Скачать или смотреть Why you NEED comp titles in your query letter

I recently saw a viral post where an author lamented about comparable (comp) titles, wishing agents didn’t ask for them. If you've ever stepped foot in the query trenches, you're probably familiar with this term & the emphasis on choosing good ones. 

Most authors don’t understand why comps are important & many forego them entirely—but choosing great comps can actually make your query much stronger. So you better understand their purpose, here are three reasons why agents ask for comp titles:

1️⃣ They help agents understand your book: Good comps give the agent a more specific sense of what your book is like than they can glean from your genre alone. For ex., Wolf Hall & A Gentleman in Moscow are both considered historical fiction, but with very different styles & audiences. 

2️⃣ They show you have an audience: When you choose well-selling comp titles, it shows the agent you have a sense of the current publishing landscape & where your novel fits within it. It also demonstrates that there is demand and reader appetite for your type of story, which is important as the agent assesses whether they can sell your book to publishers.

3️⃣ They’re used throughout the publishing process: Agents may use comp titles when pitching your book to acquisition editors at publishing houses. Then, when an editor is interested in moving forward, they will use comp titles to create a profit & loss statement, which determines the advance they can offer you as part of your book deal. Including comps in your query letter can help your agent & editor make the case for why your book is worth a publisher’s money. 

Does your query letter include comp titles? What are they?

#shorts #publishingtips
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My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with nearly a decade of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey—whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.  
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