Paige's Writing Guide

How To Write The Perfect Book Title [Ultimate Guide] by Tucker Max

Source: https://scribewriting.com/how-to-title-book/

Tucker has sold over 5 million books as a 4x NYT Bestselling Author and is the co-founder of Scribe.

Shockingly, there's little useful guidance out there about book titling. What advice exists is usually of little help:

- Trite ("Go with your gut!")

- Superficial ("Browse bookstores for ideas!")

- Or worst of all, actively harmful ("Don't spend too much time on it.")

They're all wrong.

Just like companies that spend millions on naming new products, and media companies that spend time testing different titles for blog posts, you should spend substantial time and energy finding a great title.

This is a very important decision, one you need to get right to ensure your book has the best possible chance of success.

In this comprehensive guide to picking the perfect book title, I will walk you through how to think about book titles, then tell you how to pick yours, and how to test it.

Why Do Book Titles Matter?

Your book title is the most important marketing decision you'll make. Period.

The title is the first thing the reader sees or hears about your book—even before the cover in most cases—and getting it right is the single most important book marketing decision you'll make. The title forms the basis of the reader's judgment about your book.

Let's be clear: A good title won't make your book do well. But a bad title will almost certainly prevent it from doing well.

The iconic example of the importance of a book title is the title change that led to an obscure book becoming a #1 best seller.

In 1982 Naura Hayden released a book called "Astro-Logical Love." It bombed.

She then took the exact same book, changed a small amount of the content, and changed the original title to a different title, "How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time...and Have Her Beg for More!"

That book became a massive cultural phenomenon and #1 best seller. Same book, same content, just a different title (I would argue a perfect title).

The takeaway for you is simple and clear: Spend time figuring out the best possible title for your book, because it will largely determine what people think about your book, and thus, your book's success.

The 5 Attributes Of A Good Book Title

A good title should have all of these attributes:

1. Attention-Grabbing

There are a million things pulling on people's attention. The right title helps you stand out and make that important first impression. A boring title is a killer.

There are many ways to grab attention. You can be provocative, controversial, exciting, make a promise, etc. The point is your title should make people stop and pay attention to it.

Here is what #1 best-selling author Tim Ferriss says about titles:

"The 4-Hour Workweek also bothered some people and was ridiculed by others, which I took as a positive indicator. It's not accidental that Jay Leno parodied the book on-air—the title lends itself to it, and that was by design. You can't have strong positive responses without strong negative responses, and beware—above all—the lukewarm reception from all. 'Oh, that's nice. I think it's pretty good,' is a death sentence."