongside and the readers it might appeal to. Thanks much.
 
Ken

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... don't know much about this at all. Going by what Way said it might be good if you checked out Amazon after you come up with some titles. Amazon lists what books other readers who have purchased a particular book also have gone on to buy or have enjoyed, or something of the sort. So you could get several other titles that way which are related. Then you'd just have to read summaries and see if they are comparable to yours. G'luck!

(ps My local library also has a similar service. You plug in a book and it will tell you what novels are comparable. Probably pretty primative, but might be worth investigating whether your own library branch has something of the sort.)
 
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Find two or three big-selling books which are similar in one way or another to your book--genre, subject-matter, and so on.

Explain why they're similar; and then explain why your book will give those books the smack-down, will sell in greater quantity, will please the people who bought the other books to a far greater degree, and how your book is just all-round-plain-down BETTER than those big-selling books.

And do it in a sentence or two.

Easy!
 
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