Nonfiction Ink

The right title can make your book a success. Especially for the self-help and how-to genre, you need a title that readers can’t resist. The book’s title is the hook that grabs a reader’s attention. Nonfiction titles are usually five words or less. Some books use subtitles to be more descriptive. Here are six tips to create an intriguing title:

1. USE A PLAY-ON-WORDS
The Greatest War Stories Never Told (military history)
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived The Great American Dust Bowl (American history)

2. USE A POPULAR PHRASE OR SLANG
All Over But the Shoutin’ (memoir)

3. USE THE SUBJECT’S NAME IN THE TITLE
John Adams (historical biography)
Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride (historical, biography)

4. EVOKE AN EMOTION
In Cold Blood (true crime)

5. HIGHLIGHT A UNIQUE SUBJECT
The Devil In The White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (historical, true crime)

6. PROVOKE INTEREST
An Inconvenient Truth (current affairs, environmental commentary)
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale (autobiography)
Angela’s Ashes (memoir)
All The President’s Men (political history, investigative reporting)
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea (true life story, current event)
To The Ends of the Earth (travel)

FOR SELF-HELP AND HOW-TO BOOKS, your title needs to do five things:

1. IDENTIFY THE READER’S PROBLEM
Entice a reader to look at your book by addressing their specific problem.
How To Repair Your Credit Score Now; How To Make Money in Stocks; Great Deals In Las Vegas.

2. SOLVE THE READER’S PROBLEM
Successful self-help and how-to titles let the reader know how they will benefit from reading the book. Sometimes the benefit is implied. What to Expect When You’re Expecting; Think and Grow Rich.

3. GIVE THE READER HOPE
The title should be positive and upbeat and convey a sense of hope. Stay away from prevention titles like “Don’t Be a Loser”, a better title is How to Win Friends and Influence People.

4. BE SPECIFIC
Readers buy the specific over the general, so keep your title focused and targeted – “How to Run A Home Business” vs. “How To Make $100,000 Your First Year by Running a Home-Based Business”.

5. BE EASY TO REMEMBER
Keep it short-and-snappy and easy for potential buyers to remember.

An effective exercise is to come up with 10 to 20 titles for your book and ask friends, family, and associates to vote on which one they like best.

STAY-TUNED: In my next post I will outline the elements of a nonfiction book.

Related posts:

1. 10 Strategies to Write a Bestselling Nonfiction Book
2. 12 Tips for Designing A Bestselling Book Cover
3. Five Steps To Understanding Your Niche (Nonfiction Genre, Part 2)
4. 12 Techniques For Beginning Your Nonfiction Book (Part 2)
5. Genre: The Enduring Appeal of True Crime Narrative

Tags: book title, create a book title, your nonfiction book title

 Print This Post

 Digg This Post |  Save to del.icio.us |  Share on Facebook |  Tweet This |  Stumble This |  Subscribe by RSS