The intent of a book proposal is to convince literary agents and book publishers that you have a compelling book concept that meets the interests of a definable target audience and that you have the platform to drive book sales. You must also convey that your book idea is unique or superior to all other books in its category, which makes the competitive section a valuable element of your book proposal.
Beyond self-promotion, researching competitive books is a beneficial exercise for you, the author:
Clarifies your book's value
Researching competitive books helps you think through your book concept, discover if your book truly fills a market void, learn how other competitive titles excel or fall short, and discern what your entry must do to distinguish itself from the others.
Dimensionalizes your positioning
You'll sharpen your book's concept, benefits, and features as you contrast your book against each competitive title. Your selection of competitive books will also suggest to the publisher how you see your book positioned and promoted to your target audience.
Identifies viable agents and publishers
When researching competitive titles, read the 'Acknowledgements' page. Many times, an author will acknowledge his or her literary agent or editor. Consider sending your query letter to that agent or editor seeing as how he or she has represented your topic in the past - and with obvious success.
How to Write Comparative Summaries
The three best sources for researching competitive titles are the websites of booksellers, publishers, and literary agencies. Select no less than six competitive titles and, if possible, avoid picking books that are more than five years old.
Begin the competitive section with a topline summary of your general observations, citing the limitations found across all the competitive titles selected. Then lead into how your book will resolve those shortcomings.
Following your introductory summation, the best format for the balance of the competitive section is a two-column, side-by-side comparison of each competitive title against your book. List the competitive books that you've selected from the most recent to the oldest. Begin with a description of each book, including:
- Title and subtitle
- Author(s) name
- Publisher
- Year of publication
- Number of pages
- Format (hard cover, paperback, ebook)
Next, create a 200- to 300-word abstract of each competitive title. Mention the book's strengths, its content, organization, and scope. Write confidently about your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, but be objective and respectful. Your proposal may be read by the agent who represented that author or by the publisher who chose that competitive book for publication.
In the column directly across each competitive abstract, provide a 200- to 300-word abstract of your book explaining how your entry offers more information, a more enlightened viewpoint, greater reader benefits, more useful features, etc.
In this way, each competitive title will showcase a specific strength, benefit, or feature of your book. In the end, an amalgam the comparative abstracts of your book will punch up your positioning statement and add greater detail to your Book Concept Summary.
These are the clear benefits for completing the competitive analysis early in the proposal development process.
About this Author
Visit http://www.TheLiteraryCoach.com for more information and support on developing your book concept, preparing your book proposal, and achieving your dream of becoming a published author.
John Fayad
jfayad@theliterarycoach.com
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