Chris Webb

“There are no other books like this one.”
“There is no competition for this title.”

Yes there is.

Never leave the Competition section for your book proposal blank, nor should you use statements like the ones above to try to enforce the unique nature of your book. The fact is with more than 190,000 books published each year some of them must compete with yours in some way.

You should change the way you think about “competing” titles to also include similar or related books. Ask yourself, “what other books are my intended audience reading today?” These may not always be on the exact topic as yours, but do appeal to the same readers as your book.

For technology authors this is often a challenging way to think, especially when you may be writing on an emerging topic. Be sure to consider the current technology the new technology aims to replace or supplement. What are the leading books in that category?

Here are 5 simple tips for creating a killer Competition section for your book proposal:

1. Start with what you know. Which books in similar or related topics have you read, or know to be top sellers?
2. Take advantage of the tools offered by Amazon.com. If you are searching on your book’s topic, be sure to sort by Bestseller – it is not the default option. Then pay attention to the Customers who bought this item also bought section of the book listing. These are other titles that the audience is reading.
3. Understand the pros and cons of each of the competing titles. Actually reading the books is certainly best, and if you truly are of the audience you are writing for you should have read these books already. Also consider reader reviews to get additional viewpoints on what others found good and bad about these books.
4. Provide a summary of the good and bad points of each of the competing titles – what do they do well and where are they lacking. Including supporting information such as reviews can be helpful. Most importantly, you need to detail how your book fills the gap listed by each competing in a real and measurable way. Avoid general statements about your book such as “provides more detail on topic X” or “more practical” unless you can back those sorts of general statements with real examples.
5. Be sure to include the relevant data on each competing title including full title, ISBN, price, page count, author and publisher. This will make it easier for your publisher to review each of the titles and complete their own research.

(Photo Credit: Jennerally)