[Audio only] Episode 48: Craft, Comps, and Market Clarity with Story Deep Dive

Welcome to Story Deep Dive!


In this episode, Dana and Rachel dive into how to choose and use comps (comparable titles) as a powerful tool for both story craft and market positioning.


Whether you’re a writer, storyteller, or author building a career, you’ll gain valuable insights on what kinds of comps you need, how to read them intentionally, and how they help you understand your genre, your shelf, and your brand.


You can also watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube!


Estimate Timestamps


00:00 – Shenanigans, Bonus Month & Episode Setup


Dana and Rachel kick off with their usual playful banter about teaspoons vs. tablespoons of shenanigans and reintroduce Story Deep Dive as a podcast for writers who want to study books like craft labs, not just as readers. They explain that this is a bonus episode in a five-week month: instead of continuing their Twisted Love discussion, they’re zooming out to talk about comps—what they are, why they matter, and how they use them in their editing and coaching work.


04:30 – Year-End Chaos & ProWritingAid “What’s Next” Talks


Rachel shares how wild the end of the year feels—wrapping up projects, holidays, and speaking gigs. She talks about ProWritingAid’s October Preptober sessions and announces her December 8 “Drafting in Stages: Part 2” workshop, which focuses on how to approach and iterate on a second draft after NaNoWriMo. She’ll help writers avoid trying to fix everything at once and instead tackle revisions in layers and stages.


Dana follows with her own year-end update: juggling writing deadlines, planning 2025 workshops, and processing feedback from recent summits. She announces her December 10 ProWritingAid talk, “Series That Sell,” a follow-up to her wildly attended “Plot Accordion” workshop. Dana explains why one book isn’t enough for most careers and how series give readers a world to settle into—and writers a path to profitability.


14:55 – Boundaries, Rest, and Structuring the End of the Year


Dana shares how she structured her calendar so that her ProWritingAid talk will be her last Zoom event and client commitment of the year, including finishing all 2025 developmental edits and personal book obligations early. She explains how this prevents “bleed over” into her planned time off and models sustainable business practices. Rachel responds with admiration and talks about her own goal of building in similar buffers, joking about how easy it is for “two weeks off” to quietly shrink to one and a half when boundaries aren’t enforced.


20:00 – Why Comps Matter: From Vague Advice to Practical Strategy


Transitioning into the main topic, they frame comps as vital tools, not just query-letter window dressing. Dana notes that both she and Rachel have systematic comp processes they use with clients and that these systems have stabilized over the last couple of years. They emphasize that while this episode offers general guidance, the best comp strategy is highly specific to the individual writer, genre, and goals. Comps, they argue, are how you turn vague advice like “read more” into targeted, practical study.


22:10 – Rachel’s Four Types of Comps: Style, Plot, Genre, Problem-Specific


Rachel breaks down comps into four key categories so writers know exactly what each comp is meant to teach them:


Style Comps: Books you study for their line-level writing—voice, sentence rhythm, and density. She contrasts Leigh Bardugo’s lush, layered prose with Gillian Flynn’s sharp, efficient style to show how different styles can be equally powerful, and how a writer can decide what kind of prose they aspire to.


Plot Comps: Stories with a similar plot shape—heists, chosen one journeys, journalist-investigations, magical outsider stories, etc. These comps help you study pacing, complications, and how a four-act (or similar) structure plays out for your type of story.


Genre Comps: Books that clarify your category and subgenre—urban vs. high fantasy, cozy vs. thriller, dark romance vs. rom-com, etc. Genre comps reveal conventions, reader expectations, and standard “must-haves” for your lane.


Problem-Specific Comps: Targeted books you choose to solve a particular challenge—dual timelines, big casts, continuity, information management, character depth, or magic systems. These don’t have to be in your genre; you’re studying execution, not copying.


Rachel emphasizes that knowing what you’re looking for in a comp gives you clarity and purpose, whether you’re reading for inspiration, structure, or troubleshooting.


32:05 – Dana’s Why: Shelf, Genre Flow, Market Fit, and Brand


Dana zooms out to explain why comps matter beyond craft:


Know Your Shelf: She uses the old “walk into a bookstore and see who’s to your left and right” analogy. Comps help you figure out which authors you sit beside and which tropes, themes, and archetypes are standard in that space.


Know Your Genre Flow: Even if you and another author both use a four-act structure, the emoti...