Our titling saga continues…
The title is what readers remember well enough to repeat to friends and search for on Amazon; the subtitle, less so.
The most memorable titles are short, three words or less being ideal. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, of course. As soon as I say short, I’m sure you’re going to think of three or four that aren’t. Regardless, most best-selling books in the nonfiction categories, and even fiction, tend to be three words or less.
Just check out the top 20 bestselling business books on the market: books like Influence, Atomic Habits, Good to Great, Start with Why, Blue Ocean Strategy, and Extreme Ownership. These books are all selling extremely well, and their titles are super short.
Short titles are just easier to remember. You want people to be able to tell others and, of course, remember which book they want to look up when they go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble to buy your book. They need not remember your subtitle, and that’s OK. The title will get them there, and your subtitle will remind them why they looked for it in the first place.
Memorable titles are also easy to say. If you’ve got a tongue twister, it will get messed up. Though, Peck of Pickled Peppers might be an awesome title for a gardening book. Get your friends to say your title over and over again. Talk about it all the time. Imagine yourself on a podcast or a media interview trying to drop that title three, four, or five times in a few minutes. If that doesn’t feel doable, then move on. Craft something else.
Memorable titles often use wordplay. You may want to play with some of these techniques:
• Rhythm: If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules by Chérie Carter-Scott
• Alliteration: Amazing Art: Wonders of the Ancient World by Christopher Berg
• Verbal and visual puns: $ellmates: The Art of Living and Working Together (this is up for grabs)
• Wordplay: Tongue Fu! How to Deflect, Disarm, and Defuse Any Verbal Conflict by Sam Horn
• Two contrasting or opposing phrases: Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray.
• Humor: I’m Not as Old as I Used to Be: Reclaiming Your Life in the Second Half by Frances Weaver.
The most memorable titles have a hook—something that draws the reader in, makes them stop…and then read more. Stopping browsers cold is incredibly important because we live in a world that offers a tremendous amount of information, which means readers often have the attention span of a gnat, especially on a site like Amazon.
The right hook depends on your reader and the primary benefit they’ll gain from reading your book.
Happy With Baby: Essential Relationship Advice When Partners Become Parents by Catherine O’Brien.
It’s easy to say and remember and packed with keywords (and we’ll get to those keywords in a bit).
Hacking Chemo: Using a Ketogenic Diet, Therapeutic Fasting, and a Kickass Attitude to Power Through Cancer by Martha Tettenborn
It feels great to say hacking chemo. It just packs a punch and is memorable. Most importantly, it’s reader-focused and highlights a clear benefit. Her hook hits you right there in the subtitle, too.
The Profit Bleed: How Managing Margin Can Save Your Contracting Business by Vicki Suiter
Can’t you see your profits bleeding away? The very lifeblood of your company? Yeah, that hurts; that’s why the title works. Contractors know exactly what to expect by reading this book.
Hooks should not be gratuitous. I’ll go back to the curse-laden titles, which no longer stop readers in their tracks the way they used to. If such a hook sets the wrong tone for your book, think of something else.
QUESTION:
Can you list two- or three-word hooks to draw in your target reader?
During a hook brainstorming session, our author of The Pain Paradox: How Pain Can Lead to Inner Peace and Lightness of Being, Catherine Rolt, came up with catchy phrases that would speak to the promise of the book and her ideal reader, someone with chronic pain looking for relief. These included:
• Hacking Pain
• Frenemy
• Unfinished Business
• Interpreter of Maladies
• Clever Body
• Leftover
Notice that she chose none of these options.
Of course, there are other considerations when choosing your title.
A strong title also matches the category of your book.
And it speaks to an ideal reader and the problem they want solved.
And it matches the tone of your content.
I’m betting you’ve got some ideas swirling in your head. Get them down on paper and play with them a bit.
