Defining Your Book's Competition

Positioning your book in the best light

The competition part of your book proposal is pivotal for many reasons:

• It shows that there is an existing market for your book

• It helps publishers understand your audience and how to market your book

• It allows you to focus on what makes your book different and unique

• It makes a case for the need for your book in this niche

Below are my tips on how to create the most compelling competition section possible.

How to Find Your Competitors

You probably have at least one book in mind already that you see as a competitor or at least as something you think your book is comparable to.

Before I do any work on a book concept, competition is the first thing I look at. I don’t want to spend time on a concept if someone else has already done it. So, I start by seeing what’s out there and how existing books approach my general topic.