Earlier this month, I attended a panel featuring bookstores discussing the current market and how they decide what to stock. The most memorable comment came from Roxanne J. Coady of RJ Julia Booksellers, when she explained what a good comparable title is.

Turns out that publishers and their sales reps don't always talk about comps in a way that's useful. Requirements for authors have always been more onerous and strict than what I see publishers do in practice!