VERY! That’s my conclusion. I have been reading and writing in both YA and MG for nearly twenty years (where has the time gone). My querying nightmare continues to be comps!
Who? You, this is all on you and your critique group and writing friends. Reach out to all readers and ask broadly for recommendations. This is often the best way to find comps. No, you can’t ask your agent/editor. This is one way they assess your knowledge of and commitment to the industry. In some ways, this is a test.
What is a comp? A comparison title. A book of the same genre, sub-genre, length, and style as your project that is both recent and successful. And you need multiple, at least two. Be careful, a mashup is not a comp. A mashup like my novel is The Wizard of Oz meets Dracula may be a spot-on description of your work, a great logline, but these are not comps. Also, it’s important to explain why the titles you’ve chosen are good comparisons. Is it the action, character development, or high stakes? What is it about your book that will resonate with their audience? For example, the readers of X will relate to the strained family relations and midwestern setting in my Y.
When? A comparison title should be no more than five years old, less than three is better. And you need these titles in your query package so be on the watch during the writing process.
Where? Everywhere and nowhere. As previously mentioned, your reading friends are a great source of titles. Publishers Weekly and other industry publications such as Booklist also help. Marianne Knowles wrote a post on this BLOG entitled How to Research Comps Using AR Bookfinder, November 1, 2016.
That is a great tool. Browsing your library and local bookstore are also necessary (and more fun). I say nowhere because your work is unique, right? There’s nothing quite like it out there. Well, that’s the wrong answer because if it were marketable, it would be out there. So, look everywhere.
Why? As mentioned, comps help an agent assess you and your work. But comps are also used by the publisher to determine the marketability and potential profitability of your submission. Will your book sell? Comparison titles help determine that, which is why a twenty-year-old classic or a title by a famous rock star aren’t useful. While they make for a catchy mash-up, they don’t define the market YOU want to compete in. They won’t convince the publisher your work is worth investing in today. If you are a debut author or writing in a new genre, you need comps by debut authors or authors just breaking into a genre. You need to be able to say my readers exist and here’s the proof.
Should be easy. The formula is clearcut and the resources are there. If only there weren’t so many good books in the world or much, much more time to read.
Do you have any tried-and-true ways to find comparison titles? Please share in the comments below.
WRITERS' RUMPUS 
Marti, I totally agree that finding good comps is a struggle and one of the toughest parts of querying (writing a hook is my other nemesis! ) Thanks for clarifying how they are used, how we can search for them, and also why they’re so important. Often just googling “picture books about xxxx” gets me started. I also attempt to catalog each library book I read by type and keep a running list of topics, ie, #rhyming, #SEL, etc.
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Good tips! WorldCat is also a great place to do searches for what’s out there.
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I’ll have to take a look at WorldCat, I’ve not used it before. thanks,
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Lots of good advice and suggestions here, Marti, thank you! You can also search Amazon by book topics. It can give you a sense of how widely read and popular the books is, what people think of it, etc.
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