Five Tips for Writing Book Titles
Did you slow down your publishing process because you didn't have the right title for your book? You’re not alone. But, I'm here to help; I have a method to the madness. These are my 5 tips for writing book titles.
Stick to the end for a free printable to help guide you to your next book title!
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Five Tips for Writing Book Titles:
These methods can help you with either fiction or nonfiction pieces; read the details to see which fits your book best.
First and foremost, you want your book title to be creative, original, and intriguing; a marketable book title makes readers curious. Let's dive into the five tips for writing book titles to help your brainstorming process. Feel free to mix and match these tips for the most creative and original book title—in fact, I advise that you do.
*Disclaimer: This list does not go in any order of importance.
Genre/Research
Theme
Symbolism
Character/World Building
Emotion/Intrigue
1. Genre & Research
Who is your target audience?
Figure out who your target audience is. Any research goes a long way; knowing your TA is key because they are the readers that will buy your book.
For example, if you’re writing an adult fantasy, your audience would look different than those in YA contemporary romance. Get as creative as you need to showcase your story, but keep your marketing strategies in the back of your mind.
I know what you might be thinking: I’m not a marketer, I’m a writer. No, but you’re a master wordsmith. You will come to find that it’s not as difficult as it seems.
Take a took at this strategy to understand what I mean. Let’s say you’re writing a fantasy— typically, those book titles align with something mythical or magical. You will notice words like throne, king, witch, or dragon because those elements signal to readers they're plunging into myth.
Some genres allow more creative flexibility than others, and fantasy is one of them. You could use literary devices such as theme, metaphor, or symbolism in your title to intrigue your reader.
Example:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
What does the title say about this book? We can infer that rings are pivotal to this narrative, which leads us to understand there may be a unity. The word fellowship tells us multiple people are involved, and Lord implies a pastime or otherworldly timeline: we can guess this book is a fantasy.
Crafting a marketable title that is thematic and poetic can be challenging; you don’t want to be so poetic that it becomes vague, leaving your book gathering dust on a shelf. Yet, you don’t want to craft one so genre-driven that it takes away your creativity, or blends into the background on the bookshelf. The best you can do is blend creativity and marketability. Most importantly, follow your gut.
Ultimately I favor leaning on the side of creativity, to avoid dulling your book down by attempting to make it too marketable that you end up hating it. It’s YOUR book.
When you are stuck— write out a list of five options, then grab opinions from your closest friends/family (bonus if they beta-read your story).
Nonfiction
Nonfiction book titles are typically straightforward and listicle because they often teach something. Unless you are writing a memoir, your title will use a keyword. If you are writing a self-help book, focus on the main idea and ensure that specific word is in your title because it's what you are selling. Nonfiction book titles tend to be less creative, but that doesn't mean there isn't any creativity in them.
Example:
Mark Manson wrote, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life” a nonfiction self-help book. From the title, we anticipate what is to come; when we open this book, we expect advice on how we can not give a f*ck and an approach on living. This book delivers the key phrase, approach to living a good life while being creative, The Stuble Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
Or in another book titled: Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up, by Abigail Shrier. We infer the content will be about therapy. We know what we’re getting into, and in some cases come to nonfiction titles looking for answers.
Follow your instincts and research what is already out there within your genre. It’s imperative to search if your working title is taken or not because if it is... you can’t and shouldn't use it. It will get buried. All you need to do is give Google and Amazon a quick search.
Finally, this is an obvious statement but must be mentioned: NEVER PLAGIARIZE ANYONE.
2. Theme
Every genre outside of nonfiction (unless it’s a memoir) typically tend to gravitate toward theme-influenced titles. Themes are pivotal to writing stories; they are the fuel that propels our characters to transcendence.
Let me give you two examples, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
We know exactly what to expect in this story based on the title. And those themes could intrigue a reader.
3. Symbolism
Tons of stories use symbolism for their title. These books tend to be the most popular within fiction. Typically I find these titles most interesting because they are creative, intriguing, and poetic. Most stories have symbolism because a tangible object aids the plot and protagonist forward.
Examples: Charlotte’s Webb by E.B. White or Holes by Louis Sachar.
4. Characters & World Building
Often books are named after their main characters or world because of the significance it/they have on the story. This character can be your protagonist or antagonist, whoever influences the narrative most; it can also be the setting or time period.
Character Example:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Now, what does this tell us? Eleanor is most likely our protagonist. It also signifies something is key about her name and will be explored in the novel. Her full name must represent a deep meaning, similar to the classic series Harry Potter—his last name was symbolic for the narrative: everyone knew his name.
Worldbuilding Example:
1984 by George Orwell is an example of worldbuilding bearing the title. The time period of this story is embedded in the plot, characters, and themes.
5. Emotion/Intrigue
More often than not, I find mystery/thrillers using this type of title because they want to hook you with suspense. But it's not always the case: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins trilogy uses this method.
Remember, every title makes an impression leading us to a follow-up question. In this case, we will ask ourselves— what are hunger games? Are people starving? We empathize with the idea of hunger and want to discover the journey.
Overall, you’re creating the first tonal impression of your story. So what do you want it to feel like?
I hope you have found these tips for writing book titles helpful. Good luck!
Bonus tip:
This bonus tip is key, it’s imperative to create your title once the entire manuscript is complete. Doing so helps ensure you are encapsulating your overall vision. So much is in flux during the writing journey, I suggest brainstorming and researching your title once you've written The End.
For the best creative outcome, my advice is to mix and match these tips: Remember writing a gripping title is about tone and originality.
5 Tips for Writing Book Titles
Here it is! Your free mind map printable to help you create your next book title.
I hope these tips help with your book title creation. Be sure and comment below and share your thoughts, or post your book title below.
