Maybe I’m showing my age here, but when I was a young adult, I loved going to Barnes & Noble to peruse the new book titles to see what spoke to me. We’re told not to judge a book by its cover, but a cool title on said cover is always helpful in catching the watchful eyes of readers. While some authors with a built-in audience can have an untitled book become a best-seller, unknown or first-time authors really need a banger of a title to get the attention of the casual reader. Here are some suggestions for those of you who have written a great book and now are just trying to find the perfect title to be the cherry on top.
- Learn from other best-selling titles but don’t steal from the classics. Perusing the best-seller list at your local bookstore (or any online bookseller) and seeing what titles are popular (particularly looking at popular titles from first-time authors) is always a good starting point when brainstorming your title. While you definitely should not steal a title from another author, both because it’s unethical and will make sure that your book’s buzz is swallowed up by the best-seller that already has that title, seeing what has worked for other authors is always helpful when trying to market your book. Sometimes certain flashy keywords from one best-seller can also be used to enhance your title.
- Make sure the title rolls off the tongue and can be said in public. Most first-time authors build their popularity off word-of-mouth buzz. If the title isn’t easy to say, readers probably aren’t going to remember it when they go to search for it at a bookstore or an online bookseller. To go along with that, if your title is hard to say or includes problematic or obscene language, people aren’t likely to recommend the book to friends and colleagues even if they love the content of the book. Most people don’t want to be the social outcast who recommends a book with a stupid or obscene title. While controversy can sell a title, I’d recommend sticking to titles that are catchy and appropriate for a large general audience.
- Know your book’s goals and your audience. This may seem obvious, but every book (fiction or non-fiction) has a goal and a target audience, and your title needs to reflect this goal. While having a title with some mystery can drive interest and sales, your title should inform the content of your book and engage with your target audience. If the title doesn’t at least tie in somewhat to the content of your work, your target audience won’t be interested and may pass.
- For the most part, keep it short and keep it simple. This may be subjective and depend on the topic of the book, but you should usually aim for the old adage of “the simpler the better.” As I mentioned before, word of mouth is key, especially for first-time authors. Word of mouth only works if people, you know, repeat the title. People can be lazy, and short, catchy titles are easy to repeat and search for online. So, oftentimes, a simple title is the key to maximize your book’s popularity and success.
While there is no clear path to the perfect title, these suggestions can at least help when trying to come up with titles with a little pizzazz. While it’s not great to judge a book by its cover, you should do your best to make sure the judgment on your title is at least in your favor.
By: Chris Moffitt
Chris is a Managing Editor at Technica Editorial
