Yes! This is it! The right comps can really capture a book -- while others can lead to confusion or annoyance. For example, I used Game of Thrones and Batman for The Orphan Queen, and in some ways it worked fine. But GoT was too common, and too broad. It meant too many different things to different people. That's why Nicki's move of specifying which aspect of GoT is so smart. I was using it to signal fantasy, because the show was so popular at the time and it was easy, but I'm sure there was a better fit somewhere else.
Live and learn! GoT is definitely broad/too big these days. I honestly wonder if "high fantasy Batman" would have worked for a comp. Because that definitely sells the mood and concept easily. Masked vigilante... but make it fantasy!
Absolutely! I don't remember how much I actually used those comps while I was actively promoting the books, but I'm certain I used them in my proposal and early on.
These days, for this series, I lean a lot more toward book-level tropes (opposed to scene-level tropes), like masked vigilante, illegal magic, and reclaiming a kingdom. And if I had to choose comps for the book again, I'd find something that worked the way you outline here in your post.
HURRAAAY!! I haven't read this yet but I'm excited when I see emails from Erin - I love how you share and that you share. Thank you, Erin! This is another really great topic about a challenging aspect of publishing. I look forward to reading!
Oct 22, 2023·edited Oct 22, 2023Liked by Erin Bowman
This has been so helpful, thank you. My debut novel Induction is "Ready Player One if their hero was Greta Thunberg". Or "William Gibson writes 500 Days of Summer", or "Ready Player One meets Crazy. Stupid Love", or "The Matrix meets Friends with Benefits but they love each other from the start".
All this to say I got my work cut out for me because my references are not super recent. I'm still in 2003 in a lot of places.
I'm so glad you found the post helpful! I think it's okay if one of your comps is dated to the early 00s, so long as you pair it with something else timely. For what it's worth, I think your "Ready Player One if the hero was Greta Thunberg" is a compelling pitch. You're mentioning a semi-recent and very successful hit alongside a popular public figure and very real climate crisis.
Yes! This is it! The right comps can really capture a book -- while others can lead to confusion or annoyance. For example, I used Game of Thrones and Batman for The Orphan Queen, and in some ways it worked fine. But GoT was too common, and too broad. It meant too many different things to different people. That's why Nicki's move of specifying which aspect of GoT is so smart. I was using it to signal fantasy, because the show was so popular at the time and it was easy, but I'm sure there was a better fit somewhere else.
Live and learn! GoT is definitely broad/too big these days. I honestly wonder if "high fantasy Batman" would have worked for a comp. Because that definitely sells the mood and concept easily. Masked vigilante... but make it fantasy!
Absolutely! I don't remember how much I actually used those comps while I was actively promoting the books, but I'm certain I used them in my proposal and early on.
These days, for this series, I lean a lot more toward book-level tropes (opposed to scene-level tropes), like masked vigilante, illegal magic, and reclaiming a kingdom. And if I had to choose comps for the book again, I'd find something that worked the way you outline here in your post.
HURRAAAY!! I haven't read this yet but I'm excited when I see emails from Erin - I love how you share and that you share. Thank you, Erin! This is another really great topic about a challenging aspect of publishing. I look forward to reading!
Aww, thank you, Marisa. Comments like this keep the wind in my sails. (I hope you enjoy the piece when you have time to read through it!)
Hi, Erin! I'm happy to help ensure you get to feel the appreciation! And I look forward to reading this too.
This is so helpful for me to rethink my comps for my next round of querying! Definitely a few little tweaks are already brewing... Thanks!
Oh, yay! I'm so pleased to hear it was useful for you. Good luck reimagining those comps—and good luck querying, too!
Thank you!
I really need a You’ve Got Mail in space book now…
Right?! It sounds pretty amazing. (Jodi Meadows gets credit for giving me that comp idea)
This has been so helpful, thank you. My debut novel Induction is "Ready Player One if their hero was Greta Thunberg". Or "William Gibson writes 500 Days of Summer", or "Ready Player One meets Crazy. Stupid Love", or "The Matrix meets Friends with Benefits but they love each other from the start".
All this to say I got my work cut out for me because my references are not super recent. I'm still in 2003 in a lot of places.
I'm so glad you found the post helpful! I think it's okay if one of your comps is dated to the early 00s, so long as you pair it with something else timely. For what it's worth, I think your "Ready Player One if the hero was Greta Thunberg" is a compelling pitch. You're mentioning a semi-recent and very successful hit alongside a popular public figure and very real climate crisis.
Thank you so much Erin. That might be my comp then! I'm very passionate about these books and the world I'm coming up with. Thank you again!