Comp Titles, Explained: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Use Them

Learn how comp titles can sharpen your voice, connect your book to readers, and position it for success, whether indie or traditionally published.

By Julie Tyler Ruiz

CONTENTS:

• What are comp titles? A fresh definition
• Do you actually need comp titles?
• How to pick comp titles for your book-in-progress
• What makes a strong comp title
• What to avoid when choosing a comp title
• Final tips: using comp titles for strategy and creative support

What are comp titles? A fresh definition

Comp titles, short for comparison titles, are books that share important similarities with the book you are writing and intend to publish. By identifying good comp titles, you can more easily position your book in the current market and alert to literary agents, publishers, and readers themselves the kind of reading experience your book offers. 

A good comp title isn’t necessarily a book that mirrors your plot, characters, or even your structure. It’s a market positioning tool, a way to communicate the reader experience your book offers. It signals to agents, editors, or indie readers what emotional, intellectual, or genre-based territory your book occupies.

As we'll explore in this article, looking for comp titles doesn't mean you have to identify a perfect match. Proximity should be your goal: finding books that are similar in tone, voice, theme, pacing, and audience. Comp titles help you say, “If you liked this, you’ll probably love that," but with nuance.

When you use comp titles well, you're doing more than name-dropping books. You're showing that you:

• Understand your book’s core identity

• Have a sense of who it's for

• Are engaged in the wider book world as a reader, not just a writer

That matters whether you’re querying agents or selling your book directly to readers. Comp titles show that you're developing a business mindset alongside your creative expression—and that you care about communicating clearly with anyone who might be drawn to your work. 

And perhaps most importantly, comp titles give you a language to talk about your book before someone reads the full manuscript. They offer a way in, an early invitation, for industry professionals and readers alike to begin imagining what kind of story or transformation your book might deliver.

Do you actually need comp titles?

One question that comes up among writers, whether you’re seeking a traditional publishing deal or building your indie author career, is whether you really need comp titles.

The short answer for all of us is yes.

Comp titles act as a bridge between your book and your reader. They help others understand what your book is like before they know all the details about it, and that’s powerful whether you’re writing a query letter or launching a marketing campaign.

For authors seeking traditional publishing

Comp titles give agents and editors a frame of reference. They show that your book has a clear place in the market and that you understand where it fits.

When you provide smart, well-matched comps, you’re not just saying “this is what my book is like,” you’re helping industry pros imagine its potential. That way, when they read your pitch or logline, they’re already primed to see your plot, premise, and characters through a commercial lens. They don't not just love your idea or your prose; they recognize your book's viability.

Read "How to Get a Book Published: a Guide to Balancing Authenticity with Strategy" for a refresher on traditional publishing. 

For indie authors

Comp titles are equally (if not more) important. They help you make data-driven decisions about:

• Amazon categories and sub-genres

• BookBub ad targeting

• Pricing and cover design

• Back cover copy 

They also give you language for your book marketing efforts: from and comps-stacked-on-a-shelf photos to posts that say, “This book is for readers who loved that.” Comp titles can help you show up authentically while still speaking the language your ideal reader is already tuned into.

Read "Social Media for Authors: 3 Experts to Help You Find Readers" to discover resources and support for building buzz around your book. 

How comp titles help you write a better book

Besides pitching or publishing, comp titles are a tool for the creative process. Writing with comp titles in mind can help you stay attuned to:

• What readers of your category expect and crave

• Where your story can honor genre conventions while offering something new

• How tone, voice, and structure serve your reader’s experience

• How to balance artistic freedom and market awareness

This approach helps you shape a book that’s both creatively satisfying and market-aware, one that speaks to readers while staying true to your vision.

How to pick comp titles for your book-in-progress

By now you know that comp titles are an indispensable tool for getting your book into the hands of readers. They help you pitch and launch your book effectively, as well as enhance your writing process as a whole.

Generally speaking, one of the best ways to prepare for this process is to read actively in your genre, especially newer releases. Pay attention to recurring themes, prominent voices, and shifting reader expectations. The more you know about what's being published now, the easier it is to see how your work fits and where it offers something new.

Below are a few steps to make the process less overwhelming and more useful, so that your comp title research sharpens your book’s positioning and helps you write with more clarity and confidence.

1. Get to know your intended reader.

Before you start searching for and selecting comp titles, get clear on who you're writing for.

• What are your ideal readers interested in?

• What other books are they reading, reviewing, and recommending?

• What themes do they gravitate toward or shy away from?

• Are they more drawn to voice-driven narratives, high-concept hooks, or emotional depth?

When you know who your reader is and what they care about, you're in a much better position to find books that speak to their sensibilities, while aligning with yours.

2. Consider what makes your book stand out. 

Before you can find the right comp titles, you need to know what you’re looking to match. Jot down details about the subject matter of your book, as well as the experience you’re creating for the reader. Comp titles should reflect the tone, voice, structure, and emotional arc as much as they reflect content. And the clearer you are on those qualities in your own manuscript, the easier it will be to find comp titles that help others feel the vibe of your book even before they know the plot.

Here are a few prompts to help you articulate your book’s most defining features:

• What emotional journey does your reader go on from beginning to end?

• What’s the core theme or message beneath the plot or structure?

• How would you describe your book’s voice: poetic, sharp, confessional, research-driven, funny?

• Is the structure linear, fragmented, or experimental?

• Which part of your book feels most alive or original to you?

Taking the time to reflect on these qualities will not only guide your comp title search—it will also help you clearly frame what makes your book powerful and worth reading.

Need inspiration? Check out these examples: 

• Nonfiction: A deeply practical yet soulful guide to building confidence and setting energetic boundaries, aimed at women in their 30s and 40s. It blends personal stories with grounded, actionable tools.

• Memoir: A fragmented, lyric-style account of serving as caretaker for a parent with dementia, told in flashbacks and meditations on memory, identity, and grief.

• Fiction: A dual POV novel about a female friendship strained by ambition, distance, and an unresolved betrayal. Told in alternating timelines, with emotional tension, bite, and quiet beauty.

3. Search strategically online and in bookstores. 

You don’t need to read 20 books, cover to cover, to build your comp list. Instead, take a “speed read for info” approach:

• Use tools like Amazon’s “Customers Also Bought” and Goodreads lists.

• Browse BookBub’s genre-specific newsletters and author comparisons.

• Pull up summaries, sample pages, and look-inside previews to scan quickly for tone, structure, and voice.

When you come across titles that feel like strong contenders, then read deeper to confirm it aligns with your work. 

TIP: Look especially at books published within the last 5 years. They’re more reflective of today’s market expectations.

Here are some examples:

• If your self-help book combines grounded behavioral insight with, a bold mindset shift, and a sharable message, it might align with The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins or You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero.
• If your novel explores themes like grief, memory, identity, and what it means to be human in the near future, UnWorld by Jayson Greene could be a powerful comp.
• If you’re crafting a novel with a deeply feminine tone, perhaps rooted in ritual, homemaking, and enchantment, The Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping might be a great comp. 

4. Be open to hybrid comp titles. 

Some books don’t have a clean comp match and that’s okay. When your work straddles categories or genres, a hybrid comp like “X meets Y” can help you communicate the feel and content of your book. This approach works especially well for memoir/self-help blends, narrative nonfiction, or genre-bending fiction. You can even go beyond the world of books, to include comparisons to movies, TV series, or podcasts. 

Let's look at some examples: 

• Severance (series) meets Klara and the Sun (novel) to describe a speculative novel with eerie corporate dystopia, emotional detachment, and questions about identity, memory, and consciousness.

• The Last of Us (series adapted from a video game) meets Station Eleven (series adapted from a novel) to describe a post-apocalyptic story that explores relationships, moral ambiguity, and beauty in the middle of societal collapse.

• And Just Like That (film) meets Everything I Know About Love (series based on a book) to describe a voice-driven memoir or novel about modern womanhood, aging, sexuality, and evolving friendships.

• The Lazy Genius Podcast meets Atomic Habits (self-help book) to describe a practical nonfiction book about systems, self-compassion, and building a life that feels aligned and functional

• We Can Do Hard Things (podcast) meets How to Keep House While Drowning (book) to describe an empathetic self-help book that blends trauma-informed insight with everyday survival

• Big Magic (book) meets The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair & June Diane Raphael (podcast) to describe a creativity book that mixes spiritual encouragement with comedic, emotionally raw conversation

5. Think about commercial potential, not just your personal preferences.

It’s natural to gravitate toward books you personally love, and doing so offers you important insights into your own voice and creative vision. But when choosing comp titles, it’s helpful to prioritize ones that also reflect your book’s tone and connect clearly with your ideal reader and market.

• Well-reviewed or recognizable

• Commercially successful or solidly positioned in your category

• Resonant with your reader’s expectations and emotional journey

Ask yourself: “Would someone who loved this book be excited to read mine next?”

6. Track comp titles as part of your creative process.

As you're drafting or revising your book, keep a living document of potential comp titles. Doing this will help you:

• Stay rooted in your book’s market category

• Clarify who you're writing for and what they expect

• Refine your book’s tone, structure, or reader promise

• Make future pitching, positioning, and promotion way less stressful

Your comps don’t have to be final right away. They can evolve alongside your manuscript, and tracking them from the beginning creates focus, momentum, and strategic clarity as you move forward.

What makes a strong comp title? A quick checklist

Once you’ve gathered some contenders, use this checklist to evaluate which ones are truly working in your favor:

• It evokes a similar emotional or reading experience

• It aligns with your book’s genre, subgenre, and category

• It’s recent enough to reflect the current market landscape (ideally published in the last 5 years)

• It’s successful, but not a mega-hit. Think recognizable, not iconic.

• It reflects your book’s intended audience and tone with clarity

If you can say yes to most of these, then a potential comp title is likely a strong fit.

What to avoid when choosing comp titles

Not all potential comp titles help your case. Some can unintentionally confuse or distract. Here are some books to avoid:  

• Blockbusters like Harry Potter or Eat Pray Love. Agents and readers consider these cultural phenomena, not realistic benchmarks. Using them can make it seem like you’re unfamiliar with the current market or overreaching.

• Books that are too obscure, out-of-print, or niche to mean anything to your target reader or publishing contact. If no one recognizes the title, it won’t serve as a useful reference point and may give the impression that you’re not well-versed in the current market.

• Titles that don’t match your audience, such as using a YA fantasy as a comp for an adult literary memoir. Even if themes overlap, mismatched comps confuse expectations and make it harder for agents to envision your ideal reader or for readers themselves to imagine.

• Books that share only surface-level traits, like similar cover aesthetics or a character with the same job. Strong comps go deeper and reflect the reading experience, tone, and emotional journey your book offers, not just superficial similarities.

Final tips: using comp titles for strategy and creative support

As you move forward, remember that comp titles help you pitch effectively, as well as bring clarity, creativity, and connection to your book, while you're still writing it. In other words, they help you sell  Here are a few final tips:

• Let your comps deepen your voice, not dilute it. The right comp titles help others feel your book. They position you as both a passionate creator and a savvy communicator.

• Use your comps across your publishing journey. They’ll come in handy not just in query letters, but in marketing copy, Amazon metadata, BookBub ads, and even casual conversations with early readers or booksellers.

• Revisit and refine them as you go. Your comps don’t have to be perfect from day one. They can evolve alongside your manuscript, helping you clarify your book’s identity and ideal audience.

• Let them inspire your process. Reading intentionally in your category can sharpen your structure, expand your emotional range, and guide you toward a book that’s both creatively fulfilling and market-ready.

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