For a book proposal, an author must find and analyze “comps,” short for “comparable” or “competitive” books in the same category or genre as theirs.
My clients who are writing nonfiction start researching comps and often email me, despondent. “My book was written by someone else, Ann!”
These gifted writers with meaningful messages feel crushed. Defeated. They’re ready to let that creative spark fizzle out.
“Why bother writing my book when someone else already wrote everything I want to say?”
It’s a legitimate question.
The World Is Wide Enough
There’s a line in Hamilton when Aaron Burr realizes far too late that the world was wide enough for both Alexander Hamilton and Burr. He thought it was a zero-sum game; that if Hamilton won, Burr lost. But that’s not how it works in politics nor in writing.
The world is wide enough for those books and yours…for those authors and you.
In fact, the existence of successful, published nonfiction books like your idea serves as evidence that readers want more. After all, if a reader is itching to solve a problem or to get an answer to their question, they rarely stop at one “take” on a topic—your book can provide a different slant, tone, narrative, claim, or promise that helps them even more.
As for how a decision-maker like an agent or Acquisitions Editor (AE) might view your proposal…one book selling well creates space in the market for more like it. If one publisher has released a breakout book, other publishers will want in that action and look for a similar-but-different book they can release.
Find your angle and your project may be the exact thing they’re looking to acquire.
Similar, but Different
You can go to a librarian or independent bookseller with the title of a book you loved and they can help you find another book that shares similarities. You see it online, too. Add a book to your cart and notice the feature labeled something like “Customers also bought or read this.” There you’ll discover similar-but-different recommendations to add to your night stand.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a librarian recommend your book to a patron who just finished that comp title…the one that freaked you out when you first stumbled on it? When you figure out how your book could add something a little different from that comp, they might become shelf buddies, each one helping to sell the other.
For that to happen one day in the future, you need to figure out what to do right now, while you’re defining your book’s big idea and developing your book’s content.
Find Your Positioning
Study how the author of a comp developed their premise and delivered on their promise. Then determine how your book will be distinct from theirs.
You might…
- present a surprising claim that flips a reader’s assumptions
- fill a gap the other author left unaddressed
- provide a memorable framework that leads to a clear outcome
- bring a level of authority due to your training and expertise
- establish a level of trust from vulnerably sharing your personal story and struggle.
Figure out how your book will be mostly similar to your comps, so your book will feel familiar to the reader. Then decide how yours will be different enough that they think, “I haven’t seen an author write about it that way before.”
Align with Your Comps
Instead of shrinking back when you see comps, despondent and discouraged, let them guide you. Even more, why not lean into them?
Write about those books on your website and the search engines and AI tools will start to see your online presence is similar to the authors of those books.
Do the same on social media, spotlighting the book. This could bring you new followers who love that book and want to learn more about you.
Lead a book club featuring that book and discover how readers respond to the material—you might spot opportunities to address something readers wish had been covered in the comp.
Comps Are Your Friends
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve seen this section of the book proposal labeled a few different ways. “Comps” can stand for “comparable books” (books that have similarities), “competitive books” (books fighting for the same readers), or “complementary books” (books that enhance each other).
I hope you see how your book will complement others, not compete. Your book can be friends with other books, not enemies. The world is wide enough to contain all the books on a topic, so write yours and add to the chorus of authors committed to helping readers.
It Could Be Your Voice, Your Movement
Next time you see a book that looks like the one you want to write, remember these two other important principles.
First, it might seem like your message has already been said—after all, there’s nothing new under the sun—but it may not have been said yet to this generation. It could be your stories and your voice that will connect with those readers.
Second, when you see an idea pop up here and there in the form of a book or article or viral video, it could be the sign of a cultural shift. In fact, it could indicate a movement is stirring—and you could be part of it!
Your message as part of a movement? How cool is that!
Now is not the time to give up on your book. It’s time to nurture that spark and speak to the moment.
Resources:
In a year you’ll be ready.
