- Recent books (last 2-3 years) sharing audience, tone, positioning.
- Used for pitching, ad targeting, and metadata.
- A typical comp set: 2-3 titles.
- Mega-bestsellers (500k+ copies) are bad comps.
- Comp choice drives ad targeting and the also-bought algorithm.
Comp titles (comparable titles) are recent books — usually published in the last 2-3 years — that share audience, tone, and positioning with your book. Agents and indie authors use comps for three things: pitching to editors, targeting ads, and informing metadata. A typical comp set has 2-3 titles, none mega-bestsellers.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Comps are how books find readers and how the industry talks about books. An author who can name two recent comps signals market awareness; an author who comps to Harry Potter signals the opposite. The comp choice is read by agents, ad platforms, and Amazon’s algorithm.
Chapter ii·What to include
- 2-3 recent titles from your specific subgenre (last 2-3 years).
- Mid-list books, not mega-bestsellers.
- A "comp pitch" sentence: "X meets Y in a Z setting."
- A negative comp list: books your book is NOT.
- Reviewed at T-90 and T+30 — markets shift.
- Used in query letters, ads, metadata, and reader-facing copy.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut adult contemporary fantasy author’s comp set: "BABEL by R.F. Kuang meets THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab." Two recent titles, both mid-list, signaling tone and audience.
Chapter iv·Related questions
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