I Asked Amazon. I Asked ChatGPT. A Librarian Beat Them Both.
When seeking to traditionally publish a book, writers are meant to craft a book proposal that tells agents and publishers what their book is about, how it has relevance in the marketplace, their writing experience, and their marketing plan.
A section of that proposal is called “Competitive Analysis,” and in that you list book titles that are comparable to your own from recent years. The goal is to compare and contrast your work to already traditionally published books to show your novel’s relevance in the marketplace. I’m still learning the mechanics of this and how to write this section as I craft the book proposal for my espionage conspiracy thriller, The New Dawn.
This section is hard. In fact, the whole book proposal is a tad nerve-wracking for me, doing it for the first time. My progress is slower than I’d like, partly because I’m finding SO many things I need to research on how to write a good book proposal. It’s a new form of writing for me, so it takes extra time to research and get it right. I’ve lost count of how my drafts and versions of book proposals I have.
The Desperate Search for Comp Titles
Anyway. After I learned what competitive titles were, my next step was to find comp titles for The New Dawn. I turned to Amazon.
Actually, I’ve been researching comp titles on Amazon for several years, and it has taken me down a rabbit hole. I’ve spent HOURS researching and finding books I think would work, only to discover that they never gained traction and were unsuitable for proving my book’s relevance. I’d then start my search again, trying to ignore the nagging voice in my head whispering, “Your book isn’t going to sell.”
Next I tried asking ChatGPT—I thought maybe I could let Chat do the research and give me a break. So I put in a description of the type of books I wanted to find. I got some headway, but not enough. I found a book, maybe two, that could work out of the thirty or fifty or more (I lost track) book titles that Chat pulled.
Frustrated, I took another break. Some months later, I gathered my thoughts and opened my laptop again. Maybe this time will be different.
I knew I needed books that were successful, but not household names or massive bestsellers, and I needed books in the espionage, conspiracy, spy, and thriller genres/subgenres. I decided to try a new approach, and typed in the web address for my local library. I was actively trying to not despair in my search when I stumbled upon something GLORIOUS—a Custom Reading List online form.
Could this possibly work? Clenching me teeth, I filled in the form prompts for story elements, subjects, characters, plots, genres, settings, and literally everything I could think of that I needed to find for my comp titles. I submitted it then resolved to not get my hopes up.
A couple days later, I received an email reply from an actual human with a curated list of titles—thank you, Jesus!
Finding the Perfect Comp Titles
Despite having forgotten to ask for the books to have been published in the last five years, the custom reading list was gold. It gave me the perfect starting point of authors, stories, and related reading articles curated by librarians to find a stack of seven potential comp titles. I’d never found that many in my life!
Of course, I still had to read these books and discern whether they were good fits for The New Dawn’s book proposal. I picked up the first read the week I checked out the books, and it was immediately a go for my comp title list!
I don’t expect all seven to be as perfect of a match, but with these and the book options I had found in my previous Amazon and ChatGPT searches, I am confident I’ve found all my comp titles.
Now, I just have to read and write a short analysis for each one . . . I’m sure that will be a breeze, right? 😅
A Reason for Fiction is a peek into my writing philosophy. This e-booklet is for those who feel the pull of storytelling on their hearts, but battle doubt, criticism, or the fear that their work doesn’t matter.
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The Staggering Beauty of Custom Reading Lists
Whether you are working on your own book proposal or simply looking for your next great read, I highly, highly recommend checking your local library for a custom reading list service. (You could even use this resource for story research.)
My experience wasn’t just convenient, but in a time of customer service bots and AI chats, receiving a list of recommended reading materials from an actual human librarian that truly understood what I was looking for was both fun and reassuring. I received the closest recommendations to my queries from this person than I ever did from search engine algorithms or AI.
Verdict: Humans still have an edge on AI.
I’d love to know—
How likely would you be to use a custom reading list service from your local library? Tell in the comments below!
This thriller is not yet published. Publishing journey updates are posted on this book page.
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S.J. Siedenburg is a thriller & fantasy novelist, an editor, and a bibliophile with a passion for stories and helping writers finish their novels. She’s the author of the guidebooks Character Presentation, Before the First Draft, and the How to Write a Novel online course. Six of her short stories have been published through writing contests. Sarah lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5