I'm pitching a new book to my agent (not the one I queried him with, he's fine with this, it's a long story), and as part of the outline he wants me to complete, I have to find 5-10 comp titles written in the last five years. This feels so impossible! And I don't feel like I understand comp titles that well to begin with, what you're supposed to zero in on as far as similarities. I'm also not a fast reader and can't think of any super recent books that I'd compare to mine, so I'm like, how am I gonna read 5-10 books fast enough to find comps for the outline? Do you need to actually read every book you list as a comp, or can you just research them? I've heard that proffering unrealistic comps is a bad move, but I don't know how to tell what makes a book similar enough to warrant a comparison. For instance, I loved In the Dream House and could maybe compare it to my book since they both deal with dysfunctional lesbian relationships and would likely have similar audiences (queer people and readers of literary fiction/CNF), but beyond that, it's not much like In the Dream House at all. I would feel comfortable comparing it to Valencia by Michelle Tea, but that's a much older book.
Any advice is appreciated. How did y'all decide on your comp titles?
Any advice is appreciated. How did y'all decide on your comp titles?