One
of my roles on the ReFoReMo team is to connect mentor texts to comp titles. If this is your first experience with comp titles, you might enjoy learning more about the What? Where? Why? and How? of comping in my previous posts: Why Comp?, Finding Good Comp Titles, Using ReFoReMo to Find Comps, and Using Comp Titles in Your Query.
Today, I'd like to dig a little deeper. Although many of you
are already familiar with the mentor text lists in our Facebook
group, I have received some questions regarding their use - and even a few
individuals that didn’t know they existed. So, I am going to give you a crash
course.
On a computer, access to the “lists” as we call them,
can be found in the left margin of our ReFoReMo Facebook group. (If you are not yet a member, you must request to join the group and be admitted before you can access them.) The link is titled:
Files. On a mobile device, you will see
a button with the same title below our members’ photos.
After clicking on Files you will see the following
(mobile device will appear different).
Here are a couple tips -
If you click on NAME, the list of documents will
appear in alphabetical order by title. This is especially helpful in finding
comp titles.
If you prefer to see the documents listed in order of
upload or revision date, click on MODIFIED (the default setting). This is
helpful if you want to view the lists that were edited recently.
Today we will use a pitch to identify key-words that will lead you to the appropriate
lists. Let’s start with this recent
release from Corey Rosen Schwartz and Rebecca J. Gomez, illustrated by Hilary
Leung.
In reading the jacket copy for Two ToughTrucks I found the following words or themes:
Trucks, First Day of School, Friends, Getting Along, and some
Onomatopoeias. If I was searching for comp titles for this manuscript, these
words would prompt me to look at the following ReFoReMo lists:
+
Character Transformation/ Growth
(getting along)
+
Fear (because, first day of
school, right?)
+
Friendships/Relationships
+
Onomatopoeias
+
School
Though not explicitly mentioned in the pitch (or jacket copy), the following lists are relevant, as well.
+
Rhymers
+
Inanimate Objects as Main
Characters
+
Identity (because one truck is
less confident)
There are additional lists that you could
investigate, as well. For instance, lists that identify age range, point of
view, and format.
Next… Let’s take a quick look at Future Astronaut by Lori Alexander, illustrated by
Allison Black.
This adorable board book would prompt me to
look at the following lists.
+
Board Books
+
Non-Fiction/ Fiction with
Non-fiction Components
+
Relatable Main Characters
In doing so, I have chosen the following two
comps for Future Astronaut:
+
I Want to be an Astronaut or a Stuntman, or a Spy,
or a Fighter Pilot by Ruby Brown and Alisa Coburn
and
+
Nerdy Babies - Space by Emmy Kastner
Both of these books have non-fiction components, the
subject matter of space, are board books, and have the same audience.
Now it’s your turn. Read Two Tough Trucks and
Future Astronaut, or access one of your current pitches or mentor texts. Look through the
lists, and see what comps you can come up with. Share your ideas in the
comments below. I think you will be amazed how much you learn from the
experience.
These lists exist for all of us. Our entire
community contributes to them. It’s also a great way to build your comp
identification skills. When you identify a text as a stellar mentor, add it to
a list or two. Look for the “edit” feature when you pull up a list. Did you
recently ask for recommendations in our group? Take those recs, and add them
now. Together, we are more.
