Book comparisons in a query: How important are they?

Edwardian

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I'm not really sure what other books my latest book is like, other than comparing it to hugely well-known books like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, and I've been told that it is a no-no. I could just say it's positioned in the established MG magic fantasy genre. But at the same time, I've heard that agents like to know that you know what sort of books exist in the market your book is aimed at.

So I'm looking at fairly recent books I haven't read that I think resemble my book. But then, if I find some books that match as closely as I can find, and the agent has never heard of them, maybe that will hurt me.

So I'm not sure of the best thing to do. Should I simply identify the well-known genre by name? Or liken it to very well known books? Or find lesser known and more current books that I didn't previously know? Or just say nothing and let the query speak for itself?
 
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waylander

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Unless the agent guidelines suggest comparisons I would leave them out in your case. The agents I've spoken to about this want comparisons with recently published books, within the last 2-3 years, to reflect the market as it is. Harry Potter is old now.
 

cornflake

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I'm not really sure what other books my latest book is like, other than comparing it to hugely well-known books like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, and I've been told that it is a no-no. I could just say it's positioned in the established MG magic fantasy genre. But at the same time, I've heard that agents like to know that you know what sort of books exist in the market your book is aimed at.

So I'm looking at fairly recent books I haven't read that I think resemble my book. But then, if I find some books that match as closely as I can find, and the agent has never heard of them, maybe that will hurt me.

So I'm not sure of the best thing to do. Should I simply identify the well-known genre by name? Or liken it to very well known books? Or find lesser known and more current books that I didn't previously know? Or just say nothing and let the query speak for itself?

You should probably start reading, heh, not just to find comps, but if your thing is most like super populular stuff from ten or 20 years ago, you should read around to make sure you're not repeating stuff that's been done a dozen times since, or not writing some way that's not in tune with the market (like if you only read stuff from 40 years ago, your YA contemporary would probably seem oddly tame). That's why agents want comps, to show you understand the market and what's in it, but also to place something in their own minds. Any agent who reps the genre should be well-versed in it, so their not knowing it isn't likely.
 

Hbooks

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I would read stuff that's being published now :). Otherwise, what happens if an agent calls and asks you for comps on the spot... then HAS read those books, and asks how your book compares, blah blah blah. Being current with what's going on in your genre is important.
 

mpack

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I'm not really sure what other books my latest book is like, other than comparing it to hugely well-known books like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, and I've been told that it is a no-no. I could just say it's positioned in the established MG magic fantasy genre. But at the same time, I've heard that agents like to know that you know what sort of books exist in the market your book is aimed at.

So I'm looking at fairly recent books I haven't read that I think resemble my book. But then, if I find some books that match as closely as I can find, and the agent has never heard of them, maybe that will hurt me.

So I'm not sure of the best thing to do. Should I simply identify the well-known genre by name? Or liken it to very well known books? Or find lesser known and more current books that I didn't previously know? Or just say nothing and let the query speak for itself?

You can't read everything, but you should be relatively current in the genre of your manuscript. While it can be tricky to find a good comp, there's no real gimmick at play. Straightforward question: of books published in the last 3-5 years, which is similar to yours? Amongst other things, similarities can include style, voice, theme, topic, milieu, topic. Pick a few recent books in your genre. Read them. Don't worry too much about obscurity. If they're recent and within the genre/category the agent represents, it's likely the agent has at least heard of the book or can take a glance at it.
 

Edwardian

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Thanks for your comments. I'll do some reading.
 

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I did not have book comparisons in my query (which was successful), but I did have them in the proposal.

My query was a single page in length and just gave a brief synopsis of the book and a bit about myself. At the end of the query, I invited the agents to contact me if they would like to read the proposal.

The proposal was many pages long, which gave more insight about the book, a breakdown of each chapter, and a something like 5 or 6 comparisons of similar books. In those comparisons, I just detailed what my book was doing differently and how that would be beneficial to the readers.

Maybe I did it wrong and book comparisons are supposed to be in a query? I don't know...was like 9 years ago and I didn't really know what I was doing back then (or now). 555
 

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Sounds like you're talking about a non-fiction book.

I did not have book comparisons in my query (which was successful), but I did have them in the proposal.

My query was a single page in length and just gave a brief synopsis of the book and a bit about myself. At the end of the query, I invited the agents to contact me if they would like to read the proposal.

The proposal was many pages long, which gave more insight about the book, a breakdown of each chapter, and a something like 5 or 6 comparisons of similar books. In those comparisons, I just detailed what my book was doing differently and how that would be beneficial to the readers.

Maybe I did it wrong and book comparisons are supposed to be in a query? I don't know...was like 9 years ago and I didn't really know what I was doing back then (or now). 555
 

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I wouldn't do it unless it's suggested. My historical is a tiny bit like The Jubilee Trail, but I'm no Gwen Bristow and would feel presumptuous comparing mine to hers.
 

CameronJohnston

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It's just another piece of information for the agent; in this case: who might buy and like your book. if you compare to hugely well known and popular books it might mean you don't really know your genre and market. If you pick a recent and decently performing book, and say why fans of X might like your novel Y then it shows you know the market and show that you have ideas of who might like your novel. By itself is it massively important? Probably not, but it all adds up to a Partial/Full request or a form rejection and sometimes that one little thing is all it takes to sway a decision one way or another. Then your manuscript is on its own but at least it does have a foot in the door.
 

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It's difficult especially if you've a cross-genre or interstitial book. Mine is modern/historical timeslip romance... and the only ones I can think of near it are well out-of-date (Outlander and Time Traveller's Life, with a dose of Vikings). I've read lots of books lately, but mostly small press, and I've not found one quite like mine. I would much rather write than read 20 books trying to find one to comp to. :(
 

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Yes, it was. I'm guessing queries are different for fiction then? Man...you fiction crew have it rough.

Nonfiction books don't have queries. They use proposals. You don't write a nonfiction book until the proposal is accepted. And you will definitely need current comparisons in your proposal. In general, what's on the market now and why yours is different or better.

Jeff
 

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I found a useful resource! There's a website called What Should I Read Next. You put in the name of a book (say, Outlander) and it lists other books similar, and WHY - keywords that are clickable underneath. The only downside is you can't click multiples at once to refine things, and it only gives 20 examples each time.

For instance, Outlander gives these clickable categories:

 

Elenitsa

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The agents I've spoken to about this want comparisons with recently published books, within the last 2-3 years, to reflect the market as it is. Harry Potter is old now.

Why would they want only recently published books, if your style is leaning more to the ever-classics? Literary critics did compare my novels, at the literary events, to classical adventure books like Alexandre Dumas', Walter Scott's, Raphael Sabbatini's or Karl May's (depending, each one of the critics, which part highlighted.) And it was a correct comparison, because these are the writers I love. If my historical adventure novels give this feeling, it means I have done something right. And nobody had written in my country such kind of novels lately, to compare with national current market. Actually, currently the market is more of vampire themed translations from English :)
 

cornflake

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Why would they want only recently published books, if your style is leaning more to the ever-classics? Literary critics did compare my novels, at the literary events, to classical adventure books like Alexandre Dumas', Walter Scott's, Raphael Sabbatini's or Karl May's (depending, each one of the critics, which part highlighted.) And it was a correct comparison, because these are the writers I love. If my historical adventure novels give this feeling, it means I have done something right. And nobody had written in my country such kind of novels lately, to compare with national current market. Actually, currently the market is more of vampire themed translations from English :)

Several reasons -- agents want to know you know the current market your work would be part of. Does it fit, where, what kinds of titles would bring up 'readers of this also like.' They want to know you know the market so that you're NOT writing like stuff that's out of date. Novels like Pride and Prejudice are classics, but if they came into the market today, cold, they'd have a problem because they're written in an outdated style.

Agents also want to know you don't just know the big books that have been turned into movies -- that'd indicate that it's possible you don't know the market, read in the current market, understand what current readers are looking for, or read widely at all.

These things may not apply to someone, but they may, which is why agents want current comps.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Jeff, you do too have to have queries for non-fiction. They're just written more like cover letters. But yes, you also need a proposal.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

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When I was in charge of the slush pile at a major literary agency, I didn't even read the comparisons unless I was already interested in the rest.

So they matter, but other things matter more. I wouldn't stress too much about it.

This is more important when you are subbing to editors.
 

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Why would they want only recently published books, if your style is leaning more to the ever-classics?

Because queries are for books which haven't yet been published. They have to show how those as-yet-unpublished books compare to the market as it exists now, not as it existed several years or several decades ago.
 

Harlequin

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yeah but surely you're always one step behind? Because something published in the past three years was probably written 2-5 years before that so is already maybe 8 years "old" and trends will be changing? it feels like the more demonstrably "marketable" a novel is, the more likely it seems in danger of falling into the oversaturation camp.

I also feel like there's a genuine case for saying, you can't find anything similar. We had a devil of a time trying to find comps for my CP's epic fantasy because the subgenre has become increasingly restrictive, almost rigid at time. (Not every subgenre suffers from this but epic fantasy does seem to atm.) There just aren't a lot of metaphysical epic fantasies kicking around I guess.

In the end she found an agent via a totally different novel, which circumvented the problem.

I'm also drawn to think of Ada Palmer who was asked what she'd comp her book to and she had no idea. Her SF is inspired by classics and 18th century literature. So it is "old" in feel and consequently different to anything else on the market.


Anyway this is all a lot of words to say, I don't do comps for a variety of reasons (incompetence, ignorance, fear of getting it wrong, and general incompatibility.)
 
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lizmonster

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My own experience (which is admittedly a single data point) is that finding your comps is one of the most important things you need to do for your career--not so much for the query letter, but for what comes after. You need to know where your book will fit from a marketing perspective. Yes, generally an agent, and later a publisher, can help with this, but you need to know through your own experience where your work belongs. (And heaven help you if you're not sure and the people around you get it wrong.)

IME it doesn't need to be a strict subgenre comp (although it should be the same genre). It can be an atmosphere comp, or even a writing style comp. If you read a book and think "Huh, I think someone who liked this would like mine"--whatever that reason might be--you've got a comp, although you probably want to be able to explain why.
 

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Comps function like landmarks, to let editors/agents know where in the genre landscape your book lives.
 

Harlequin

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I'd say for CP she was aiming for literary fantasy, in feel and content. But there seems a kind of unspoken assertion that you'd be punching above your weight to claim that in a query, in the same vein of people who throw out blockbuster names for comps.

There's also not much literary fantasy around atm, like you'd have a small pool of names to pick from, and what there is of it tends not to be a great seller. I suspect any comps would be akin to taping a sign to your forehead which reads "this ms will not make any money" >.>


I tend to stick to author comps rather than specific novels. It seems safer and less likely to offend or be taken wrong. I don't remember what CP went with in the end for her query.
 

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Maybe it would be helpful to know what makes a comp a bad comp. There're some recent titles that share one or two elements but figuring how to prioritize those (style? theme? subject matter? narrative&perspective? genre? age range? how recent? current events/trends?)

I like the idea of using authors, too. I've considered comping one author as similar content and the second as similar style.
 
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