Choosing a title for your book is a marketing decision you’ll have to make. This is because the title is the first part of the book that any reader sees even before his/her attention is drawn to the cover.
A title forms the platform of a reader’s judgment about your book and it can also determine if a prospective reader will want to open the book. Oftentimes, people say, that they can easily detect if a book is going to be interesting or boring by merely looking at its title. Therefore, as a writer, you shouldn’t take the title of your book for granted because it speaks volumes about what a reader would anticipate about your book.
There are key attributes that should be found in any good book title. They include the following: –
Attention-Grabbing
There are a million things that capture people’s attention. The right title makes your work stand out and creates that important first impression. A boring title is an attention killer. You can work around several ways of getting your readers’ attention through your book’s title such as being provocative, controversial making a promise, etc. The key thing is that your title should encourage people to pay attention to it.
Memorable & Searchable
It is important to get a reaction and it leaves a mark or be memorable enough to plague the readers’ minds. If your book has been recommended by a friend to another and they can’t recall the title, then it will be very difficult to locate the book in a bookstore or online. This, therefore, means that if you would like your book to be easily found in today’s world, you need to make the title leave a lasting memory and also easy to be located when prospective readers want to read it. If your title does not give room for easy memorizing and locating on relevant search engines, then your book will gradually fade off in the market.
Informative about the book’s content
This is a not too relevant aspect for fiction books, but it is very vital for non-fiction. Both the title and the subtitle (if you’re using one), should give the reader a little idea of what the book is about. When you make it easier for them to understand what to expect in the book, the more likely you will attract the people who would find your book interesting. Ask yourself this: “If I tell someone the title of my book, would they have to ask what it’s about?” If your answer is a yes, then consider changing/working on the title of the book.
Simple & not embarrassing to say
Having an easy to say/pronounce title is also necessary when creating a title for your book as a writer. This means that people will most likely remember and respond to words, phrases, and sentences that they are able to grasp and pronounce. Consider how people will feel when saying your book’s title out loud to other people who might not even be their friends. Does it make them look smart or dumb?
Short
Generally speaking, shorter titles are best for books. Short titles are not only more memorable and easier to say and recall, but it also gives room from space and flexibility when designing the book’s cover. If possible let the main title be a maximum of 5 words or less. But if you’re making use of a subtitle, you can now expand a little bit more about the main title in the subtitle.
On a final note, as a writer, you should put a great deal of effort into creating good titles for your books in order to leave a lasting impression on the memory of everyone who comes in contact with your book.
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