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How to Research Comp Authors: A Spy’s Guide to Competitive Analysis

By

brandy ange

Listen to this episode: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-dhw83-19aa9c2

Hello Conspirators!

Quick mission briefing before we start: Conspire Con 2026 registration is OPEN! Love the podcast but wish you had someone to help you apply these strategies to your unique situation? That’s exactly what we’re doing January 17th. Spend the day with other strategic-minded indie authors, get real-time feedback on your specific challenges, and walk away with a customized action plan for your best publishing year yet. Spots are limited—grab yours at the link in the episode description. Now, let’s talk competitive intelligence!

Today’s operation: Intelligence gathering on your literary competition. Your target? Authors and titles that could hold the keys to your own success. But remember, operative—not everything is as it appears in the field. Today we’ll discuss how to separate the real intel from the smoke and mirrors, and how to use what you discover to infiltrate your target audience.

MISSION PARAMETERS – Understanding Your Competition (4-5 minutes)

The Intelligence Landscape

  • Big Fish vs. Small Operators: Why you need both major publishers and fellow indies in your intel file. Big name authors and titles are great inspiration and motivation, and they can present a good case study for what marketing might work and offer insights into what readers are looking for. But it is crucial to look at the authors who are just ahead of you and not so far down the road. Often these will offer more realistic and achievable ideas of marketing tactics that you can implement on your scale/within your budget. It also helps with narrowing down your target audience. We want to dream big, but we also don’t want to dive deep into that comparison syndrome quicksand.
  • The Visibility Trap: Just because someone appears successful doesn’t mean they are. Remember:
    • High social media followers ≠ high sales
    • Flashy marketing ≠ profitable marketing
    • Awards and press ≠ financial success

Defining Your Targets

  • Primary Targets: Direct genre comp titles with similar themes/tropes
  • Secondary Targets: Adjacent genres that share your audience
  • Sleeper Agents: Indie authors 6-18 months ahead of you in the journey

The Reality Check

  • “We’re operating without their financial records, agents. Everything we observe is surface intel.” We don’t know their actual numbers, and are just making an educated guess at what is working or not. This is more about getting ideas of things to try and test, than creating a roadmap to achieve “their success”.
  • Why this limitation actually makes the exercise more valuable—you’re learning what works for perception and engagement- which is also valuable for how readers may perceive you.

SEGMENT 2: RECONNAISSANCE TACTICS – The Step-by-Step Case Study (8-10 minutes)

Phase 1: Basic Intelligence Gathering (2 minutes)

For each comp, collect:

  • Publication timeline and frequency
  • Series vs. standalone strategy
  • Price points and promotional patterns
  • Cover design and blurb style
  • Genre positioning and keywords

Phase 2: Deep Cover Analysis (3-4 minutes)

Social Media Surveillance:

  • Platform preferences and posting frequency
  • Engagement rates (not just follower counts)
  • Content types that generate the most interaction/engagement
    • Side note- look at who is engaging. Ideal readers vs friends/family/other authors.
  • Community building tactics (and how successful they seem to be based on actual engagement).

Marketing Maneuvers:

  • Launch strategies for new releases
  • Cross-promotion partnerships (look into these other authors to see if they fall into your audiences sphere, and if they would be authors who you may want to build relationships with to cross promote with in the future. Play the long game!)
  • Newsletter tactics (if observable) Subscribe to a bunch of newsletters, and take note of anything that actually makes you perk up as a Newsletter consumer, and think “oh that’s fun and different!” How could you stand out by taking some of these ideas and putting your own spin on them?
  • Advertising approach (Facebook ads, BookBub features, etc.)

Phase 3: Audience Infiltration Research (2-3 minutes)

Reader Intelligence:

  • Review patterns and reader feedback themes
  • Goodreads activity and discussion participation
  • Amazon “also bought” connections (another good place to find comp titles, or comp adjacent.)
  • Reader group memberships and activity, facebook groups, patreon or reem etc.

Phase 4: Content Strategy Decoding (1-2 minutes)

  • Trope and theme patterns
  • Series hooks and cliffhanger strategies
  • Character archetypes that resonate
  • World-building or research approaches- not just in their books, but in their brand.
  • Topics of discussion (other than just their book what do they talk about with their readers that their readers seem to enjoy? Do you have anything similar that you are into that your readers can relate to and connect on?)
  • Aesthetics, how do they emphasize the vibe and tone they are going for with their graphics, photos, music and videos that they use in their marketing?

SEGMENT 3: ANALYSIS AND ADAPTATION – Turning Intel into Action (6-7 minutes)

The Pattern Recognition Protocol (2-3 minutes)

What to look for across multiple targets:

  • Consistent tactics used by several comps- if something seems to be a common overlap, there’s probably something to be said for that!
  • Timing patterns (release schedules, promotion windows)- if you write dark fantasy, fall is probably going to be better release timing than spring… If you write beach read romance, then a summer release habit would suit you better than winter. Etc.
  • Price point strategies that seem effective- not all strategies are created equal. A perma .99¢ ebook could actually turn off your audience who interprets that to mean a low-quality book. Sometimes matching market standard not only makes you more money but is more attractive to your audience if they interpret that to mean a higher quality story.
    • For instance I experimented with this and found that I had a significant drop in sales after switching my ebook price to $4.99 as I saw a lot of indie YA authors doing. Trad authors had their ebooks at $9.99, which I had originally set mine at. After switching back to $9.99 my sales went back up. Also when you set a $9.99 book on sale, it looks like a better deal than a $4.99 book going on sale, even if the sale price is the same, because the actual discount is greater.
  • Cover trends and blurb formulas- the glance test. At a swift glance, can you tell the genre, the vibe, and the likely themes of the story? If a reader is walking by this on the self at a bookstore would it be catchy enough to prompt them to pick it up to read the back. Or if they are scrolling, would it cause them to stop and click. What is it about their covers that pull this off? Is the author’s name always in the same font/color/place? Colors, elements, etc. Take note of how you can work this into your branding.

The Adaptation Algorithm (2-3 minutes)

Making it work for your operation:

  • Don’t copy—innovate: Take successful concepts and add your unique twist. “Like this, but more like me”.
  • Scale appropriately: Adapt big-name tactics to indie budgets and timelines. DIYs or elements that are easy and affordable to implement on the indie scale. Maybe not all the sprayed edges, but how can our covers and interior formatting look more like the trad titles? How can our pricing help us to blend in more with their perceived quality? Etc.
  • Test gradually: Don’t overhaul everything at once- if you’ve already got a backlist, focus on your new and upcoming books first, and then as you’re able to swing it, or as you maybe reach a 5 or 10 year anniversary date, treat yourself to some fresh covers etc. Books don’t expire. They don’t have a shelf life. You don’t have to do all the things right now. You can start small and gradually enhance as you have the time and financial resources.

Red Flags and Smoke Screens (1-2 minutes)

When to disregard intelligence:

  • Tactics that seem unsustainable for indie budgets- or timelines. Indies don’t have the resources a publishing house does, nor do many of us have teams of people behind getting this machine to run. Burnout is the enemy of success, but so is bankruptcy. So, pace yourself. Do what you can afford financially and timewise with excellence. You don’t have to do all the things, it isn’t necessary. That is just fear speaking lies.
  • Strategies that don’t align with your brand/values- ie. don’t sell your soul to social media if your goal for being a published author is to spend more time paying actual attention to your kids.
    • I don’t even have kids, but I found that Social Media was a huge drain on my creative well. I gave it up last year, and guess what- there really wasn’t a huge impact on my sales. So that strategy wasn’t working for me, likely because my heart wasn’t in it anyway.
  • One-hit wonders vs. consistent performers- we can’t always figure out why that one book did well. Sometimes a viral video was just luck. Sometimes it’s the same with books. Give more weight to those authors and books who seem to stand the test of time and stick around. Especially pay attention to their pace, if they’ve been around and successful for a long time, then they have some insight to offer on sustainable practices!
  • Burnout indicators in your targets- if looking at someone’s output is overwhelming, then it was probably overwhelming to produce. Or they have more help or more resources that helped to make it happen. (James Patterson for example using ghost writers. He isn’t THAT prolific) Don’t burn yourself out trying to keep up with the Joneses. It’s okay to think “that must be nice”, but also acknowledge that maybe it’s not so nice on the backend. Without all the information, you can’t know how burnt out they feel, how broke they went, how much or little that tactic has paid off or offered a return on that time or financial investment. We must guard our own resources and allocate them wisely.
  • Remember in Episode one, where we talked about defining our own success. It isn’t all about the numbers. But do you actually enjoy your day to day life. If success means misery and hustle, and dreading waking up in the morning, do you really want it? Set yourself up to enjoy your writing and publishing life, and you’ll be able to ride the waves of success and the work it takes to make it happen. I live on an island, and we all know it isn’t wise to paddle out when the waves are more than your skill level can handle. You have to work yourself up to that point.

SEGMENT 4: IMPLEMENTING YOUR INTELLIGENCE – Marketing Applications (4-5 minutes)

Audience Targeting Gold Mine (2-3 minutes)

Using comp research for marketing:

  • Social media posting (platforms, schedules, content, and aesthetics)
  • Facebook/Instagram/Bookbub ad targeting using comp authors and titles
  • BookBub and Amazon keyword optimization
    • Another great resource for this is Publisher’s Rocket. Publisher’s Rocket is a research software designed to help authors, particularly self-published authors on Amazon, find profitable keywords and categories for their books to improve visibility and sales. It analyzes keywords for search volume, competition, and potential earnings, helps identify competing books, and provides data for Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) ad campaigns. The goal is to save authors time on research and give them a competitive edge in the marketplace. You can find an affiliate link in the description to learn more!
  • Newsletter swap and cross-promotion opportunities (group giveaways/sales/shops)
  • Reader group infiltration strategies

The Name-Drop Network (1-2 minutes)

Strategic positioning:

  • “If you liked X, you’ll love Y” positioning or “X meets Y in this…” or “If you liked this trop in X but with an ensemble cast like Y, then you’ll love…”
  • Comp mentions in blurbs and marketing copy “Perfect for fans of X & Y”
  • Strategic social media engagement with comp authors (build actual relationships with other authors in your genre)
  • Convention and event networking intel, what events do they attend, and would you be interested or able to go?

Building Your Author Brand Mission (1 minute)

  • Understanding your competitive landscape helps define your unique position, what is your unique niche that you fill in your genre, what is something you do well that no one else really seems to be optimizing?
  • Using gaps in competitor offerings as opportunities- reading the 3 star or less reviews from your comps, what are readers hungry for that they don’t seem to be getting? Does your book fill that need?
  • Don’t forget that we are ridiculously blessed in our market to not really have competition, as much as comparables. Just because someone buys someone else’s book, doesn’t mean they won’t buy yours. In fact, with the right relationship building and marketing strategies, it could make them more likely than ever. Use your network of comp authors and titles to vet readers for you, so that you are sure you’re marking to the right people and not wasting your time.

So your mission should you choose to accept it, is to find Three comp authors. One traditionally published big-name author in your genre, one mid list author and one author who is just ahead of you on this journey. I’ve created a PDF Case Study Worksheet to walk you through all the info we talked about collecting in this episode, to make it easy on you. Walk through the worksheet with each of those three authors and apply your findings!

Want more resources like that case study worksheet? What if you could work through the entire Conspire methodology over the course of a year, reshaping your author business one strategic mission at a time? That’s exactly what The Conspire Planner does—and it’s launching in 2026! If the conference isn’t in your budget or you prefer self-guided planning, this is for you. The Kickstarter goes live in January, but you can see photos and learn more right now at Marturia Pub (link in the description). Sign up there for launch updates and exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Trust me, you’ll want to see this!

Remember, operative—in the world of publishing espionage, the best intelligence is the kind that helps you become impossible to ignore. Stay vigilant, stay creative, and keep writing.

I’ll see you next Thursday to chat about how to assess your author assets. What’s in your arsenal?

EPISODE NOTES:

Key Takeaways for Listeners:

  1. Success isn’t always what it appears—focus on engagement over vanity metrics
  2. Study patterns across multiple competitors, not just individual tactics
  3. Adapt and innovate rather than copy directly
  4. Use competitor research for targeted marketing and audience building
  5. Include indie authors at your level for realistic benchmarks

Links:

Conspire Con https://marturiapub.com/conspire-con/

Conspire Planner https://marturiapub.com/conspire-planner/

Comp Case Study Worksheet PDF https://mailchi.mp/6acd47be8b93/s1e4-comp-case-study-worksheet

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