Early on in my career in publishing, an agent outlined the rules of comparative titles to me. “Comp” titles, as they are known in the industry, are a part of a process by which publishers assess the commercial viability of a book by comparing it to past successes. These comps, the editor explained, must be recent works, generally from the last five years, that generated buzz and sold relatively well (a variable number depending on genre and publishing house). Comps mainly exist for the benefits of sales teams, both internal and external, enabling them to coordinate plans for marketing and publicity, and otherwise assist in finding a place for the book in the market.
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