Reading widely used to be a luxury, but apparently now that I’m a writer, 
it’s a hindrance.
I was recently asked by my publisher for some comparable titles for my second novel The Telling. “Comparable titles” help the marketing team discern a target, a demographic, a genre. You know, “If you liked Water for Elephants, you’ll love __________________.”
“Comparable titles” are the blank before your book.
“If you liked _______________ , you’ll love The Telling.”
Do you know how you’d fill in that blank? Well, I twaddled. Probably because I’ve been perusing Worlds in Collision, which has about as much in common with The Telling as Redeeming Love has with Lucifer’s Hammer. And on my bed stand, I’m working my way through Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, which bears similar symmetry. Or not.
I guess this is why writers should read in their genre. I mean, how else can I become “the next Stephen King” if I only read Immanuel Velikovsky? Forget that reading out of genre helps me air out my noggin. It also keeps me ignorant of “comparable titles.”
And that’s a no-no.
Okay, so I finished The Silent Land this week. I read it not because I’m a Graham Joyce fan. Honestly, I’d never heard of the guy before I bought his book. It was recommended by another writer friend as part of my effort to read “in genre.” It wasn’t bad. It kept me turning pages. And helped me add another “comparable title.” And then it struck me…
Now I’m reading books to stay up on the genre, not for pure enjoyment.
Sigh.
Oh well. I haven’t lost my convictions entirely; I still believe there’s virtue in reading broadly, venturing out of one’s genre to explore pirates or petticoats, past revolutions or future technologies, sherpas or mermen. Of course, the price for such reading may be a disconnect from your target market. However, even though Horton Hears a Who is way out of my genre, I still believe that Dr. Suess has something to offer. No, Horton isn’t a “comparable title.” But it does something more important than provide marketing fodder.
It makes me smile.
Maybe your fans can help. I imagine your readers are fairly widely read and those familiar with your work might be able to supply some titles that they feel are comparable. Might save you from doing all that reading yourself. For example, one friend described my “Casebook of the Paranormal Research Institute” as “Anne Rice meets Sherlock Holmes”. I thought it a great quote which gives a potential reader some idea what to expect and I would probably never have come up with it myself.
Reading widely still helps, because you have more examples to pull from to richen your writing. I sometimes force myself to write something completely different from my normal format—like a screenplay, or a poem—and even my day job is writing freelance articles. I’ve found that my non-fiction and fiction writing practice helps each other.
I believe smile creation is a form of horizontal marketing, so you’re good!
Comparable titles may popularly be dismissed as a cheap Hollywood “cheat” but I actually like the concept.
For instance, when I realized that one of my novels was a cross between “Lost” and “Bridges of Madison County” I knew I was in trouble. First, it showed me I was in a mixed genre (a no-no for a non-literary fiction writer) and that half of it was a really great script for the SyFiy channel. Too bad I wasn’t working in television. This also helped me to revision it as a graphic novel, which may be its redemption.
On the other hand, being able to tell people that __________ is in the same vein as World War Z gives the market something to draw closer to for a better look.
The small words matter. I honestly think that E.E. Knight’s outstanding Lovecraftian hard military sci-fi series is sometimes overlooked because of its series name: Vampire Earth.
Yes, it has aliens with vampiric qualities, but I think fans of vampire fiction are initially drawn to it for more “gothic” reasons and reject it once they see it is about armies, and military sci-fi fans pass it by, expecting sparkles and girl angst.
“one of my novels was a cross between “Lost” and “Bridges of Madison County”
Okay. I want for one want to read this. 🙂
(Just one “want” tho!)
One of the largest complaints I hear from author’s, besides the normal query and synopsis complaint, is they no longer have time to enjoy reading. Just as physicians, mechanics and even hairdressers have to stay up-to-date on what’s happening, so should writers.
I really relate! I’ve always been a wide reader. And a reader for pleasure. Since I’ve become serious about writing, I’ve struggled with this advice – to stay “up” on my genre could mean not reading anything else. I’ve had a hard time reconciling myself to that. And truthfully, I find it annoying to read something I’m not really enjoying just to be current. I’m trying to balance these things with what first led me to books – enjoyment.
In On Writing, Stephen King asserts that novels “in the tradition of. . .” (etc) tend to be hack fiction. Fiction where the author has attempted to be like another author, to mimick someone’s success. At the very least, it seems like an obvious attempt to ride on the coattails of someone better and/or more recognizable than one’s self. Which reflects badly on the author in my personal opinion.
Besides that, books that compare themselves set the author up for failure. Like when Tom Pawlik’s Vanish was compared to Dean Koontz (“Readers of Dean Koontz and Ted Dekker will love Tom Pawlik”). Koontz and Dekker? And so, of course, Koontz and Dekker fans will pick it up, realize — because Pawlik is not Koontz or Dekker — that they’ve been duped, and be dissapointed with the novel before even giving it a chance to stand on its own merits.
As a reader, I’m more interested in the premise. And. . .yes. . .the cover art. But the Hollywoodisms, comparisons (1 part The Relic, 1 part The Secret Garden!) is a tradition that in my personal opinion does more harm than good if it does anything at all.
All this to say. . .do you HAVE to appease your publishers on this one point? College educated in their field or not, I think they’ve got this wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time the “powers that be” had no idea what they were talking about.
The “comparative titles” thing is just a fact of the business, Tony. It’s the same with movies. Yeah, everyone wants to go in and say “Oh, but it’s so original! It’s its own thing!”–but when there’s a sales meeting going on and they’ve got forty titles to discuss in a couple hours, they want something quick and catchy for framing a reference. They want an “idea” of what it’s like so they know how to market it. They want to hear “It’s like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by way of H.P. Lovecraft”. It’s not presumptious on the part of the author–you’re not comparing quality or even style. You’re just having to come up with a comparison so marketing–who has probalby never read the book–will know how to frame it for their target audience.
Sure, you could say, “No, no, see, it’s a sweeping epic about the love of brothers and how they must overcome a totalitarian rule in order to prove themselves yada yada yada” or you can say “Hey, did you read The Stand? Think that, only with leprechauns.”
I had to come up with comparisons for my novel, too, but, so far, I haven’t seen them marketing it by my comparisons. As far as I can tell, that was just internal notes for them to discuss in meetings.
I see your point. Although I wonder if this doesn’t reveal a deeper problem with the rushed process of marketing. And publishing in general. Similar to rushing authors to complete 1-2 books a year, thus potentially lowering the quality.
Tony, I agree with Greg on this. And let me be clear: I have no issue with my publisher on this. It’s just part of the business. And, along with xdPaul, I think some of the comparisons can be helpful. Of course, if we’re just piggybacking off a famous author w/out legit comparison, that can be problematic. Here I am simply bemoaning the loss of reading for pleasure that can accompany being published. Thanks for commenting!
I know it’s a business necessity. But I’ve written letters to publishers about this before (not yours) and I swear I’m on a crusade to end this. I think it backfires more often than does good.
I know it’s meant to sell a book, but most book buyers I’ve come across in my own head, my various interactions in various book groups and fora, polls, etc. all tend to find that sort of copy both misleading and pandering. (Again not blaming you or your publisher for adhering to convention…just lamenting the convention.)
In the decade since Harry Potter became a run-away success I have lived through literally dozens, if not hundreds, of titles that claim to either be the “next” Harry Potter, the “for adults” Harry Potter or “if you loved Harry Potter, you’ll love Blabbity Bloo Blah!” They’re always ALWAYS ALWAYS wrong. (Exceptions which prove the rule are of course Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and The Name Of The Wind. Both books I bought IN SPITE OF the blurb.)
What tends to sway me and other serious book buyers is the author blurb. If an author can get anyone other than Stephen King to say something positive about their book and that author is someone whose work I enjoy then I’m about 80% more likely to try the book myself. I just bought a book a week ago with nothing more going for it than a positive blurb from George R.R. Martin.
And aside from that, I do think it’s criminal to ask the author to come up with a comparative blurb title. That’s almost a Sophie’s Choice thing to do–compare your child to someone else’s! And quite frankly that should be part of the job of the marketing team at your publisher. You are ostensibly writing and going on book signings. Their job is to be aware of the space they’re dropping the product into and to market that product accordingly.
This has been a problem for me and indicates further just how much publishing and marketing in general has changed in recent years. Does anyone remember that it once was considered a bad thing to compare your work, whether product or service, to another’s — especially specifically by name? It was said that no matter how you worded it, your comparison of what you had or did to what someone else had or did would have you come across as inferior or just a copycat. And I agree. I think that’s still considered wisdom in some advertising circles, but certainly not all. Look how today we see straight-across comparisons everywhere. I guess I’ll have to do it, but I sure don’t like it. Back in “the day” I can’t imagine anyone saying “Hey look what I wrote; it’s just as good as The Great Gatsby. I call it The Barely Adequate Do-Bee. Won’t you please read it?”
I struggle to find books in my genre that I enjoy reading. I know that sounds weird, but Women’s Fiction is a pretty broad topic and some novels just don’t hit me where I’m at, so to speak. More than anything, I enjoy good writing, no matter the genre. That helps me in my own writing, though it doesn’t help fill in that blank.
Thanks for a great post!
I actually think it’s important to read really good books, whether in your genre or not. However, I do think it’s important to read current books and to read fiction, if that’s what you’re writing. I honestly don’t read very many books in my genre (urban fantasy) and I know many other published authors who don’t read in their genre either. Why? They say they don’t want to be influenced by current trends. I know, that sounds like it’s exactly the opposite of what we’ve been told, but if you think about it, it makes sense. But I must confess that I do read a lot of YA and I have written a YA novel. I guess I think it’s extremely important to stay on top of trends, however you do that–whether by reading the books or just by being aware of the books. But you do need to know what the popular, best-selling books in your genre are and why yours are different.
And, sorry if you didn’t like The Silent Land. *dodging items thrown my way since I’m the one who told you to read it*
I agree with the influence thing, Merrie. Which is why reading King or Koontz, for me, is not just enjoyable but tempting. And as for The Silent Land, I did like the book. Sorta.
I find that I’m not so much tempted to imitate plot and stories as I am style. When I read a lot of Charles L. Grant or T. M. Wright – authors who specialize in atmospheric, restrained, “quiet” horror – I tend to write a lot like them. Then I switch to a Paul Wilson Repairman Jack novel, with its relentless pacing and tight word economy. Then I’ll read something by Gary Braunbeck, which asks all these questions about multiverses and quantum/string theory. THEN I’ll read Neil Gaiman, and want to whip up some serious myth/legend/folklore mojo.
I try to read a lot of different voices and styles. Figure my head is a big cauldron, and all the reading I “pour” into there are ingredients, so the richer and more varied the content, the better the “stew”. And, though I’ve got a decent idea of what my story would be “like” should a publisher ask, I care very little for that. Very talented people more experienced than I have warned against that, saying “In the tradition of, or whatever.” I read enough that I could provide publishers titles in a proposal, but really don’t care, honestly.
I will also say – and this sounds awfully arrogant – but I don’t read a lot of my “peers”, mostly because I’m still so low on the totem pole. I read obsessively, and that’s never going to change, even if I do land a publishing deal with contracts. Honestly, I have a choice between blogging and reading, I’ll read. BUT, as life has gotten hectic enough as it is the last few years, I don’t have time waste on writers I’d think are “like me” or “as good as me”. I only want to read writers who are better than I am.
I have very little reading time, and when I do, nine times out of ten I’m reading a fellow author’s work that isn’t published yet for critique input or a newly published title for review. So I guess in a way I read in my own genre, but not that many well known titles that I can say, “My book is like !”
I’m sort of leery of that use anyway, along with most of the people here. I think marketing folk simply like to pigeon hole something, and if they can’t, they feel very uncomfortable figuring out the marketing plan for it. Once they can fit it into a category, then they know what to do with it, whether or not the comparison ever becomes part of the actual reader marketing.
But, I’ve also heard that you do not want to do this when sending in queries and synopsis to agents and editors. Especially to link them to novels like Harry Potter or Twilight. It sets you up for a fall before they even dig into the words.
I am not able to sympathize because there are so many great books in the genre in which I’m writing. I am the lucky person who gets to read for work and for pleasure at the same time. Woo hoo!
The first time I wrote a novel I wouldn’t read anything in the genre because I was afraid I’d be influenced and inadvertently steal stuff. That novel I wrote was not very good. I took a couple of years to read every good book I could find in my genre and the next novel I wrote was so much better. Not only that but several agents have told me that it’s a fresh and compelling premise. The agent that signed me said the main thing she loved about was that it was unique. So apparently reading the good books in my genre did me good.
I also read outside my genre, though. And I think that really helped. Because I could take the best from my genre and add in some stuff from other genres and I think that made my work feel fresh. To me it doesn’t feel fresh. It feels old and tired. I’ve wrenched it around on the page for so long I can almost recite all 400 pages. But I’m not complaining when others think I’ve put all the elements together in a new way.
So my thoughts are that we should read in our genre and out of it and we should mostly read books we love, though we can learn from bad books, too, as long as we don’t read too many of them.