Question: Comp titles for query letter.

[Pete Sherrard]

Hi everyone and @AgentPete ,

I'm preparing my query letter for a ww1 historical fiction and I'm really struggling to find comps.

I can pick two books that I really think would give an agent an idea of the style and themes of my book: Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and Strange Meeting by Susan Hill. I think that if you enjoyed those books, you would also enjoy mine. But both of those books were published much earlier than the three or fours years cut-off that I keep seeing mentioned.

There are other books too (At Break of Dawn by Elizabeth Speller etc.) that I think would fit, but each time I find one, I see that they are too old.

When I look on Amazon I see that despite its age, Birdsong is still selling 26 copies a day. That's seems not too bad.
But then I look at the top 10 best selling ww1 fictions and they are selling a few thousand a day.

So, I've got a couple of questions:

1: Are agents really only interested in comps that have been recently published or would they not be interested in a book that still sells reasonably well despite its publication date?

2: What is considered to be reasonable sales? Tens or thousands per month?

3: If I can't find a new, comparable, well-selling comp, should I just not mention one?

4: How do you find comp titles from the last few years, either with theme or zeitgeist or style?
I just don't have time to read the hundreds of published novels available.

5: Just looking at Amazon, the best sellers seem to be either books about feisty, smiling girls with big hats, or they are written by Ernest Hemingway. Does that mean that it's high time for my book that is about a sensitive white male, or is my book just so out of tune with what people are reading that I should just give up? (I won't give up)
Thanks.

 

[AgentPete]

1: Are agents really only interested in comps that have been recently published or would they not be interested in a book that still sells reasonably well despite its publication date?

Hi Pete, all good questions This is a topic of great interest to many writers, so suggest you bring it into a Huddle where we can all have some input.

But briefly…

Most pubs and agents – unless they’re remarkably new to the game and aren’t really aware of past publishing history – are particularly keen to discover “the new” whoever-it-is. EG I’d love to discover “the new Terry Pratchett”

Reference to a previous bestseller is good because it’s saying – yes, there is a substantial market for this type of book. Publishing is always a gamble, but this kind of positioning takes a little bit of the risk out of the equation. Unless of course, that particular genre has gone out of fashion.

2: What is considered to be reasonable sales? Tens or thousands per month?

Depends on genre. A few thousand copies p.a., reliably every year for a decade or more, isn't bad. More = better.

3: If I can't find a new, comparable, well-selling comp, should I just not mention one?

Prob not. Remember that because publishing is a gamble (see above) there is a herd instinct at work. If someone has a surprise hit from left field, suddenly a new genre, or micro-genre, is born and you’ll see lots of publsihers move into the field. Which then becomes over-published

4: How do you find comp titles from the last few years, either with theme or zeitgeist or style?
I just don't have time to read the hundreds of published novels available.

Good question. I rely on my instincts for comparators, plus asking the author concerned since they’re probably quite well-read in the genre. Litopians can suggest other ideas / online resources to use.

5: Just looking at Amazon, the best sellers seem to be either books about feisty, smiling girls with big hats, or they are written by Ernest Hemingway. Does that mean that it's high time for my book that is about a sensitive white male, or is my book just so out of tune with what people are reading that I should just give up? (I won't give up)

Well, Hemingway often wore big hats too, so there’s your new genre

The genre is important, but not as important as the writing itself, which is really paramount. A compelling opening chapter will open many publishing doors. There’s a constant tidal wave of submissions out there, but few are much good. Concentrate on your craft (and in particular your voice) and you will rise to the top of the pile. More on this in Huddles.

 

[Pete Sherrard]

Hi Pete, all good questions This is a topic of great interest to many writers, so suggest you bring it into a Huddle where we can all have some input.

But briefly…

Most pubs and agents – unless they’re remarkably new to the game and aren’t really aware of past publishing history – are particularly keen to discover “the new” whoever-it-is. EG I’d love to discover “the new Terry Pratchett”

Reference to a previous bestseller is good because it’s saying – yes, there is a substantial market for this type of book. Publishing is always a gamble, but this kind of positioning takes a little bit of the risk out of the equation. Unless of course, that particular genre has gone out of fashion.


Depends on genre. A few thousand copies p.a., reliably every year for a decade or more, isn't bad. More = better.


Prob not. Remember that because publishing is a gamble (see above) there is a herd instinct at work. If someone has a surprise hit from left field, suddenly a new genre, or micro-genre, is born and you’ll see lots of publsihers move into the field. Which then becomes over-published


Good question. I rely on my instincts for comparators, plus asking the author concerned since they’re probably quite well-read in the genre. Litopians can suggest other ideas / online resources to use.


Well, Hemingway often wore big hats too, so there’s your new genre

The genre is important, but not as important as the writing itself, which is really paramount. A compelling opening chapter will open many publishing doors. There’s a constant tidal wave of submissions out there, but few are much good. Concentrate on your craft (and in particular your voice) and you will rise to the top of the pile. More on this in Huddles.

Thanks so much for the replies here, Pete. This is all really helpful. I do intend to start huddling soon, but I'm currently slightly nomadic in the Sahara and can't completely guarantee that I'll have a good enough signal to Zoom. But I'll try...