Serious independent authors spend time checking out their competitors, the so-called ‘Comps’ or comparable titles. It is a great way of getting a sense of a particular genre, prevalent trends, the key cover design elements that signal a particular fictional niche. A writer should have a good idea of their specific target readers — and, spoiler alert, it is not ‘anyone who can read’. If you have read a lot in the genre you are writing in (always a good idea), you will already have a fairly good idea of how your title/s relate to the existing literary landscape. Making a list of comparable titles, whether bestsellers or midlist, can also be helpful for book cover designers looking to get a more specific feel for your title. At the same time it gives the author a better sense of the overall commercial literary landscape.
David Gaughran's email archive
The ever-helpful David Gaughran keeps his email newsletter archives here. It is an extensive trove of practical advice relating to BookBub, Amazon advertising, Facebook advertising, marketing with email and launching a book. David says:
“Welcome to the email archive – where I store all the most useful emails from my weekly marketing newsletter. I’ve grouped them into various topic areas so you can dive into the subjects of most interest to you.”
And don’t forget to sign up to his newsletter here.