Mentor Text Monday: Christmas Comp Books
The truth about writing a potential Christmas book is that there are two distinct possibilities to consider. One, that Christmas books are perennial, and that there will always be a need for fresh and new takes on the topic. The other, that the market is saturated with books from years past and it's hard to come up with a fresh take, AND, that if a publisher is looking for a Christmas Book for a particular season (likely out two or three years) and has found one, they may not have an immediate need for another. So the market for these can be slim. At least, it remains somewhat constant, though.
That being said, we find a plethora of Christmas books adorning the shelves each fall/winter season. Below are some quick peeks at a random bunch that I have recently found. As you browse, consider how these books might be considered as a new and different take on the Christmas or Santa story or what possibly led the editor to acquire it. Perhaps there's a facet that you can incorporate into your own story to give it a fresh spin or a strong hook.
[Note: You may click on the Titles or the Covers to purchase the Books #Ad.]
MERRY CHRISTMAS, GUS
by Chris Chatterton
Penguin Workshop, 2020
For those who love dogs and/or like stories about Scrooges, this is a fun take on those topics. Gus the dog doesn't like Christmas, decorations, carols or sweaters! But someone and some things just might change his mind.
It cleverly suggests things that a human Scrooge might do to make the holidays more merry and then has a surprising twist that changes everything!
by Beth Ferry
Art by A. N. Kang
This book could possibly be considered a clever spin on the story about a tree who wanted to be a Christmas tree, although the stakes don't feel as high.
The Cactus wants to be Christmassy and must find a way to do so. One could see how this might, in particular, appeal to places where they have cactuses and can / could decorate them. It may inspire a mad rush on Christmas cacti! However, I thought the ending would involve a bit more creativity ala nodding to a Christmas craft, but can still see the appeal.
A Sequel to How The Grinch Stole Christmas
by Alastair Heim
Art by Artistides Ruiz
Random House, 2023
I've included this sequel to the beloved classic, because, well -- let's consider it some stiff competition. My recommendation is to evaluate how the creator / author captured the hearts of the readers with the characters and situation, as well as the spirit , meaning and festivity of the holiday. Perhaps that can in some way inspire your own work!
by Alice Walstead
Art by Andy Elkerton
Sourcebooks, 2023
This book is just one of a series of 28 "How to Catch a..." published by Sourcebooks Wonderland and written by several writers.
It's obviously a holiday spin on the concept. However, this particular book doesn't really show the reader how to catch a Santa Claus, but allows the reader to follow the Santa Claus through a portion of his visit. The title proves a hook for this book which has fun rhyme and art and includes much of the usual material covered in a visit from Santa.
I can share a story about one of my manuscripts, How to Catch A Dinosaur, that was under consideration with Sterling Children's Books. They ultimately declined it because there was a book of the same name in the pipeline at Sourcebooks. I was able to obtain an advance copy of that book through Edelweiss. Although it proved that my book was quite different than the Sourcebooks one, Sterling they still did not want to acquire it and declined it being it was too similar topic (thought we could have changed the title). So take from that what you will.
Basically, as you can tell, this is just a sampling of what has been done in the way of Christmas books. I do recommend reading 50 to 100 of these to really cover all the bases and to see what has been done, what hasn't been done, and who (which publisher) has done them and when. There, you will discover the holes in characters, situations, topics and themes that have been covered and may see clear to your own fresh take on this timeless topic. Best of luck to you!
*.* As I say every time, there's always something to be learned from any mentor text we read, whether excellent or poor, whether a comp to our current WIP or not. As a reminder, I don't always have the time to go into each book in-depth, but feel free to post any questions or discussion points in the comment section.
COMMENTS: I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on these books! If you did please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section. Feel free to click on the titles of the books to buy them! All proceeds go toward books for our Mentor Text Talk Book Chats on Sundays on Zoom - you can join us here: Mentor Text Talk by RateYourStory.org | Facebook! Happy reading and writing!
