Comp Titles - What Makes Your Book Unique?
07/15/21 • 33 min
Even (or especially) when your book is just a twinkle in your eye, researching what "competing" or "complementary" books are published can help you refine your niche and identify your readers. And doing comparative title research is usually a must when crafting a pitch, query, or book proposal to a traditional or hybrid publisher.
It's a delicate dance - you need to identify how your work complements, without exactly duplicating, best-selling titles. Although fiction market genres are fairly well defined — murder/mystery, thriller, sci-fi/fantasy, literary fiction — the nonfiction market has a nearly infinite number of niches, so more consideration is required when you make the decision on how to position your nonfiction book.
Host Mary Catherine Jones explores the subject along with guest experts Pam Sheppard, publishing coach, and her client Teri Rider, independent publisher.
CREW:
- Producer, Charlotte Pierce, Pierce Press
- Host, Mary Catherine Jones, Voice Over Vermont & IPNE
- Web services, Laura Williams, GoodInklings
- Tech Director, Samara Jones
Even (or especially) when your book is just a twinkle in your eye, researching what "competing" or "complementary" books are published can help you refine your niche and identify your readers. And doing comparative title research is usually a must when crafting a pitch, query, or book proposal to a traditional or hybrid publisher.
It's a delicate dance - you need to identify how your work complements, without exactly duplicating, best-selling titles. Although fiction market genres are fairly well defined — murder/mystery, thriller, sci-fi/fantasy, literary fiction — the nonfiction market has a nearly infinite number of niches, so more consideration is required when you make the decision on how to position your nonfiction book.
Host Mary Catherine Jones explores the subject along with guest experts Pam Sheppard, publishing coach, and her client Teri Rider, independent publisher.
CREW:
- Producer, Charlotte Pierce, Pierce Press
- Host, Mary Catherine Jones, Voice Over Vermont & IPNE
- Web services, Laura Williams, GoodInklings
- Tech Director, Samara Jones
Previous Episode
Copyright Small-Claims Court
Welcome to Face The Book TV, Season 2, Episode 20!
Video recorded May 13, 2020 on our YouTube channel
GUEST: Christopher Kenneally, Dir. of Marketing, Copyright Clearance Center
HOST: Charlotte Pierce, Pierce Press & Independent Publishers of New England
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Sheryl Davis, author, The Mystical Magical Abracadabracal Daniel McDougal McDouglas McFly
Most independent publishers register a copyright and in any case, all creative works are copyrighted once created, without any registration at all. Easy, peasy, right?
That's all fine until you are actually the victim of copyright infringement; then good luck finding the resources to bring a federal lawsuit. While the Copyright Act also offers the possibility of obtaining statutory damages and attorneys’ fees, these benefits are not always available and may not be recovered until after a long court battle that can entail significant up-front costs.
In a significant new development in this field, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act) was enacted on Dec. 27, 2020. The CASE Act establishes a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) to hear copyright infringement matters and (1) caps damages at $30,000 total; (2) provides an opt-out option for the respondent; (3) includes streamlined procedures that limit discovery and rely mostly on written materials; (4) allows claims by both copyright owners and users for infringement and exceptions and limitations, respectively; and (5) includes additional fees for bad faith claimants and bars those who repeatedly abuse the system.
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Next Episode
Paige Allen Takes Helm at Ingram Spark
New Ingram Spark director Paige Allen will keynote the 10th Annual Conference of the Independent Publishers of New England, Nov. 5-7.
In this pre-conference livestream and podcast (click here for livestream recording),
Ms. Allen, who took over the helm at the POD company in 2020, previews her conference presentation and outlines her priorities for Ingram Spark in the years to come.
We invite you to comment and ask questions in the discussion section on this page, so Ms. Allen can respond at the conference.
Because Ingram stepped up as the Platinum sponsor for the IPNE 10th Annual Conference, we are able to offer conference admission for free to members who register. Non-member fee is $75, which includes a one-year membership. It’s a win-win!#ingramspark #paigeallen #ipne.org #IPNECon2021 #indiebook #bookmarketing #bookpublishing #publishingconference #indiebook #self-publishing #small press
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