good titles for book essays

Best title generator for essay

Type a few relevant keywords in the relevant section of the tool to describe your paper.

Pick the subject that fits you.

Hit the Generate button to get plenty of fresh and catchy ideas and pick the perfect one!

What is an academic essay title generator?

It is worth noting that the titles of your articles have a significant impact. Even if the content of your essay is exceptional, a boring title can spoil the overall impression. A strong title sets the right tone for your article and captures the reader's attention. Our advanced title generator for essay assignments is created to help you get catchy headlines. With our tool, students who want to buy an essay can find great titles in a few simple clicks. And the best part of it is that it’s free, with no word limit, and no sign up!

Why choose an essay title generator from Studyfy?

With a creative essay title generator by Studyfy.com, creating winning headlines is made easy! Our tool allows you to find the best titles for your papers. But even that’s not all! Here are the top benefits that make our tool the best choice for students:

No registration and no charges

Students love our free essay title generator because no fees are involved. You don’t even have to sign up. Choosing Studyfy, you can create outstanding titles anytime, anywhere, without any limitations!

Intuitive & fast in use

Our tool is fast and easy to use. All you need to get a brilliant heading for your essay is to follow three quick steps - type relevant keywords, choose a subject, and click Generate. Just that easy!

A large database of information

Our title generator has a huge database of information to help you find tons of great ideas that will surprise your professor. It collects ideas from our own database, as well as from outside sources, that are constantly being updated to make relevant suggestions.

Guaranteed Originality

Rest assured, our paper title generator ensures complete originality, eliminating any concerns about plagiarism. With our free tool, you can generate titles that are 100% unique and creatively tailored to your needs. Say goodbye to worries about unintentional duplication and welcome a hassle-free way to generate captivating titles for your essays.

Free features

We can turn your paper into a perfect one.

At Studyfy, we provide superior writing assistance to support your academic journey. Our team comprises skilled professionals adept at various tasks, including homework aid, proofreading, and essay refinement. With extensive knowledge and experience, our experts ensure your writing is impeccable and tailored precisely to your needs. When you rely on our team, rest assured your papers will surpass expectations and adhere to rigorous academic criteria.We invite you to take action and experience the difference our services can make in your academic success. Don't hesitate to utilize our expertise and entrust us with your " write my essay " requests today.

How does an essay title generator work?

Insert the keywords.

Use keywords to define your essay’s topic or a central idea. Our title generator will analyze the inserted keywords and search for relevant suggestions in our database. The more keywords you put, the easier it will be to find your perfect topic!

Pick subject category

To get even more accurate results, choose the subject category that suits your needs most from the list. The tool will use both your keywords and the chosen category to find relevant titles. There are plenty of categories to suit every user’s needs. Try to use different ones to find even more interesting and catchy ideas.

Get many great ideas

After inserting your keywords and choosing a category, click the Generate button. The tool will scan the database, which updates regularly. It will suggest creative options for you to choose from. Run it as many times as you need to find your perfect essay topic!

How can Studyfy title generator for essay help you succeed?

Tons of attention-grabbing topics, constantly updated databases for relevant results, lots of subject categories to choose from, unique ideas exclusively.

Tips for using our essay title generator to your benefit

Pick the right subject

Is there any specific subject or area of research that has to be covered in your essay? Then try choosing a subject that fits you from the list of suggestions

Choose the best topic

So, you found many title ideas with our essay titles generator. How to choose the best one?Copy your options or write them down. Then, eliminate them individually until you are left with the perfect one.

Are the topics on our list broad? Even better! With our title maker, you'll have a starting point to narrow them down further and find the best option. Whether you're seeking inspiration or guidance, our tool is here to streamline your search and aid you in crafting the perfect title for your needs.

Our customer reviews

Students and professionals choose our creative essay title generator to find the best, catchiest, and most intriguing titles for papers. Here is what customers who’ve used our tool have to say about it:

Thanks a lot! :) This generator is my golden ticket! Brainstorming with it takes almost no time, and each idea I find is flawless. Studyfy is a lifesaver for students!

With this tool, I always know what to cover in my essayUnlike any other random essay topic generator, this one has helped me generate tons of great ideas. It suggests awesome topics, and I feel inspired! Now that I found Studyfy and this awesome tool, academic writing is just a piece of cake :)

I use this all the time! It’s free and does its job so well. Thanks Studyfy for helping me get inspired and taking my writing to the next level!

I usually write essays myself However, sometimes I feel like I just need an extra push to find a starting point. In such cases, I use this title generator. It helps me find dozens of cool ideas in a few seconds. Anyone who needs inspiration for writing, this is the place to seek it!

Awesome generator! It really helps me find great titles for papers on any subject matter! Earlier, I tried a few different ones, but this one is my fav; it is truly a catchy essay title generator.

Frequently asked questions

What topic categories i can choose from, what should the good essay title generator be like, how many times i can run the tool to find my topic, will my topic be unique, get the most out of studyfy essay topic generator.

• Don’t be afraid to experiment and choose different keywords to
• Pick the title that suits your unique voice.
• Use the tool for inspiration and shape your own topic.
• Don’t hesitate to get help from our pro editors if you’re facing other issues. We will be happy to assist in making every paper perfect!

Studying / Writing Tools

Essay Title Generator

Essay titles are not the easiest things to come up with on your own. We know. That’s why we developed our Essay Title Generator to help you create the title your paper deserves. How does it work? Simple. Just enter the topic you’re interested in researching and a random title will be generated from our database based on the parameters you provide.

Why start with a title? Easy. The best way to start your research is to identify a specific focus within your topic—and that’s what a title does. It tells precisely what your paper is going to be about. So if you’re lost and confused about where to start, try our essay title generator.

How to Use our Essay Title Generator

1. Select your "essay topic" or "type of essay" from drop down menu 2. Click the button for "Generate Essay Title." 3. Read the title that our auto-generating system produces. 4. Want more? Click the button for "Generate More Essay Titles." 5. That’s all there is to it! Use our title to help get yourself started on your research.

Essay Title:

Topic not listed in drop down? Search your specific topic

Essay Titles

Why would generating an  essay title  help you get started in your research? Think about it. Picking a focus for your paper is no walk in the park. How do you whittle down a broad topic to a narrow subject? Well, here’s a way! Try thinking of a snappy title first and going from there! Of course, not everybody is good at whipping up a creative title to get the juices flowing. That’s why we’re here to help.

All you have to do is select your topic from the drop down menu. If you have more than one topic in mind, use the generator more than once and get a bundle of titles to pick from. If you go berry-picking you don’t head out with a basket and come back with one berry, do you? NO! You fill that basket up with as many berries as you can find, then you sort them out, select the best ones, and make yourself a delicious berry pie!

That’s what we’re doing here with our essay title generator. We’re helping you to create a great essay by helping you take the first step in that process. Get your title, get your engine revving, and get going!

Important! Don’t stress—no one likes stress, and it doesn’t help anyone—ever! So leave your stress at the door and see for yourself how simple this can be. No more worries that you can’t think of anything, no more fretting over whether you’ll ever be able to focus and create a thesis. This is easy. You tell us the topic. We tell you a title idea. Want another? Click the generator button again. Need another after that? Keep clicking. Our database is filled with great titles that will launch you into the stratosphere of great ideas quick than a SpaceX Falcon rocket. So strap yourself in because we are going for a ride!

Essay Titles Generate Ideas

The title is just the beginning. It’s where the action starts. Getting a great title can be like getting a ray of sunlight that cuts right through the fog. Everything clears up and suddenly you can see where to go. There down in the valley is your essay and laid out in a path all the way to it are the stones that your essay title has tossed out. Look how they stretch out down into the valley of sweet success.

Think about it—that’s what an essay title can do for you! It gets you elevated and out of the haze so that the research becomes accessible. In the dark, you’re fumbling for a way in, unable to find the key. Well, quit fumbling! The essay title is the key. It is the way in. It opens the door for you and turns on the lights. It points you in the right direction so all you need to do is follow the straight and narrow path

As you get started on that path, stop to look around at all the fruit that pops up along the way on the vines and trees that line the path. These are the ideas that our essay titles have been designed to generate in your own mind. You see, our essay title generator is not just a generator of titles: it is a generator of ideas. It supplies the fuel that will get your brain humming and before you know it your imagination will take over and all the information you have at your disposal will suddenly start clicking into place. That’s what a good essay title does, after all. It gets all cylinders firing!

Brainstorming Essay Titles

The brainstorming process is one of the most important steps when it comes to writing. Though some professors say you should wait until after you’re finished writing to come up with a title, the reality is that sometimes starting with a title can jumpstart the brainstorming process. This is especially true when you’re having writer’s block and can’t come up with a focus for your paper. You may have the topic, but where do you go from there? There are a thousand ways you could approach it, so which one do you choose? Or—worse—you can’t think of a single one! How do you know how to start, or, if see some options, how do you know which will get you where you need to go and not end up just getting you lost?

Brainstorming is the key! So how do you brainstorm successfully? You generate ideas! And how do you do that?

Why, you pick your topic, click the generate title button, and let the brainstorming process begin!

These titles have been specially designed to stimulate your brain and get you thinking about all the possibilities to pursue with your topic. Our titles are filled with ideas. They are brimming with possibilities. There are more potential ideas in our titles than there are grains of sand on a sandy beach. Okay, so maybe there aren’t that many—but you get the idea.

Let’s get started! You need a title, and we have the answer: our essay title generator will give you exactly what you need to get going. Don’t even think about how to come up with that perfect, snappy title. Just enter in your topic and click the button. Our titles will keep you coming back for more and keep you buzzing with ideas. We’re sure you’ll find one that hits you the right way and gives you the spark to get started with your research. Our titles help to illuminate the research process. They give you an indication of where you can go and what you can do. As soon as you feel like you’re getting stuck and need some help, don’t delay. Come get the title you need and deserve. Life’s hard. Don’t wait. Select your topic from the drop down menu and click the blue button. Generate that title, and get some great ideas—let’s go!

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• Idea Generators

Book Title Generator 📚

Looking for the perfect book title? Our brilliant Book Title Generator has over 1,000 creative ideas to spark your imagination. From fun and quirky to mysterious and poetic, this handy tool makes coming up with a catchy title for your masterpiece easy. Keep reading for loads of title inspiration!

• Book Title Generator

Sometimes the inspiration you need is in a book title. If you’re struggling to come up with a solid story idea , then this book title generator is for you! With over 1,000 unique book title ideas, you’re sure to find the inspiration you need for your next story. Feel free to edit and re-adjust these book titles to suit your own story.

Keep on reading this post for tips on creating your own book title and our free book title generator printable. You might also like our daily book title challenge , where you are given a new book title each day to write about.

Other Book Title Generators

Download our app, online book title generator, tips for creating a good book title, create your own book title, random book titles ideas, how do i come up with a title for my book, can you publish a book with no title, can i use any title for my book.

View over 10,000 book title ideas offline, with our brand new Ideas Wizard App . Everything from romance, fantasy and even sci-fi book title ideas. Available now on the Google Play Store:

Just a reminder, our book title generator has been created to give you ideas for potential stories to write. You may need to adjust these titles so that they suit your story. If you’re looking for more book title ideas, please see our free story title generator which is built inside our story creator with thousands of book title ideas to discover:

For more book title ideas, check out our festive Christmas book title generator – The perfect inspiration for your Christmas stories. And if you’re writing a fantasy novel, then you should check out this fantasy book title generator for some magical book title ideas.

What makes a good book title? A good book title summarises your story without giving too much away. It is enticing, exciting and mysterious. Here are some tips for creating an awesome book title for your story:

• Think about the genre: If you’re writing a horror book , then you’ll need a scary or dark book title to suit your story. If you’re writing a children’s story , make sure you think about words that your target readers will understand. Keep your genre in mind when coming up with book titles. And keep your audience in mind! 
• Make a list of descriptive words: What is your story about? Who is the main character? What objects are used throughout? Where is your story set? These are all things you might want to think about when making a list of words that describe your story. This list will come in handy when writing your own book title.
• Leave the book title until the end: It is easier to come up with a good book title when your story is written. The more familiar you are with your story, the easier it is to summarise it in a few words. 
• Review your book title: If you have written your book title before writing the story, then reviewing it at the end is important. You might want to double-check if your book title is still relevant and if it can be further improved. A common theme we’ve seen with writers is that they normally start with a nice, romantic tale, which slowly turns dark and twisted. In which case, the title they gave at the beginning may no longer be relevant after their story is written.
• Don’t overcomplicate it: Avoid making your book title too long or wordy, as this can put potential readers off. Keep it as simple as possible, preferably under five words or even less. When it comes to book titles the shorter, the better – Try to keep the mystery of your book hidden until your readers read it. Similarly, you should try to avoid complicated or technical words in your story. Even if your story is about physics or time travel, try to give it a name that everyone can understand. 
• Keep it relevant: Your book title must have some relevance to your storyline or plot. Don’t go completely off-topic, by giving your book a title that just sounds, ‘cool’, but has no meaning behind it. For instance, you wouldn’t want to read a story called Forbidden Dragons that has no references to dragons in the story at all – How disappointing would that be!

Book titles are hard. And sadly there is no secret formula for creating the perfect book title. However there is a useful exercise you can do to create your own book title (or at least an early draft of it). The easiest way to come up with a basic book title is to think of an adjective and a noun relevant to your story. 

Take for example you have a gothic story about a dragon. Following the adjective and noun technique, you might come up with the following potential book title ideas:

• The Dark Dragon
• The Grim Dragon
• The Gothic Dragon
• The Blood Dragon
• Bone Dragon

As you can see the above example book titles start with an adjective and then are followed by a noun. Including ‘The’ at the beginning is entirely optional. Using this basic technique you should be able to come up with hundreds of potential book titles for your story. 

It may not be a perfect technique for creating your own book title, but it’s a great start. More importantly, it’s a marvellous way to get your brain thinking and to get those creative juices flowing. And you never know, using this technique you’ll be able to come up with the best story title ever! So go on…Give it a go! 

Using this technique we have created a printable book title generator. Here you can use the first letter of your first name and surname to generate a random book title for your next story:

To get you started here is a list of over 160 book titles to inspire you:

• The Magic Tree
• Winter Fairy
• Wizards of Ice
• Call of the Forest
• The Enchanted Ones
• A Spell Too Far
• A Potion For The Wise
• Tower To The Stars
• Me, Moonie and Magic
• The Last Flame
• Lost Warriors Of Elysium
• Night Light
• Eye of the Wolf
• The Hollow Spirit
• Love of Tomorrow
• Never Again
• Eternal Soul
• When Love Lasts
• Nothing In This World
• Tales of the Heart
• Stolen Love
• Yes, Maybe, No
• Together For A Day
• Burning Poem
• Whispers of a Ghost
• Dead Man’s WIsh
• Skeletons in the House
• The Lost Soul
• A Party For Ghouls
• Monster Strike
• See Zombie and Run
• Don’t Go There
• Signs of the Past
• The Monster In The Dark
• Horror Stories In The Dark
• Soulless Dead
• Lonesome Shadow
• Space Galaxy Adventure
• Into The Stars
• The Happy Alien
• Aliens of a New Kind
• Earth To Unknown
• Dark New World
• The One After Mars
• Martian Boy
• Signs of Life on Jupiter
• Dangerous Moon
• Bizarre Robot
• Imaginary Gravity
• Mysterious Cyborg
• Stay Hidden
• What’s Over There?
• Clues And More Clues
• Never to be Solved
• The Mystery of Mr Watkins
• Who Took My Book?
• Who Stole My Homework?
• The Meaning of Z
• The Secrets Of Mr. Miller
• Who Is Mary Walker?
• The Crimes of Martin
• The Lost Portrait
• Blank Paper
• Behind the Door
• Who Were They?
• Bad Surprise
• The Cover Up
• The Perfect Thief
• The Secret Witness
• Season For Revenge
• Innocent Eyes
• Long Road To Go
• One Boy And The World
• Neverending Trip
• Point A to Z
• The Search For Bella
• Travelling To New Lands
• One Car And The Road
• Captain’s Lost Treasure
• Unsolved Crimes
• Who Stole My Cat?
• The Judgement
• Judge of Crime
• Detective Collins and the Van
• Nice Try John
• Get Away And Run Away
• A Sharp Punishment
• Unofficial Crimes
• The New Kind
• Fear Of Those
• We Are Powerful
• Elite of the Unknowns
• We Still Exist
• The New Days
• One Way Ride
• Bang, Crash and Boom
• A Boring Day
• Action Pack Man
• The Bad Guy
• A Cowboy’s Story
• Lone Cowboy
• Riders Of The West
• Cowboys In A Storm
• Horse With No Rider
• Yee-haw! Let’s Get Em!
• Cattles And Horses
• Quest Of The West
• The Two-Cent Men
• Burning The Breeze
• Ridin’ To Roscoe
• The Prince of Darkness
• Cursed Queen
• Warrior Princess
• Slay Like a Princess
• The Blue Knight
• Arealia, Forest Princess
• Iceman: The Melt Down
• The Power Seekers
• Fire And Water
• The Amazing Adventures of Ice Boy
• Homeless Heroes
• Mutant Academy
• Unique And Powerful
• Cupcake Kitty
• Christmas Turtle
• The Angel And The Star
• Snow This Christmas
• A Turkey For Christmas
• Changing Times
• Never The Same
• Back In TIme
• World of Tomorrow
• World of Yesterday
• Yesterday is Today
• Before The Past
• Standing Still
• An Elephant’s Journey
• Cats, Dogs And Other Pets
• The Other Animals
• Swimming With Sharks
• My Best Friend The Lion
• Snail’s Speedy Adventures
• Once Upon A Rat
• Rain On Those
• Miss Minnie And The Bees
• Galaxy Bugs
• Invaders of the Earth
• Trapped Like A Bug
• One Mole And A Cat
• Secrets Of Mara
• The Unwanted Toy
• My Neighbour The Alien
• One Spell Away
• Caveman in the City
• Dragon Invasion
• Talking Trees
• Ninja Cats Rescue Mission
• The Strange Key
• Message in a Bottle
• Whispers in the Wind
• Beyond the Horizon
• Chronicles of Celestia
• Shadow Dance
• The Forgotten Kingdom
• Cogs of Time
• Starlight Serenade
• Veil of Illusions
• The Sapphire Crown
• Phoenix Reborn
• Secrets of the Silver Forest
• Echoes of Eternity
• Midnight Mirage
• Song of the Sirens
• Celestial Dreamscape
• Shattered Realms
• The Astral Alchemist
• Serpent’s Embrace
• Quantum Quill
• Twilight Reverie
• Oracle’s Overture
• Whirlwind of Wonders
• Beyond the Veil
• Enigma of the Ember Stone
• Aurora’s Embrace
• Nexus of Nebulae
• Stormweaver’s Saga
• Labyrinth of Legends
• Whispers of the Waning Moon
• Chronicles of the Crystal Citadel
• Quantum Quasar
• Ember’s Lullaby
• The Velvet Veil
• Enchanted Odyssey
• Moonlit Mosaic
• Scepter of Shadows
• Astral Symphony
• The Chronicles of Evermore
• Echoes of Eldoria
• Sapphire Serenity
• The Stargazer’s Sonnet
• Whims of the Whispering Willow
• Enigma’s End
• Celestial Sonnet
• Oracle’s Odyssey
• Cogs and Chronicles
• Symphony of Shadows
• Echoes in the Silence
• Threads of Destiny
• Silent Reverie
• Whispers of Yesterday
• The Art of Letting Go
• Shadows of Reflection
• Kaleidoscope of Memories
• Uncharted Waters
• Mosaic of Moments
• Fragments of Time
• The Color of Tomorrow
• In the Blink of an Eye
• Footprints in the Sand
• A Symphony of Souls
• The Language of Rain
• Dancing with Shadows
• Serendipity’s Song
• The Road Less Traveled
• Wandering Hearts
• Windows to the Soul
• Notes from Nowhere
• Reflections in Blue
• The Art of Beginning Again
• Whispers of Wisdom
• The Silent Symphony
• Tangled Threads
• The Canvas of Life
• Pages of Possibility
• Trailblazers and Tribulations
• Ripple Effect
• The Unseen Canvas
• Echoes of Tomorrow
• Silent Sparks
• The Tapestry of Time
• The Alchemy of Change
• Veins of Vulnerability
• Footprints of Fate
• The Palette of Promise
• Shattered Illusions
• The Stillness Within
• Untold Stories
• The Journey Home
• Melodies of the Mind
• Hidden Harmony
• Echoes of Euphoria
• Shadows in the Attic
• The Patchwork Path
• The Language of Light
• Whispers of Wonder
• A Symphony of Silence
• Echoes of Myra
• Beyond the Surface
• The Quiet Revolution
• Serendipity’s Edge
• The Canvas of Tomorrow
• Footprints Across Time
• The Art of Balance
• Shadows in the Mirror
• Mosaic Moments
• The Color of Rain
• Songs of Serenity
• Kaleidoscope of Reflection
• Windows to Yesterday
• Echoes of Evolution
• The Ripple Effect
• The Dance of Shadows
• The Road Not Taken
• Pages of Serendipity
• The Unseen Symphony
• The Echo Chamber
• A Palette of Promises
• Shadows of Tomorrow
• Fragments of Fate
• Whispers in the Attic
• Trails of Transformation
• My Mind’s Mystery

Can you create your own book title using the adjective and noun technique or from the ideas in our book title generator? Share your book titles with us in the comments below.

Coming up with the perfect title for your book can be tricky! A good title should be catchy, descriptive and make readers want to pick up your book. When brainstorming ideas, think about your target audience, genre and the main themes or topics of your story.

Using the book title generator can give you a huge list of creative options to get your imagination going. Pick words and phrases that sum up the essence of your book or capture something intriguing about the plot or characters. You can combine interesting adjectives with nouns related to the setting or conflict.

Also consider literary or poetic devices like alliteration, rhyme, repetition and wordplay. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different possibilities until you find the ideal title that captures the spirit of your writing. The most important thing is to choose something memorable that will appeal to readers browsing bookshelves or online listings.

See our guide on how to come up with a good book title .

While it may seem tempting for a book to have no title and let the writing speak for itself, publishers will require books to have a title before being published. Some key reasons for this include:

• Titles are crucial for marketing and helping readers quickly identify what a book is about. Without a title, it’s very difficult to promote or sell a book effectively.
• Titles give structure and context when a book is added to a catalogue or bookshelf. They allow books to be organized and categorized.
• Many online book retailers require a title field when submitting book information. Title-less books would likely get rejected.
• Readers browse books by title all the time. No title means no way for potential readers to easily reference the book.
• Titles provide convenient shorthand to refer to a book in conversation or reviews.

So while a purely content-focused book with no title may sound avant-garde, it’s highly impractical from a publishing and marketing perspective. The title plays a critical role in a book’s discoverability and commercial viability. That’s why publishers require even the most experimental literary works to have a title before hitting the shelves.

When choosing a title for your book, you do have a lot of creative freedom, but you can’t use just any title you want. Here are some important considerations around book titles:

• You can’t use a title that is already in use by another book. Titles need to be unique to avoid copyright issues. Doing a quick search on Amazon or Google Books can help check if your desired title is taken.
• Be cautious about using titles with branded names or trademarks. You may need permission to use words like Band-Aid, Kleenex etc.
• Don’t use misleading titles that have nothing to do with the book’s subject matter, as readers will feel deceived.
• Check if the title is search-friendly. Extremely vague, odd or cryptic titles can get buried in search results.
• Be sensitive with provocative or offensive titles that may turn off readers or distributors.
• Steer clear of book titles with clickbait-y wording, as readers dislike misleading hype.

While the book title space is vast, do your research to ensure your chosen title is distinct, accurate, marketable and in line with industry norms and reader expectations. The right title can excite readers and set your book up for success.

Our Book Title Generator provides an endless supply of creative and unique book titles to spark your imagination. Let us know in the comments if you found the perfect title for your story among our suggestions.

What’s your favourite title idea from our generator? We’d love to hear how this tool helped you in your writing journey. Keep using it to brainstorm titles until you discover that ideal attention-grabbing name for your masterpiece!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Find the perfect title for your nonfiction or fiction book with our Book Title Generator. Save time and unleash your creativity by generating a unique and captivating title tailored to your target audience.

Don't like it?

Why use a book title generator tool?

Do you need help coming up with a title for your book? Have too many ideas and need help narrowing it down? Our book title generator tool can help!

It will create a working title that sets the stage for your book, with the ability to instantly come up with 1000s of variations to choose from. Simply follow the prompts on the tool and click “Generate” to get your title and subtitle ideas. Use it as many times as you need to come up with new combinations and get the creative juices flowing. 

No book (yet)? No problem! 

You can use our title generator for book inspiration. For many, having an initial idea for their book title inspires them to get started. But for others, it is a daunting task that towers over the actual act of writing their book. 

How to craft the perfect book title (with a generator tool)

When people ask us how to write a book , we help them break it down into smaller, achievable steps. And one of those early steps is creating a working title.

A “working” title is meant to be used as a placeholder when you first start writing your book. And a quick way to craft one is with a book title generator.

Here are some tips for using an AI book title generator to come up with the winning book title ideas:

1. Start with a few specific words or phrases

A great nonfiction book title should reflect what the book is about, what the person will learn, or the end result they’ll achieve after reading your book.

Fiction books aren’t as straightforward. It’s a creative process that requires establishing the style and tone you want for your title and book cover – and then using a book title generator to help you rapidly test different word combinations, phrases, and title lengths.

2. Do some research within your genre

Search for other books in your genre and subgenre, taking note of the types of titles and trends you see. Which are you drawn to? Do they include a lot of adjectives? Are they long or short? This will help you create a running list of the type of title format you want, and help you steer clear of title formats you want to avoid.

If you aren’t sure about your genre, you can use a list of book genres to find where your story is best aligned.

3. Get inspiration from your characters, setting, or location

Many books have been named after the hero (think: Harry Potter, Oliver Twist , or Macbeth ), the location in which the story or a significant scene occurs ( The Wizard of Oz ), or something that makes a character stand out ( The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ). A unique name or fantasy world can create intrigue and mystery in your book title.

4. Use – or imply – foreshadowing

They Both Die at the End tells the reader what’s going to happen before they even turn to the first page. But that’s part of the reason you want to pick it up. How could the author possibly surprise you after spoiling the ending?

Meanwhile, titles like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King or As I Lay Dying , aren’t as obvious but still pull you in.

5. Consider your audience

Writing a YA book title is different from writing an adult high fantasy book title. That’s why our book title generator asks who your audience is. It will help you brainstorm an age (and genre) appropriate title for your book.

6. Draft a book description

A description will give the book title generator tool keywords and context, resulting in more specific titles.

Understanding how to write a book description that captures someone’s attention and draws them into the story is an art form in itself. It’s like the trailer of your book. And should be intentionally thought out before you publish and market your book. But at this point in the journey, you don’t need to have your description in its final form.

7. Input everything into the book title generator tool

While it’s certainly not required, taking the time to think about all of the above points will help you create stronger inputs for the AI book title generator. Changing the different things you choose to highlight in the tool’s fields will give you a wide mix of titles. You could even come up with 1000’s of book titles (though we don’t recommend that)!

8. Choose between your top three ideas

We recommend using the “Generate” button on the book title generator until you find a couple of possible working titles. You don’t want to give yourself so many options that you are overwhelmed, but 3-4 solid working book titles are just enough to help you move on to the rough draft .

Related: How to Title a Book

Remember that the first milestone for writing a book is getting (imperfect) words on paper.

Then, when you actually write your entire book and complete it, you can revisit the idea of your book title and dig more into how to subtitle your book . You will have a more fine-tuned approach as to what your book title should include, and you’ll be better prepared to hone in on your best-selling idea.

As a self-published author, your title is not set in stone. In fact, many independent authors change their book titles even after they have published their book; they simply release their book with a new title name, especially if they discover after publication that the original isn’t effective in communicating what the book is about.

So, ready to get started?

MORE HELPFUL TOOLS

Table of Contents

Why Do Book Titles Matter?

The 5 attributes of a good book title.

• Steps To Find The Perfect Book Title

Does Your Book Need A Subtitle?

More Ways to Read

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How To Come Up With The Perfect Book Title [Ultimate Guide]

Don’t Have Time Right Now?

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.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this Scribe Guide:

• Attention Grabbing
• Informative (Gives an Idea of What The Book is About)
• Easy To Say
• Not Embarrassing or Problematic For Someone To Say It

Specific Steps To Find The Perfect Book Title

Step 1: Get Clarity On Your Book Goals

Step 2: brainstorm several potential titles.

Step 3: Make Sure This Title Is Not Already Popular

Step 4: Pick Your Favorites & Test Them

Test #1: Imagine People Saying The Title

Test #2: See What People Click On

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

The title is the first thing the potential 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.

A good title should have all of these attributes:

• Attention-Grabbing
• Memorable & Searchable
• Informative
• Easy & Not Embarrassing to Say

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. “

2. Memorable & Searchable

It’s much easier to get a reaction out of someone and then be forgotten, than it is to get a reaction and also be memorable.

Remember, a book’s title is not only the first thing a reader hears about your book, it’s the one piece of information that a potential reader has that leads them back to the book itself.

If your book is recommended to them by a friend, and they can’t remember the title, then they can’t go find it in a bookstore or on Amazon. Best-selling author Scott Berkun says it well:

“Often [the title] is all a potential buyer ever gets to see, and if they can draw interest the book crosses its first of many hurdles in the improbable struggle of getting noticed. But titles only help so much. Most people hear about books the same way they hear about new bands. Or new people to meet. A friend or trusted source tells them it was good and it was called  <NAME HERE>. The title at that point serves as a moniker. It’s the thing you need to remember to get the thing you want to get and little more. “

This also means you want the book title to be easily searchable. In the world we live in, search is how people find things now. If your title does not lend itself to easy memorization and searchability on Google and Amazon, that is very bad.

3. Informative (Gives an Idea of What the Book is About)

This is the least crucial aspect for fiction titles, but very important for non-fiction. The title, including the subtitle , should give the reader some sort of idea of what the book is about.

People aren’t going to do your work for you; the easier you make it for them to understand the subject, the more likely you are to draw in the people who’d find your book interesting.

A good test is to ask yourself this: If you were to tell someone the title of your book at a party, would they have to ask what it’s about?

If so, that’s probably a bad title.

Don’t out-think yourself on your title. A title that is overly clever or unclear signals the book is for people who immediately understand the word or phrase—which makes people who don’t get it right away feel dumb (and less likely to buy the book).

By using a word or phrase that is either not immediately understandable by your desired audience or doesn’t convey the point of the book, you’re putting a huge obstacle in front of your success.

Though your title should be informative and easily understood, it doesn’t need to spell out the entire book. Take Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling Outliers for example: this title does a great job of cuing the content of the book without describing it outright.

4. Easy & Not Embarrassing To Say

Having an easy to say title is a concept called cognitive fluency. It means people are more likely to remember and respond to words and phrases they can immediately understand and pronounce.

Without going too far into the psychological literature, the point is this: Don’t try to be sophisticated at the risk of being obscure.

It’s a basic fact of human psychology—people don’t like to feel socially awkward. If a book title is hard to pronounce, or more importantly, if it’s a phrase that sounds stupid when said out loud, it makes them far less likely to buy it, and chances are they won’t talk about it to other people.

One of the most important things to think about when picking your book title is word of mouth. Think about how people will feel about saying this book title out loud to their friends. Does it make them look smart or stupid?

The worst possible title is one that makes someone feel silly saying it out loud. For example, if the book title is something like “Why Racism Is Great,” no one is ever going to tell their friends about it, no matter how good the book is, because they have to then face the scrutiny of why they bought that book in the first place. Social context doesn’t just matter some; it matters a lot.

Take this list of bad book titles , and imagine saying any of them out loud to your friends in a serious way—you’d never do that.

Generally speaking, shorter titles are best. A short title is not only more memorable and easier to say for your target audience, it also gives space and flexibility for a better book cover. A one-word title is the best.

People get lured into crafting titles that are exacting and long-winded in an effort to make the title signal the book idea and audience. In the title, stick to the core idea. If you want to get wordy, then leave that to the subtitle.

If you can, aim to keep the main title around 5 words or less. The subtitle can offer context or tell a bit more about what the reader will learn. Cameron Herold’s book Meetings Suck has a pithy title, with a subtitle that helps the reader see why the need the book: Turning One of the Most Loathed Elements of Business into One of the Most Valuable.

How To Come Up With A Book Title

Your goals for your book determine what type of title you pick.

If you want to build a brand out of your non-fiction book, your title options are quite different than if you want to publish a racy thriller.

Let’s examine all the functions your book title can serve, and the places for potential use, before we walk you through the precise process of thinking up title ideas:

How A Book Title Can Be Used

• To sell the book to readers
• Establish the author’s authority in a subject
• Be a hook for the author to get media visibility
• Branding for a company, author, conference, or course materials
• Advertise/market the book
• Used in speeches, slides, or other in-person activities
• Used in reviews, blog posts, articles, etc.
• Something the author has to say in all their press appearances
• Become a defining part of an author’s future bio
• Decorate the cover
• Identify the Amazon/B&N listing
• Start a line of books
• Use on t-shirts, flyers, or other promotional material
• Brand a main character or character’s name (Harry Potter)

The point of this whole list is simple: Know which of these objectives apply to your book, and make sure your title can serve those objectives.

For example, if your goal is to build a brand, make sure your book title is your brand. Dave Asprey’s first diet book is called The Bulletproof Diet , because that’s his brand: Bulletproof. The book is about selling everything around the book, not just the book itself.

If your goal is authority in your field, make sure the book title sounds authoritative to whom you are trying to speak. Whimsical doesn’t work in serious academic fields, whereas serious doesn’t work in comedic fields.

If your goal is to get media attention and raise your visibility, make sure the book title l appeals to media and makes them want to cover you.

Brainstorming for titles is not a specific thing you do for an hour, but rather a long term process. It may take you months and hundreds of book title ideas to finalize your title.

But you start by simply brainstorming titles. Literally start a file and write down every working title you can think of for your book.

I know that telling someone to brainstorm is like telling someone to “be creative.” There is no best way to brainstorm, but there are a lot of best practices.

This is a list of every possible way we know of to find a good book title, complete with examples of book titles (remember, these techniques are not just for your main title, they will be the basis for your subtitles as well). Most of these are for nonfiction titles, though some can be used for novel titles.

Also, don’t be afraid to put bad titles on your brainstorm list. Bad titles actually help you–because they will get you to a good title. Here are some best practices:

Use Clever or Noteworthy Phrases From The Book

This is very common in fiction, and can work well with novel titles. It also works well with non-fiction books where the concept of the book can be summed up quickly or with one phrase.

• The Black Swan
• Lecturing Birds On Flying
• I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

Use Both Short and Long Phrases

We usually start with a really long title and work our way down to much a short title. The goal is the main title be as short as possible—no more than 5 words—and have the subtitle offer the context and put in important keywords.

Use Relevant Keywords

For non-fiction especially, search matters. You want to make sure that when someone searches for the subject or topic of your book, it will come up on Google and Amazon. But it’s a balancing act, because you don’t want to sacrifice the authenticity of the work for what looks and feels like a search string query.

If you are unsure of this, go look on Amazon and see how often subtitles and titles use additional keywords to attract more search engine traffic.

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons In Personal Change
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business Into A Sales Machine With The $100 Million Best Practices Of Salesforce.com

Make a Promise of a Benefit

Some of the best titles promise to help readers achieve a desired goal or get some wanted benefit. They specifically call out an end result that people want:

• How To Win Friends and Influence People
• Getting Things Done
• Think And Grow Rich

Be Simple and Direct

Some of the very best titles are just basic statements about what the book is. There is nothing wrong with this, it can work well, especially for strictly instructional books.

• Getting Past No
• The Power Of Habit

Target an Audience

As we said, people use titles to judge if the book is for them. Part of helping people understand this can be targeting them in your title. You can target specific audiences by naming them or by describing their characteristics. This works especially well if you have a series of books, and then do versions targeted to specific niches.

• What to Expect When You’re Expecting
• Physics For Future Presidents

Offer a Specific Solution to a Problem

This is very popular in the self-help and diet spaces.

You tell the reader exactly what problem your book solves in the title. This is similar to the promise of a benefit, but not the exact same thing; a benefit is something additive, like being sexy. A solution to a problem takes away something negative, like losing weight.

• Man’s Search for Meaning
• 6 Ways to Lose Belly Fat Without Exercise!
• Secrets of Closing The Sale

Use Numbers to Add Credibility

Specifics, like numbers, add credibility and urgency to your titles. The can provide structure for your information, or they can make hard things seem easier. Specificity enables people to engage the idea in a more concrete way, and gives bounded limits and certainty on time frames as well.

• The 48 Laws of Power
• The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership

Pique The Reader’s Curiosity (But Withhold The Answer)

Using statements that seem to be impossible, unusual contrasts, or paradoxes can make readers curious about what is in the book. The idea is to make a claim or statement that seems a little far-fetched or fantastical, but promises delivery. This is very popular now with headline writing on sites like UpWorthy and ViralNova.

The iconic recent example of this with books is one we already mentioned, The 4-Hour Workweek. Everyone wants to know how to work 4 hours a week, except it seems impossible, so you pick up the book to see what that guy is talking about.

• Networking Is Not Working
• 10% Happier
• Who Moved My Cheese?

Use Metaphors or Symbols Associated With The Themes in Your Book

Humans think in symbol and metaphor. Using these powerful devices can help you create a strong title that really resonates.

The iconic metaphor-based series is “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” The title signals the warm, nurturing feeling that our culture associates with chicken soup and connects it to something else–stories that nurture your soul.

• The Untethered Soul

Use Alliteration

Alliteration is the use of the same letter at the beginning of all or most of the words in your title. This makes things easier for humans to remember.

• The Mighty Miss Malone
• A Storm Of Swords
• The Pop-Up Paradigm

Alter a Popular Phrase

This is common in book titles and tends to work well—taking a famous phrase and altering it in a way that makes sense for you book. This works because it’s close to something people know, but not exactly the same thing.

• The War of Art
• Assholes Finish First

Slang can work really well, especially if it’s used in a way that is non-intuitive but also novel.

• Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
• No Mopes Allowed: A Small Town Police Chief Rants and Babbles about Hugs and High Fives, Meth Busts, Internet Celebrity, and Other Adventures

Try cliche formats (or reversing them)

There are a ton of book-naming tropes that can work well if used correctly:

• The Art of [TOPIC]
• The Myth of [TOPIC]
• Confessions of [TOPIC]
• How to [TOPIC]
• The Joy of [TOPIC]
• The End of [TOPIC]
• The Art of Racing In The Rain
• The Myth of Male Power
• Confessions of An Economic Hitman
• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Joy of Sex
• The End of Science

Done poorly, these kinds of titles can seem cliched and cloying instead of fresh. This technique is best used when it offers a twist—but isn’t so far out that it confuses the reader.

Consider Coining a Phrase or New Word

This is very helpful, especially if you want to create a brand or company or extended product line out of your book, or brand a character name. The problem with this is that it’s not an easy thing to do. Many authors try to create new words; few succeed, so try this sparingly. The most important element of this technique is that the word is easy to say and understand.

• Essentialism

Use Amazon/Goodreads/Wikipedia For Inspiration

If you’re feeling stuck, you can always go look at how other books are named.

• Wikipedia’s list of best selling books of all time
• Goodreads list of best book titles
• Amazon’s current best selling books

Use Copywriting Manuals For Ideas

If you are truly stuck and cannot think of anything, read some books about copywriting. They are not specifically about book titling, but copywriters have to understand the sell triggers, and they will give you tons and tons of examples. These are three of the best out there:

• POP!: Create the Perfect Pitch, Title, and Tagline for Anything
• The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost your Sales.
• Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich: Create Winning Ads, Web Pages, Sales Letters and More

Step 3: Check Copyright, Trademark, Keywords and Popularity

First off, let me very clear about this: you cannot copyright titles.

Technically, you can call your book “To Kill A Mockingbird” or “Lord Of The Rings” or even “The Holy Bible.”

That being said, copying a popular book makes it VERY hard for your book to stand out, and pretty much guarantees a lot of negative reviews from people who are not getting the book they expected.

That being said, you can trademark a title, if it is part of a larger brand. For example, the term “Bulletproof” is trademarked in the health and fitness space by Dave Asprey. You (probably) can’t title a book “The Bulletproof Diet” because it infringes on a trademark (not the copyright ).

If this is confusing, and you have a book title you think might be a trademark infringement, then talk to an IP attorney.

Also, make sure you check that the title and subtitle have the right keywords you want to address your market, and aligns with any domain and brand issues you have.

Step 4: Pick Your Favorites

At this point, you should have a long list of title ideas. Once that’s done, you can move on to the next step: picking your titles.

I cannot emphasize how important this next step is:

Everyone has opinions on book titles. Most of those opinions are stupid and wrong.

Even people who get PAID to come up with book titles (editors, publishers, etc.) are usually bad at it.

Here’s a great test as to whether or not you have a good book title: imagine one of your readers talking about your book at a party to other people.

If you can see them confidently saying the book title aloud, and the people listening nodding and immediately either understanding what the book is about based on that (and perhaps a sentence or two of explanation), or asking for a further explanation because it sounds interesting, then you’ve got a good title.

If you imagine any other reaction than this one, you need to re-think your title, and probably change it.

Remember, so much of book marketing boils down to word of mouth, and word of mouth is all about people signaling things to other people. You want your book title to inspire and motivate the right people to talk about it, because it lets them signal the right things to their friends.

Test #2: (optional) Test Actual Clicks

Here’s one of the keys to testing your titles: test both the main title and subtitle and test them in many different iterations. Usually what you’ll find is most things test about the same, while there will be one thing that clearly tests better as a title and another that clearly tests best as a subtitle.

This is a great piece about the step-by-step process of using Google Adwords to test a title.

If you have a large audience already, you can also use Survey Monkey .

For real customer feedback, I recommend using Pickfu .

I would also recommend Google Survey . This is real market testing of real people and can be done fairly cheaply.

How Not To Test Your Book Title

Most of the things authors do to test their titles are very, very bad.

For example, posting on social media is NOT TESTING YOUR TITLE. In fact, posting on social media is about the worst possible way to test a title.

Why is this?

Well, your social media friends are probably not your audience, and a tweet about the title won’t help you. And even worse, everyone on your social media has an agenda relative to the author that will often put you off-kilter.

Friends and family don’t work. Generally speaking, they want to make you happy. They don’t want to give you an objective answer. Or they want to make sure you look good, but they don’t know what will actually make you look good.

Furthermore, oftentimes colleagues will be critical—because they are jealous. It happens a lot, and they will give you bad advice , even if only unconscious.

And some authors will go to their marketing teams for title advice, which can often lead you way off-kilter. Do you know the saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee? When you start getting opinions from lots of different sources, you get the “camel effect” hardcore.

If you’re doing a non-fiction book, yes, probably so.

The way we like to frame it is that the title is the hook, and the subtitle is the explanation. The subtitle is the promise of the book.

Books need a subtitle if it’s necessary to contextualize the subject alluded to in the main title. Typically, the subtitle tells the reader some combination of what the book’s central premise is, who the book is for, and what promise the book delivers on or need it meets.

Some examples where subtitles help contextualize the title and deliver the promise of the implied title:

• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape The 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join The New Rich: See how the title hooks you by being interesting, and the subtitle explains the premise? Very well done.
• Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead: It’s a bit long, but the same thing is going on here; the subtitle contextualizes and frames the title, which is clear, easy to understand, and say.
• Kitchen Confidential: This originally had a subtitle, “Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly,” but it was later dropped. No subtitle was needed on this work of non-fiction, because the meaning is clear, especially when paired with a picture of a chef on the front (and because it became very famous, which helps).
• The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11: This is an example of a book where the subtitle is very important. That title could mean many things, but the subtitle quickly signals what the book is about and who it’s for.

The Scribe Crew

Read this next.

Authors Receive Authority – What does ‘The Medium Is the Message’ Really Mean?

Audiobooks: Who Benefits Most and Why Authors Should Consider Them

When Should You Hire a Ghostwriter for a Business Book?

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• Writing Tips

How to Write Book Titles in Your Essays

3-minute read

• 26th May 2023

When writing an essay, you’re likely to mention other authors’ works, such as books, papers, and articles. Formatting the titles of these works usually involves using quotation marks or italics.

So how do you write a book title in an essay? Most style guides have a standard for this – be sure to check that first. If you’re unsure, though, check out our guide below.

Italics or Quotation Marks?

As a general rule, you should set titles of longer works in italics , and titles of shorter works go in quotation marks . Longer works include books, journals, TV shows, albums, plays, etc. Here’s an example of a book mention:

Shorter works include poems, articles, chapters of books, episodes of TV shows, songs, etc. If it’s a piece that’s part of a biggHow to Write Book Titles in Your Essayser work, the piece considered a short work:

Exceptions to the Rule

The rule for writing book titles in italics applies specifically to running text . If the book title is standing on its own, as in a heading, there’s no need to italicize it.

Additionally, if the book is part of a larger series and you’re mentioning both the title of the series and that of the individual book, you can consider the book a shorter work. You would set the title of the series in italics and place the book title in quotation marks:

Punctuation in Book Titles

Do you need to apply italics to the punctuation in a book title? The short answer is yes – but only if the punctuation is part of the title:

If the punctuation isn’t part of the title (i.e., the punctuation is part of the sentence containing the title), you shouldn’t include in the italics:

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Summary: Writing Book Titles in Essays

We hope you’ll now feel confident when you’re writing and formatting book titles in your essays. Generally, you should set the title in italics when it’s in running text. Remember, though, to check your style guide. While the standards we’ve covered are the most common, some style guides have different requirements.

And once you finish writing your paper, make sure you send it our way! We’ll make sure any titles are formatted correctly as well as checking your work for grammar, spelling, punctuation, referencing, and more. Submit a free sample to try our service today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you write the title of a book in a sentence.

Set the title of the book in italics unless the book is part of a larger work (e.g., a book that’s part of a series):

When do you use quotation marks for titles?

Place titles of shorter works or pieces that are contained in a larger work in quotation marks:

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How to Create Brilliant Book Titles (With Examples)

A good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a lifeless shelf-dweller.  

If you don’t believe me, look up  First Hundred Million  by editor E. Haldeman-Julius. He explains that changing just the book title can rocket a book from selling 6,000 copies a year to 50,000 copies a year. 

In this post I’m going to give you a list of great book titles, but I’m also going to give you some information that will help you choose the best title for  your  book. 

The title is what people see first. It’s what they remember when they go home to look the book up. It’s what they say when they recommend the book to others. It’s the most important marketing decision that a writer can make because, while a good title can’t make a book popular, it can certainly keep a book from getting sold. 

Yes, a book’s cover art is important, but there are some books that, once readers see the title, think, “Hmm, now that sounds interesting.” And they pick the book up. 

That  is what we’re after. Cover artists and publishers can decide on the art, but  you  are responsible for  your  book’s title – especially in the case of self-publishing. 

A Good Book Title Is: 

• Unique A unique title captures the essence of the book, stakes out new territory in the arms race of book naming, and provokes curiosity. Upon reading or hearing it, a person should get an idea of what your book is about without entirely knowing what’s inside.   Example:  The Forest of Hands and Teeth . Have you ever heard of a book like that? And don’t you want to find out more?
• Catches the reader’s attention  Think of Dave Egger’s book You Shall Know Our Velocity . I love that title! It’s so energetic. Imagine someone walking in a bookstore, passing by hundreds of books. How can your title stand out among the rest? How can it provoke curiosity?
• Easily remembered Unique titles that catch the reader’s attention should also be easily remembered.  Most easily remembered books are pleasant sounding to the ear, short, and unique.  Pride and Prejudice  is a good example. A bad example would be Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. Nobody could remember that title. Nobody. Everyone came into bookstores asking for “The Office Book.”
• Easily pronounced  A good title is easily pronounced because that plays a part in being easily remembered as well as how often a reader may talk about your book. This is a movie example rather than a book, but remember the Jennifer Lopez/Ben Affleck disaster that was Gigli ? That could have been the best movie in the world and it still would have flopped because no one knows how to pronounce Gigli.
• Avoids confusion with other books Two books last year had very similar titles: “Girl on a Train” and “The Girl on the Train.” The latter was a best seller. The former was not, but got lots of sales simply by confusion. You want to choose a title which is unique from other books, unless you have a plan to draft off a super-popular book. Discoverability is a big deal, especially for self-published writers. You want people to be able to find your book, and not a book that just sounds like it.

Your title may not contain all of these characteristics, but it should at least be a combination of two or three. 

Titling Nonfiction Books  

Nonfiction titles should get straight to the point of the content (this includes blog posts, articles, etc.). 

For example: if you tell someone the title of your nonfiction book and they have to ask what it is about, you probably need to change the title. 

If you have a great eye-catching title that doesn’t quite get to the point, consider a subtitle . 

Discoverability is the “Good Title” characteristic most important for nonfiction works. Keywords are essential. You want your book to pop right up when someone types in their problem. If you want to tell someone how to plant a garden, consider titling your book, “How to Plant a Garden.”  

Check to be sure that your chosen title isn’t already used because that can create unnecessary confusion and competition.   

It wouldn’t surprise me if “How to Plant a Garden” is already taken, so consider adding or shifting around the words. This is also where subtitling could be considered. 

Examples:   

• The Best Way to Plant a Garden. 
• Gardening Made Simple and Easy 
• 6 Steps to the Perfect Garden 
• Gardening Advice 
• The Perfect Harvest: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting the Perfect Garden 

Making the title unique without tarnishing its discoverability is probably one of the best things a nonfiction writer can do. 

Dale Carnegie achieved this with his bestselling novel, “ How to Win Friends and Influence People .” This title is much less boring than “How to Be a Leader.” 

Titling Fiction (Novels & Short Stories)

Fiction differs from nonfiction in that titles should rarely get straight to the point. They instead should be mysterious and thought provoking, inducing curiosity. Fiction titles should lead a reader to pick up your book, not because they need a solution to a problem or information on a matter, but because they are curious.  

Now, whether they buy or not depends on the content, but the title is what provokes them. 

I also offer advice on writing the inside of your book (imagine that!).

If you want advice on novel plotting, characterization, pacing, theme or a hundred other topics, you should definitely check out my post on HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLING NOVEL.

Click that link above to have your mind blown with novel possibilities.

Titles come in all shapes and forms. 

Single words: 

• Endurance 
• Atonement 
• Allegiant 
• Nevermore 
• Boneshaker 

Poetry: 

• The Fault in Our Stars 
• For Whom the Bells Toll 

Famous Sayings: 

• Liberty or Death 
• Double Jeopardy 
• Till Death Do Us Part 

Quotes From Within the Book: 

• To Kill a Mockingbird 
• Gone With the Wind 
• Monsters of Men 
• Their Eyes Were Watching God 

Wordplay: 

• Of Mice and Men 
• Pride and Prejudice 
• I Capture the Castle 
• Sally After Sal 

Opposing Subjects: 

• War and Peace 
• Love and Hate  
• Angels and Demons 

There are hundreds of examples. Simply look at your favorite book and ask yourself why that title sounds interesting. Now, think of how the author might have come up with that. Use that same technique. 

How to Come Up With a Title 

I am going to give you a list , but read this anyway in case you don’t like any of my ideas. 

1. Brainstorm. 

You are a writer. You are your own best source of creativity. Your best ideas are going to come from inside your pretty little head, so use it. Sit down and think of all the interesting titles that come to your mind. Ask yourself what your book is truly about, and give an answer in three or four words. Use lines of poetry. Use song lyrics. Use quotes from your own book. Look up title generators and, while you may not use the exact title, you can find inspiration by combining different words and such. Here’s a list of the best title generators , and they are organized by genre. Ask your friends and family for ideas. Use  every  resource available to you.  

2. Write them all down.

Do this for a couple of days or until your creativity bank has run completely dry, then go back through and pick out the top ten.  

3. Next, take it down to five.

Use the requirements listed under “Good Book Title” in the first portion of the article. Is it catchy? Memorable? Easy to find on the internet? 

4. You have two choices at this point.

• You can either begin asking others which title they think is best – it’s best to use an unbiased survey with people you don’t know very well who are within your target audience. (See below.)
• Or you can scratch everything and go through steps 1 – 3 again. Some ideas for testing these titles include: Facebook polls  – Find a book group, list your titles, and see which gets the most votes. Facebook ads  – Create an ad for each title and see which gets the most clicks. Google Adwords  – Same as the Facebook ads including the use of keywords to make sure only your target audience is polled.   

Rules to Remember 

• Don’t use Identical Titles . While titles cannot be copyrighted, the same rules for using identical titles apply just about anywhere. It is  not  recommended. Don’t name your book  The Holy Bible, Harry Potter , or  The  Lord of the Rings hoping to catch some readers deceptively. If a reader stumbles across your book when searching for the other identically named book, imagine how upset they may get and what that could mean for your book’s reputation. You may not even mean to copy a title. This is why research is so important: because even if the other identically named book isn’t famous, having the same title will hurt your discoverability.
• Stick with your genre . A book with the title of “Thy Mystery of the Blonde Lady” should be for a mystery book – not a thriller. Likewise, “The Devil’s Woods,” isn’t a very suitable title for a romance novel. Again, do  research . (I know. This is much more work than just slopping down some words on the cover of your masterpiece.) Find successful books in your genre and see what they are titled.
• Don’t use derogatory language . You may think that adding some explicit language to your book title will add shock appeal and will do a better job at grabbing attention. It may certainly grab people’s attention, but it may not be the attention you want.  Many people become uncomfortable  because of this sort of language, and they will avoid your book specifically for this reason.  Books with titles like these will probably not get recommended as often because readers may not want to say the words out loud, admit that they are reading such a book, or have to go into a detailed explanation as to why they were reading such a book in the first place.
• Avoid Titles with negative themes . Names such as: Why Slavery is Necessary, Racism is a Good Thing, and How Murdering My Children Set Me Free are all examples of terrible titles for obvious reasons. 

The moment you’ve been waiting for. I’ve composed a list of titles that I’ve come up with over the years by using the exact same tips and rules I’ve given to you. (Sometimes, interesting titles even inspire writers to write something based around it, and how awesome is that?) Feel free to use these, but let me know because I’d love to see if any of my ideas have helped you.  

A List of 44 Great Original Titles

• The Stars Tonight 
• A Guide to Courteous Thievery 
• Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down 
• Dark Days Under a Black Sun 
• Darkness is Fallen 
• Shattered Pieces 
• Unmasked 
• Remember Me 
• The Sound of Light 
• Long Far Away 
• Resonance 
• Asterism 
• Into the Abyss 
• Firedance 
• Evenstar 
• The Kings of Old 
• Legend 
• Burned 
• Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves 
• Some Nightmares are Beautiful 
• Walls of Fire 
• The Polite Murderer 
• The Windrunner 
• Renegade 
• Evanescent 
• Winter Ark 
• Eventide 
• Blood Roses 
• Those Who Play With Demons 
• Wintertide 
• The Friend of Death 
• Two Roads 
• Crimson Sky 
• Emerald Dream 
• Ashes and Snow 
• Blood Moon 
• One Last Hundred Chances 
• Heaven’s Demons and Earth’s Angels 
• The Stars Have Eyes 
• Twenty-one 
• I Heard it Once, Long Ago 
• Golden Girl 
• Why She Said Yes 
• From the Ashes We will Rise 

I have no idea if any of these titles have already been used. I hope not, but do your research just in case. Good luck and be sure to check out our writing courses . 

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125 comments

Hey Christian, great article and thanks for the mention of the Book Title Generators list.

Superb ideas, I am already brainstorming. May be there should be an activity – give a book title to someone and ask them to imagine a brief plot of the book

Hello Christian, I very much enjoyed your article. I am retired ENT surgeon and written my autobiography. Please any catchy book title. Thanks Sat Mehta

How about: The Life of Sat Mehta Sat Mehta: Tales of an EMT Surgeon

ENTer the theatre

Under the Knife

Great article . Any suggestions for my upcoming book on violence again hospitals health workers This is from India Thank you

Cool thoughts. Thanks for providing that list to peruse. The one I like is “The Sound of Light”; has that synesthesia thing going for it.

Yeah, a bit like Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Colour of Magic’

All are marvelous. But, “Heaven’s Demons and Earth’s Angel’s” sound more Superb to me. Great Job.

Hello, there. Thank you for the… 5 posts (maybe more?) I’ve read so far. Honestly, a forced brainstorm is a nightmare. However, these 44 Title ideas are a lifesaver: it really helped me brainstorm! Less than half of my books had names. Now, I’ve got a good list of names to all of them, all thanks to you. My favorites were #2, #4, #19, #23, #31, #39 (they helped me create new original titles). Keep up the awesome work!

Hi there! I will take just any good idea. I’m writing a script about anorexia but don’t want to just name it “Anorexia” because that is very bold and obvious for a title. I’d really appreciate some help. Thanks!

Hi! I’m not the author of this post, but I had some ides what I saw this. I have a friend who struggled with (not very severe) anorexia, and when she said some things they really struck hard, so here are a few ideas I had: Empty, Ignore the Hunger, The Hunger is an Addiction. this may help you come up with some ideas of your own!

Lies of A Reflection

Mirrors sometimes lie

The Weight Of Hunger

I know that carrot will hurt me.

Am new to writing and this book is long overdue. and Am writing a book about my life, my struggles, my pain, my loss, my victory, where I am at present and what ot took. It is basically about rising from the ashes, irrespective of. I want a book to enpower, motivate, mentor, and encourage people especially targeted at women folk and anyone having a hard time, facing difficult times and cant really see light at the end of the tunnel. I dont want use obvious names. Any suggestions? Anyone?

My Becoming

“My Becoming” sounds a lot like Michelle Obama’s book “Becoming” though

Hi, there! i’m writing a short story about a topic that is pretty close to me, mental illness to be pretty exact. i don’t want my title to be bland and cliche, i want it to pop out and catch attention, and with the topic i’m writing about i do not want the title to imply that the story is a joke, any suggestions? thank you!

Lemon tears?

Depression?

Hi, I am thinking of writing a book on parenting on substance abuse and my target group should be the youths. Please is it possible to help me with a nice short and catchy title of the book. I would be glad you did. Thank you

“The Windrunner” is too similar to “The Kiterunner” IMO, which is a bestseller.

The High Life

Great article. I don’t usually have any trouble coming up with a title and I rarely come up with more ideas than 2-3 per book. I really like some of your suggestions at the end, especially 2,3,4,6,19,20,22,37 and 41.

Hi, Good article. I thinking of writing a book about my struggles, and how I’m overcoming them one step at a time by the help of the most high. Am always writing, short stories of my daily life & quotes. Keep doing your awesome work. Any suggestions. Thank you.

For SOFIA STERLING: How about, OUCH !! with a front cover picture of a fire-walker stepping on a bed of hot coals, with a subtitle of ”DARING TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP? just a thought, good luck .. Gerry. ‘PS, do not mention God or any sort of religious words, a HUGE turn-off’.___________ (2) CHIZOBA ETUKA. ”Needles do more than, get to the point”….. (3) ASHLEY… I might have exaggerated a little when I said I was sane…. (4)SHO. How about, ” My journey to the next station” showing a picture of a rail tunnel, rail lines and the light at the end…. (5)SAMREEN… ”Slimming, without showing my ribs”

Wow thank you so much for this article! I find this very useful!

Scripting a Hunger Ignored

THANKSfor the kick in the pants you got me going on a name that pops”TEACH YOUR DINOSAUR TO FLY” is the one that I settled upon

i’m writting a book on answer to all absurd hypothetical questions. could you pls help me get the title.

For YASWANT, a title I can come up with for you, The Ifs, Ands, or Buts. Good luck!

Wow those are some good titles there! Thanks for the article Fox! These are some of the hardest points, though, to a story! Title can make or break your book XD. I find that making titles comes easy to me though. And yes a title can generate a whole story just from it.

Thomas Rogers that is a fine title to a book! It kinda says, “Oh I want to see what this is about”

Good luck on your titles all who are writing some now!

Hi, I wrote a story of my school days and my love in school days. I was not a good student. All girls used to hate me. All teachers had have frustrated due to my bad behaviour. But she was in love with me. But due to some reason we didn’t married. Now she is married with some one else. Me to married and living happily. My wife’s love turned me to forget my first love. Wife’s sacrifices became greater. And in school days all opinion about me turned into positive at the end of school days. This is a what about my story. Kindly suggest me effective tittle.

For SHRIKRISHNA, might I suggest, Can You See Me? Good Luck!

Echoes Of My Past or Echoes Of that Boy I Use To Be or Past Opportunities Forgotten or Affairs of My Youth

The Missed Chance or My Missed Chance

Imperfect me

Thank You for writing this article. It gave me great ideas

Hi everyone 🙂 I am embarking on my first book and it is an erotic classy novel part fiction but based on life experiences. In a nutshell about meeting a soulmate only twice in life but impacted forever….the love wont die…the passion is insane….what should I name it?

What about, “Passion” or, “Only Twice?”

Think about this one too, “Love is for eternity,” or “Love is Immortal.”

Contact me at [email protected] if you like anything and want more, because that’s what I do…all of you people.

Sin and Sinuous

HI guys I am writing a book which is a thriller genre and i was searching for good book titles and i you know went into some sites and i was not 100% satisfied.. But this site is the best like i have made over 5 books and i am going to publish it and Thank god I saw this site… I have got good titles… Awesome Keep going on!

A wonderful piece you got there. It’s been super helpful

I am working on a book with a tittle SLEEPINESS MY ENEMY. This is a motivational book which i would like to recommend it to students and to every worker because sleepiness has hindered many students a comfortable study.Please i need help, i want to know if the book can make sense

Hello! I am writing a story similar to “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan in the way that I am writing about my different uses of languages, slangs, and accents I have unknowingly used throughout my life. It’s going to be about how I have used many different ways of speaking such as the way I speak to my peers, my family, and in school

If you don’t have a title already, it could be, Word of Mouth or Word of My Mouth

Hello, a great article I was looking for. Really interesting and informative. It helped to brainstorm great ideas for titles. Thank you for sharing all these things

thanks for the good ideas I am writing Arabic story’s about Continents of the world, Antarctica will be the most important one , I am thinking to call it Mama Antarctica , is it good one or shall I search for anther . I have a story called Mama olive it will be published within a week … so I shoos Mama Antarctica . hope to hear from you

I’m writing a story on elves, faeries, warlocks, wizards, troll, and so on but I dint know what to name could you please help me? thank you.

The Untold Stories Of The World? Good luck!

Could it be, The Secrets of The Woods

Hi my name is Layal Jaffal and I really like your ideas it is really good but I think you should move to the next step my book is about horror, love, fear, jealousy, friendship, and confidence

A good name Evelyn Mae is eds

Thanks for the book title generators list. It really helped me a lot.

Dark days under a black sun…using that ..thanks so much

Hello all, my name is Jasmine. I am a young writer and let me say, this piece helped me a ton. I am currently writing a love story, it is part fantasy, but the reality of drugs, gangs, and life tests the strength of their love. Any title ideas? Thanks!

Reality is the lie in truth? (I’m not the best at titles)

Heyyy.. there is a story out there called ‘thirteen reasons why’ .. you could go somewhere down that line .. or something like ‘love conquers reality’ .. or ‘Love shaped my future’ or … ‘tried love’ .. a few options.. sorry not the best at this kind of thing >_<

I am trying to come up with a title for a story about a young boy overcoming his negative self concept and learning to love himself.

By identifying the positive qualities within

I loved the ideas! I am a very young writer, so these really helped me! I am trying to write a book about an older teenage girl who has a gambling addict, and I thought up some ideas. I’d really like your feedback on them! “The Dealing of Poker Chips” or “The Sound Made of Nothing” If you guys have any other title ideas I’d love to hear them.

It should really be “The Dealing of Cards” but, in my book there’s a twist, so I wanted it to be poker chips instead of cards

So I’m writing this book about how a mother’s mistake affect her child’s love life any help on the title?

Hello! I’m currently writing a book, it’s about a girlfriend looking for her lost boyfriend. Their childhood friends help, and secrets reveal along the way, it’s romance but it’s also a mystery. Any titles you have in mind? Thank you!

Whom I Love

Two Roads is already a book. I was reading just a few minutes before I read this article. It is by Joseph Bruchac. I just wanted to let anybody who was thinking of using the name know.

1-My mother left me at 6 months, rejected me 7 times. 2-Trusted a family member, but turn out to be my kidnaper and molester 3-I saved my father’s life and health when everyone abandon him. 4-I visited a UNHCR office for 18 months 6-6pm Mon-Friday to get a chance to come overseas. Yes am here. Please help me to find chapter tittles for the above numbers. Thank you million times.

2-Hidden Horridness

4-I’m not sure I don’t know what a UNCHR office is

I hope this helps

My New Home? Good Luck!!!

Hey, I was wondering if anyone could help me come up with a name for my book. It is an adventure/fantasy book about a girl named Fern Griffin and her friend Nitza Sage. They find an underground maze in their town and a bunch of stuff happened and their are witches and dragons and stuff. There is a blade called the Snakeroot blade that takes a big part in the book and I was thinking something related to that? I don’t know, anything helps. Thanks!

Snakeroots and Secrets?

I’m writing a story about a girl who meets who she thinks is her soulmate and starts a new amazing job. Basically, her life is going great. But then her boyfriend starts acting weird and she finds out that he has been cheating. So she gets drunk, and buys a gun. She gets home and catches him in the act and shoots. The neighbors here the commotion and call the cops, she gets arrested. She then appears in court, where the reader finds out that she did not, in fact, kill her boyfriend but shot him in the arm. She is found guilty of attempted murder and the book ends there. All title ideas are welcome and criticism is greatly appreciated.

Loved No Longer Not The One Wrong Things Soulmates Hope I gave you some ideas!

Thank you so much that was very helpful but i decided to go with the title ‘Guilty’ because that is the last word in the story.

Trying to give a title to my war/romance story. A girl called Adelle Yorke gets separated from her brother Harris and their parents and she has to live with a nasty farmer and his horrible wife. They have a son, Karl Blake, who she falls in love with. They run away together to help wounded soldiers. Harris turns up and they learn that the Blake’s farm has been bombed. Karl, Adelle and Harris return to the city to Adelle and Harris’ parents house, but it no longer exists. They then search for Adelle’s parents and end up in a German camp. They manage to escape with a few other people from the camp. The group sticks together and gets smaller as people find their families. Finally only Adelle, Karl and Harris remain, still searching. The story ends there, but I may change it. Will be majorly grateful if someone could give me a few ideas. Thanks guys!

I think thats a perfect place to leave it and could it be called ‘Remember Me’ Good Luck! 🙂

I don’t know, but the searching thing seems to play a big part. However, when they go to their destinations, there’s nothing good awaiting them. What about something about searching (like ‘Searching for Nothing’ or something like that)?

Actually yeah thata much better than mine.

I’m writing a “how to” book. Guide for Creating a Saint Joseph Altar. Seems to boring. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. [email protected] Thank you Viva San Giuseppe

Well I read somewhere that St. Joseph’s colours are gold and red and that the flower that is associated with him is the lilly so you could do something to do with that. Hope this helps. 🙂

Hi, great article. So here’s the thing. My story is fantasy slash mystery revolving around a girl who finds her life trajectory change when she finds on her sixteenth birthday that she infact is one of the 12 heirs to the kingdom of Atricia. This kingdom lies hidden in the south pole and connects different parallel lands where all possible creatures that you can think exist. There is a romantic twist to it and the story line is quite humourous and light hearted but filled with unexpected turns. Any suggestions? Advices and critics are welcome too. I am a very young writer so that will be of great help. Thank you.

Hi i want help i am writing story about bad attitude so please someone help me to choose title name i think WORLD REALIZE AFTER LOST EVERYTHING is good or bad?

I personally don’t understand the ‘WORLD REALIZE AFTER LOST EVERYTHING’ but it is your book and you should go with whatever you think is right. I’m not exactly sure of what your book is about but i thought of ‘The Cost Of A Bad Attitude’ or something like that.

Looking for a powerful title for an exceptional book for the carer of someone with Alzheimers disease. Its very detailed practical and helpful advice. A reader will get to see the sufferer from a new perspective and understand his/her actions and therefore react appropriately. Much info also on where to get help etc. Its a guide, or companion but trying to go beyond the common A guide or companion for the caregiver. Thank you.

Hi, I am searching for a title for a story of my life. Basically I was raised in a children’s home from the age of 6 to 16 years with my 4 siblings whom my father paid to keep us all together. (My Mother walked out on us all for another man). My mother visited us twice in10 years and we never saw her again as she went on and had another 5 kids!. The cruelty endured at times was sadistic inhumane and cruel. I made a vow somehow that I would do good with my life. I secretly applied to go to college, got accepted, then went on to university. Eventually went in the corporate world, worked my way up to the top. Cannot think of a title, so if anyone can help with a title, I will be incredibly grateful. Many thanks J

Hi am writing a story about a girl who has a problem with both math and God but through her tutor he teaches her how to be able to love and trust God and also become better at math. Can anybody give me a suggestion . Thanks

-Rising up – I am still standing -Applied -At the top

LOVED THISSS!! xx NEEDED 🙂

Hi I got an enormous number of tips in suggesting a good novel title, I believe now I can solve my own task Much Thanks

Is there somewhere I can go to test a book title?

Im writing an Avengers fanfic where the main character becomes the daughter of Sam Wilson (Old Falcon, New Captain America) she has the powers of teleportation, control over the elements and creation of forcefield. Her name is Sapphire Angel.

“The Stars Have Eyes” is a work of science fiction by Thomas Farmer published in 2018.

Hey! I am writing a short story about this group of friends on spring break. and then one of the friends snaps and kills everyone else and ends with none of that happened in real-time. she’s in a mental institute and is writing in a journal. ANy ideas for a title. anything would be appreciated

Great write up. Gave a lot of insights Thank you

Hey guys… I’m writing an Anthology. It consists of poems about passion, strength, nature and being firm but I’m stuck for a title. Would really appreciate if anyone can help me out

Hi, I am writing a book on how to become a rueda de casino (dance) teacher. It contains the standard syllabus and new perspectives. What should I name it?

I have been reading posts regarding this topic and this post is one of the most interesting and informative one I have read. Thank you for this!

if I have a title named ” The tribes of plant foxes” and I need to shorten it… does anyone have any ideas?

Tribes of the ploxes

The fox tribe xx

Sparkling titles, wonderful guide

I’m writing a book with best friend not sure what to name it we have a lame title called lost in the woods but its not good enough it doesent describe our story they dont even get lost in the woods I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, just because it has nothing to do with the woods doesn’t mean it can’t be called that. The woods could stand for something, such as a crowd of people. Or, in the sense of your title, it could mean that they got into trouble way bigger than they are.

Thank you for this thought-provoking list of titles. I will research as you said, to see if they’ve already been used. I design custom and pre-designed book covers.

I’m just a beginner l now where to start compiling a suitable title for my book thank you 💝 this is a superb

Hi – I am putting together a “coffee table” type book of a collection of my deceased brother’s art. His focus was ceramics of all kinds – wheel, raku, hand thrown, sculpture, etc., and also water colour paintings. I have written a short bio of his life leading up to his career as the head of the art fundamentals department of a college, but the book is mostly pictures of his work which collectors have in both Canada and the United States. The ideas and suggestions on this site are great, but if anyone would like to throw out a thought or two I would be delighted.

How do you find this title and subtitle:

The Rise of Ninja Gods

How Is Covid-19 Changing The World?

THANK Y0OU FOR THE IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOKIMG FOR A TITLE… A RICH BEAUTFIFUL GIRL WHO MADE BAD BHOICES..THEN THANKS TO A PILGRIMAGE TRANSFORM HER LIFE INTO A POSITIVE BLISSFUL RENEWAL OF HER LIFE

Hi, there! i’m writing a motivational book. I want suggestions for a catchy book that pops up and grab readers attention.

Any suggestions please? thank you!

Hi, I suppose that no one will see this, but I’m willing to try anyways. I’m planning on writing a book about A police officer roped into supernatural happenings. The MC is the supernatural “hunter.” I’m fresh out of ideas, and it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Officer capture your heart xx

I am giving a presentation about the importance of books titles. You information is spot on and very helpful. Thank you

Any suggestions for my memoir?

[tenatitive title] I Was WABC’s Last Top 40 DJ (Another One Bites the Dust)

Am writing a book about two young people who are not in love but eventually fall in love . Help me with a cover page and a title n pictures of two girl and boy

“Unlikely Hearts: A Love Story in the Making”

“Love’s Unforeseen Path: Embracing the Unexpected”

“Falling into You: A Tale of Serendipitous Romance”

Thanks for this page. Thought of many potential titles for my anthology. Decided on “Smashing walnuts and other existential pleasures” because everything else was too pompous/boring/twee/done before, etc. The words “Smashing walnuts” is in a poem in the book. Silent Light on Sapphire, the next best option would put you to sleep I think. Please advise. Thanks

can I use one of the suggested titles for my book?

I’m just gonna use one of the suggested titles for my book I’d you don’t mind 😉

Can i have someone contact me in regards to writhing a book with an amazing concert and story line

hi, I need help writing a personal book

one of these titles are available or how to come up with one

Every writer NEEDS this book.

It’s a guide to writing the pivotal moments of your novel.

Whether writing your book or revising it, this will be the most helpful book you’ll ever buy.

Best Tips on How to Title an Essay

How to Make a Good Title for an Essay

The success of an essay heavily depends on its title. This may not come as a surprise given that the essay title is the first aspect to provide the reader with a sneak peek into the text. It piques our interest to read the paper in the first place and gives us a preview of what to expect from the author.

Our research paper writing help prepared a thorough guide on how to title an essay. Here you may find tips and tricks for developing an effective APA or MLA essay title. So, let's dive straight into the article for more exciting details!

Essay Title Format

During your essay writing process, ensure you know the stylistic requirements before beginning an essay. Knowing the format you need to employ is crucial because different style manuals may have varying requirements. Mostly, you could have used an APA or MLA essay title format. Our service, where you can buy essay online , explains these two in more detail below.

Essay Title MLA

If you're required to create an essay title MLA format, check whether your instructor wants you to make a separate cover page. If not, put a heading at the beginning of your work that includes your name, the name of your professor, the course ID, and, lastly, the date.

On the other hand, if you must present a cover page for your essay title MLA, then you need to include the following:

• The name of the college
• The title of your paper
• The subtitle of your paper, if applicable
• Your first and last name
• Your teacher or professor's name
• The class name or course number
• The date the paper is due

The formatting instructions are as follows:

• Double-spaced
• Times New Roman font
• Size 12 font
• Apart from very short terms, each word's initial letter should be capitalized. The initial word, however, must always be uppercase.
• The title page shouldn't include a header with the page numbers.

Essay Title APA

Having discussed the MLA format essay title, let's explore what the APA student title page includes:

• The paper title
• Author names
• Institutional affiliation where the author carried out the study
• Name and number of the course
• Professor name
• Page number

The title of an essay format instructions:

• double-spaced
• 1" margins
• 12-point Times New Roman
• According to APA, your title should be targeted and brief, without unnecessary words or abbreviations

How to Choose a Good Title for an Essay: Important Qualities

Nobody will read a dull headline. Your title should grab your audience's attention and encourage them to read the rest of the work. As it is one of the initial things readers see, having a strong attention grabber is essential when writing an essay from scratch. To fully understand how to come up with a title for essay that is strong and exciting, let's consider a few following factors:

Employ a Catchy Hook - Usually, the title of essay format follows a similar basic structure, especially if they are used for an academic article. The hook serves as a unique component that attracts the reader. It's a captivating statement informing others about the topic of the essay. You can also explore several types of sentences with examples that can help you develop the ideal hook structure.

Consider Topic Keywords - These are essential terms or expressions pertinent to your subject and help your reader understand the focus and body of your article. These focus keywords should serve as a brief, one- to two-word article summary. You can choose some terms from the research topic your instructor gave you, but after your thesis statement is formed, this is where you should hunt for ideas.

Use a Colon - A colon is frequently used in academic titles to separate concepts and sentences. The standard procedure is to place a clever remark or brief quotation before the colon. Although these beginning words offer flavor, they can be overdone. Because of this, some individuals find using the colon to be repugnant. Therefore be careful not to misuse this method.

Ask a Question - To write essay title that is strong, consider asking a question. But, use it with caution because posing a question will make your tone less formal. As long as the question is suitably phrased to meet the subject of your essay, feel free to employ it. Always check to see if the title question still applies to your points in the essay's body. The thesis statement should be appropriately reflected as well.

Find Inspirational Quotes - There is no formula for selecting essay titles from the textual content. You may get playful and choose any quotation, proverb, or catchphrase that applies to your particular publication and works as a title. You may also create a great essay title using well-known expressions or idioms. Doing so will help your readers relate to and feel more comfortable discussing your subject.

Here are other rules for how to create a good title:

• Title every section of writing: In the process of writing, create interesting subheadings to give your paragraphs an identity. Also, they make your text look ordered and clear. 
• The title must bear the theme of the text: choose a title that summarizes the essay. 
• Capitalize all words with certain exceptions: Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title, but do not capitalize pronouns, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
• Avoid underlining the title: Since topics come in boldface, underlining it will amount to overemphasis. Some authorities say that if you must underline it, do not bolden it.
• Review the final version of the title: Do not forget to do a quick review of the final version of the title—check for grammar, structure, spelling and so on. Re-read it to determine if the title has given justice to the essay. Confirm if the topic is catchy enough to attract your reader’s attention. 
• When using a colon in your title, follow the rules: Since we are dealing with punctuation rules here, let us talk about the colon – when you have two eye-catching topics, separate them with a colon.

Student’s Guide on How to Come Up with a Title for an Essay

Titling an essay can be easy, but there are a few core principles to be taken into account. The following tips will help you stay on track and avoid any common pitfalls.

Essay Goes First

Never start with a title! If you write it before the rest of the text, it will be based on it, and it should be vice versa. Writing an essay before choosing a heading will give you a clear understanding of what should make sense to the reader. Re-read the finished paper several times to decide on the title. The last thing to create is a title - such strategy will give more time to spend on crafting an essay outline, conducting research, or writing the paper itself.

What are you writing about? What is the style of your paper, and is it an academic essay or a free-form essay like a narrative essay? If the topic of your essay is “Do people who commit heinous crimes deserve the death penalty?” your title should not be humorous; it should be strict and to the point.

If your topic is “Why do people like watching funny cat videos?”, feel free to craft a funny title. Determine the tone of your essay and base your title on it—in consideration with the essay’s topic.

The tone can be:

• Serious - “The implications of global warming”
• Funny - “How cats and dogs love their masters”
• Amiable - “Ways to fight depression”
• Persuasive - “Why positive thinking is a must have skill for every person”
• Informative - “Ten rules for creating a chemical at home”

The main goal of a title is to name its paper. There is no need to tell an entire story in the title, or provide any useless details. Sum up your paper in a few words! Another way to do this is to sum up your thesis statement, as it represents the main idea of your essay. Take your thesis and squeeze it into 3-4 words. Imagine that you are creating a title for your favourite newspaper or a slogan for Coca-Cola.

Don’t use fancy words! Take 2-3 main words (keywords), put them together, and stop wasting your time. Avoid jargon and abbreviations.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is something that can help any student and young writer reap benefits. While working on a title, detect the words related to the central idea of the paper. Type the words into the search field of Google and add the word “quote.” A search engine will show numerous web pages with in-text quotations that could be useful. Select the fragment you like. It is possible to learn how to make a creative title for an essay in this way.

Discover several more tips from experts:

• Never forget the “What,” “Who,” “When,” “How,” “Why,” and “Where” questions (if you start with one of these questions, your title has a chance of getting noticed);
• Come up with an unexpected image not related to the selected topic;
• Sometimes, starting with a lie increases the chances of a title being able to catch an eye;
• Review our catchy essay title examples.

Need Some Help With Your Essay's Title?

Feel free to contact EssayPro and we will provide you with a writing help at a moment’s notice. With the years of essay writing experience, titling becomes second nature, so you no longer need to worry about having a catchy headline on your paper.

Essay Title Examples: Bad vs Good

The strongest essay titles condense lengthy essays into concise statements. When wondering how to make an essay title, think carefully about your stylistic choices and essay format to produce an excellent one. Our dissertation help has provided essay title examples to let you understand the difference between good and bad ones more vividly.

Bad Essay Title Examples

As we discussed how to create an essay title and the specific elements that go into it, you should have a clear idea of how important it is to craft a strong title. In contrast, first, look at weak essay title ideas that can break your paper. This should serve as an example of why your heading should not be like this:

Ex 1: ' How Television Has Changed Our World ' - too vast and not informative

Ex 2: 'The Ara Pacis Augustae' - unclear for those who don't know Latin

Ex 3: 'The Most Poisonous Frog' - does not provide any insight

Ex 4: 'A Brief History of Subcultures and How They Manifest Themselves in a Constantly Changing Socio-Economic Environment' - too long and complicated

Ex 5: 'The Little Mermaid 29 Years Later: Selling a Harmful Sexist Message Through a Naughty Image' - inappropriate language

Good Essay Title Examples

Now that you know what a bad essay title looks like, let's explore good essay title examples as their substitutes. Examine the following essay title format styles that will give you a clear understanding.

Ex 1: ' The Electronic Babysitter: A Social History of Uses of the Television' - gives an exact description of what the essay will be about

Ex 2: ' The Modern Historical Significance of the Ara Pacis Augustae to the City of Rome' - here, the reader can understand what they will be reading about

Ex 3: ' A Deadly Beauty: The Evolution of Skin Coloration and Toxicity of the Poisonous Dart Frog' - clear, informative, and on-point.

Ex 4: 'Reconsidering Counterculture in Contemporary Society' - informative enough and brief

Ex 5: 'The Projection of Gender Stereotypes in The Little Mermaid' - employs appropriate language

Catchy Essay Title Ideas

You now understand that long, complicated headlines do not accurately convey the paper's main idea. Take ample time to consider the word choice before tilting your work. How do you create good essay titles? Think creatively and with common sense. But meanwhile, for your convenience, we compiled title ideas for essays you may use as inspiration.

Persuasive Essay Titles

• Why Receiving College Education is Important: Examining Long-term Benefits
• Face-to-Face Courses Cannot Be Replaced by Online Learning
• An MBA Does Not Ensure Corporate Success.
• Every Company Should Adopt a Green Strategy.
• Energy Drinks Represent a Lucrative Market Segment.
• Aircraft, Excess Weight Charges, Need to be Prohibited.
• Patients' Life Shouldn't be Put to Death by Nurses.
• Google Glasses May Increase the Number of Auto Accidents.
• All of the Conventional Malls Will Soon be Replaced By Online Shopping
• How Do Team-building Exercises Contribute to the Development of Inventions?
• Illegal immigrants are entitled to remain in the US.

Academic Essay Titles

• Several English Dialects: The Link Between Various Cultures
• Instagram: A social media innovation
• Is it possible to reverse drug-induced brain damage, and if so, how?
• What the Future Holds for Humans in the Light of Artificial Intelligence
• The Story of Two Nations after Decades of Conflict: North and South Korea
• Video Games and Their Learning Context in Schools
• Free Wi-Fi: Strategies for Enhancing the City's Economy

Strong Research Paper Titles

• Digital World Cybersecurity
• E-business to Provide New Paths for Booksellers
• Outsourcing for Large Businesses
• Preparing for College Costs for High School Students
• What News Reporters Should Do in the Digital Age and How to Do It: Examples
• The Transformative Power of Music: How Heavy Metal Impacted My Life

Best Essay Titles for College Students

• The Possible Benefits and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Humans
• The Potential for Time Travel in Virtual Reality
• What Role Has Mathematics Played in Human History?
• How to Succeed in the Real Estate Industry
• E-Commerce: An Empire of Virtual Businesses Worth Millions of Dollars
• How to Achieve Financial Independence in the Digital Age Without Opening a Real Business

More Creative Titles for Essays

• When getting rewarded for their grades, would kids do better left alone?
• How Does Fake News Impact the Mainstream press?
• Homelessness in Contemporary Society: A Dilemma
• What News Reporters' Best Job Is in the Digital Age and How to Uphold It
• Elon Musk: Brilliant Mind or Insane Person?
• Positives and Negatives of Employing a Smoker
• Do We Employ the Appropriate Student Success Metrics?

Professional Academic Help

Now that you know how to make a good title for an essay, you should also understand that you should approach the task as a process. While composing your essay title, you must condense your whole thesis and point of discussion into a single, concise, yet powerful sentence. If you have time before your deadline, give it some thought and don't hurry.

Don't forget that you can always rely on our professional academic assistance, whether you need a reflection paper , ideas for a strong essay title, or any other academic papers. Consider the following words - write my essay for me - magic keywords for delegating your most complex tasks to our skilled writers!

Is the Volume of Schoolwork Getting Out of Hand?

Find an essay for sale online and handle your tasks without stress. You may always count on our experienced writers for help with any endeavor!

How To Title An Essay?

How to title an essay in mla format, what are some good titles for an essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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Book Title Generator

Explore endless possibilities for your book's title. Enter your ideas and let AI craft a title that captures the essence of your story.

Below are 0 curated book titles based on your input

Welcome to our title generation service. Here, you can find the right title for your book with ease. Whether you're an experienced writer or just starting out, the importance of a compelling title is clear. It's more than just a name; it's a first impression and a preview of what readers can expect. Our tool combines creativity with technology to help you find a title that truly reflects the essence of your work.

Our platform uses advanced neural networks to generate book titles. This technology examines successful titles across various genres to provide suggestions that are unique and relevant to your book's content and theme. It's designed to support a wide range of works, from fiction and non-fiction to personal memoirs, by understanding and adapting to the core of your narrative.

Our service is user-friendly. You have the option to enter a potential title, a summary of your book, or even the full text (up to 100,000 characters). The system will then suggest titles that match your book's narrative and style. These suggestions are meant to inspire you and help you find the perfect title for your manuscript. Feel free to experiment with different inputs to explore a wide range of creative title options.

Finding the right title is crucial, and our platform is here to assist you in this important step. It's an opportunity to discover a title that fits your story perfectly. We encourage you to try it and see how technology can complement your creativity in the search for a title that stands out. Your ideal title is just a few clicks away, ready to give your book the introduction it deserves.

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Book Marketing for Self-Publishing Authors

Home / Guides / Book Publishing / How to Title a Book: 13 Steps to Choosing a Title That Sells

How to Title a Book: 13 Steps to Choosing a Title That Sells

• Do book titles matter?
• What’s in a bestselling book title? 4 Crucial Book Title Elements
• Amazon Rules and Requirements for Book Titles
• 13 Steps to Choosing Your Book Title
• Good Book Titles: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

To write the title of a book, craft a title that is:

• Enticing to potential readers
• Relevant to your genre
• Relevant to your story
• Search engine friendly

Lots of writers struggle with how to title their book. There’s no shame in grappling with what your book title should be. It can be overwhelming to sum up your book in 1-5 words.

Second only to your book's cover design , good book title ideas can lead to sales conversions and high discoverability on Amazon.

Having worked with publishing companies and multiple The New York Times bestselling authors, I've been a part of the NYT bestselling titling process on many occasions.

To help you craft the perfect title of your book, I’ll go through 13 actionable steps to choose a title that sells, as well as the crucial elements that every good title needs.add a subtitle

• Good book titles and why they work
• 4 crucial elements of the perfect book title
• Proven step-by-step process on how to title a book [13 steps]
• Advanced resources and tactics to help

Links in this article may earn me some commission if you use them to purchase products. There’s NO extra cost to you! I like to think of it as my coffee fund, fueling me to create articles like this one for you.

Yes, having the right book title matters because having a poor title hurts your sales, reaches the readers, and hinders your book marketing efforts .

Let’s look at a prime example of why book titles matter, from the book titling genius Emanuel Haldeman-Julius and his famous title experiments .

Haldeman was a writer and publisher in the early 1900s who ran a tight publishing company . If a book didn’t sell at least 10,000 copies a year, he’d send it to his “hospital,” where he would brainstorm new ideas for the right title until it performed well.

• Original title: Gautier’s Fleece of Gold
• Original title’s sales: 6,000 copies/year
• Why the original name: French writing was the rave at the time.

Here are his documented change, results, and reasoning:

• New title: The Quest for a Blonde Mistress
• New title’s sales: 50,000/year
• Why he believed the original title failed: The title doesn’t tell you what it's about.

You read that correctly. Haldeman’s publishing company sold over 44,000 additional units because they changed the name to something less broad and more to the point. People ate it up.

In the following example, you'll see that significant changes aren’t always necessary. Sometimes just a simple tweak is all you need:

• Original title: Mystery of the Iron Mask
• Original title’s sales: 11,000/year
• Why the original name: It was mysterious and to the point.

His changes:

• New title: The Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask
• New title’s sales: 30,000/year
• Why he believed the new title worked: A man wearing an iron mask is an intrinsically more intriguing mystery than just some iron mask.

(I would argue extra alliteration also piques readers’ interest.)

His list of book title changes and their dramatic increases in sales goes on and on. These examples serve as empirical proof that book titles make a difference in your marketing and sales.

Even modern-day authors like Joanna Penn have discovered this .

Let's face it, writing a book is super expensive. Best to make sure when you publish, you do everything you can to make it sell, including re-titling it.

Before we get into the step-by-step process of how to write a book title, let’s talk about the crucial elements that should go into book title selection.

What makes a good title for a book? Here are 4 crucial elements that make a good title for a book:

• Intrigue factor
• Title discoverability
• Genre pairing
• Relevance & specificity

Based on your situation, fan base, marketing tactic, and type of book, you may find that one particular element deserves priority over the others. I recommend using all 4 ingredients, but you may find the perfect title that only uses one.

You need to make sure your book title stands out for the right reasons. These 4 vital parts of a book title are proven to increase sales and draw in the right readers.

Intrigue Factor

Nothing draws a reader in more than creating intrigue with your title . The intrigue factor plays upon one’s curiosity and is a powerful motivator for readers to hit the “buy” button.

WARNING: On the path to creating intrigue, it’s easy to stray from the genre or get too broad, causing confusion. Watch out for this mistake!

3 examples of using the intrigue factor in book titles:

• Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies: I bet you weren’t expecting that last part.
• Trust Me I’m Lying: Anything contrarian catches a reader’s eye.
• John Dies at the End: This great title makes you wonder why they just gave away the ending.

Title Discoverability

Bestselling authors have the luxury of not worrying about whether their titles are discoverable because their name recognition and author brand sell books.

The rest of us need to consider title discoverability.

That’s where Kindle keyword generation and research can come into play. If you want your book to show up on Amazon every time someone types in “How to train your border collie,” you should consider making that your book’s title.

If you'd like to see which words you can use in your title to improve the chance of discovery, you should definitely use Publisher Rocket . (Check out my full review of Publisher Rocket .)

Here’s a good book title that is very discoverable: How to Write a Children’s Book by Katie Davis. Straight and to the point, this book clearly tells both the buyer and Amazon precisely what this book is about.

(Check out Kindlepreneur’s free article on How To Write A Children's Book .)

Test it out. Go to Amazon and type: “How to Write a Children’s Book.” That’s discoverability!

Genre Pairing

Your title should match your genre. There are plenty of helpful tropes for fantasy titles, young adult titles, horror titles, mystery titles, non-fiction titles, etc. These tropes are not bad. Genre pairing helps the right kind of reader find your book.

A romance book should not be called Warborn: Battle for Arrakis . The cover may show images of love and passion, but the title screams, “epic science fiction military book.” In your effort to be different, try not to alienate your genre and potential readers.

3 examples of genre pairing in book titles:

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: It’s evident that this is science-fiction, but it also tells us it's about robotics and that it will be a deep thinker. (This is the book that the Blade Runner movie was inspired by.)
• Neverwhere: I love Neil Gaiman’s mystic cryptic fantasy. With just one compound word, Gaiman perfectly captured his genre.
• Slasher Girls & Monster Boys: It immediately harkens to the thriller and horror genre without question. It even emphasizes the YA punch with the terms “Boy” and “Girl.”

Increase Your Book Marketing

See the Publisher Rocket effect, when you use the right keywords and categories to help get your book seen more on Amazon.

Relevance & Specificity

The title might be the only thing a potential buyer ever sees, so your title needs to convey what your book is actually about. The book title needs to be relevant and specific .

(I lumped in “relevance” with “specificity” because to be specific is to increase your relevance. The more specific your title is, the more relevant it is to your story, and the better a reader understands what your book is about.)

For non-fiction , you must title your book in such a way that a reader knows exactly what they’re buying. Often, non-fiction books will feature a simple, eye-catching title with a longer, more informative subtitle .

For fiction, relevance is still super important. Don’t mention dragons if there aren’t any dragons in your book. Don’t mention sexual themes if there are no sexual themes. Don’t mention corporate America if it doesn’t feature in the book. (Definitely do mention these if they show up in the book.)

Ensure your title helps the reader know what the book is about or what to expect from the get-go. That way, you draw in the right kind of reader instead of setting up the wrong reader for disappointment, leading to negative book reviews.

3 examples of relevant titles:

• The Devil Wears Prada: Easy to see that this involves fashion and someone who is a complete pain in the butt from someone’s point of view . And I got all of that from 4 words!
• I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell : Pretty easy to know immediately that this book is centered around the crazy antics of a jerk — no offense to Tucker Max, because he's a heck of a writer.
• How to Lose Friends & Alienate People : This gets a nod for the intrigue factor because it’s using the familiarity of a famous book. However, it’s clear this is a book about… well, losing.

As far as specificity goes, a title tends to be more intriguing (and more relevant) if it offers specific details. Here are 4 examples of specific titles:

• Moby Dick is more specific (and therefore better) than The Whale .
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is better than Down the River .
• The Fellowship of the Ring is better than The Fellowship .
• The Shining is better than The Hotel.

It's very important that these rules are followed, or your book may not be able to be published on Amazon.

Amazon has certain book title rules and requirements that authors must follow:

• The title on your cover must match what you put into Amazon .
• You can’t use claims of bestseller, rank, etc., in your title, even if it’s a bestselling book.
• Don’t mention deals, discounts, or reduced prices — even if it isn’t a lie.
• You can't reference other books or any other trademarks.
• You can’t reference other authors or their pen names .
• No irrelevant advertising is allowed.

Many books violate this and don't get dinged by Amazon. But if you intend on making a name for yourself, keep it above board — follow Amazon’s book title rules.

Choosing a book title is more than just creating a catchy phrase or memorable title.

Try this proven, step-by-step process for crafting a great book title:

• Use parts of your story
• Look up famous phrases
• Consider a one-word title
• Keep it simple
• Obey your genre
• Put a hook in your title
• Use relevant keywords
• Speak in benefits
• Consult a book title generator
• Add emotional trigger words
• Check discoverability (including international)
• Test your title for success
• Add a subtitle

1. Use Parts of Your Story

For fiction, in particular, use parts of your story to come up with a relevant title that is both specific to your book and evocative to your target audience.

Look at these examples of book titles that use parts of their stories:

• Character names: Harry Potter, Emma, Robinson Crusoe
• Settings with embellishments: Murder on the Orient Express, Animal Farm
• Dates/time/season: The Winds of Winter, 1984
• Character motivation: Call of the Wild, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
• Main event or showdown: The Last Battle, Red Rising
• Central theme: Return of the King, Waiting for Godot
• Important lines: Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird

2. Look Up Famous Phrases

Consider using familiarity as a way to catch a potential reader’s eye. Look up famous phrases and words from poetry, classical literature, or popular culture.

This strategy is best to do before you write the book. Looking up a famous phrase for your title may feel tacked on if you simply… tacked it on.

Here are 7 examples of book titles that use famous phrases:

• Fault in our Stars
• For Whom the Bell Tolls
• Double Jeopardy
• The War of Art
• Till Death Do Us Part
• Liberty or Death
• A Song of Ice and Fire ( inspired by Robert Frost )

WARNING: Don’t use trademarked material, such as an author’s name or copyrighted work from the past 100 years or so.

3. Consider a One-Word Title

One-word titles are all the rage in today's fiction and non-fiction books. Consider a compelling one-word title for your book. I’m not recommending most of you should make your title only one word, but simply consider it.

Don't pick a random word. Select a powerful word that represents your book’s hook and themes and complements the strong imagery of your book cover.

One-word titles don’t necessarily need to refer to an event in the book, although they may. Sometimes, a robust emotional word, or even a word you make up, provides the power you need.

Examples of excellent one-word titles include:

• Referential: Nevermore, Allegiant, Wicked, Frankenstein
• Powerful and emotional: Endurance, Atonement, Euphoria
• Made up words: Freakonomics, Essentialism, Brisingr
• Iconic imagery: Twilight, Boneshaker, Ulysses, Lolita

WARNING : One-word titles can wreak havoc on your discoverability, particularly if they’re ubiquitous words or misspelled/made-up words. (Have you ever tried to look up Stephen King’s It ?) If you use a one-word title, make sure it is unique and easily searchable.

When it comes to search, many readers will add the word “book” to your title if it’s a single word. Before selecting your title, try searching for “Your Title” + “Book” to see what appears.

4. Keep It Simple

It’s a proven fact; people don’t like to feel awkward. Titles with inappropriate words or hard-to-say words can make readers feel uncomfortable.

Keep it simple. Don’t use overcomplicated words that people may have trouble saying (or spelling in a Google or Amazon search box).

Also, title length is important. Don’t make long titles that won’t fit on your book cover. Short titles aren’t just for short stories .

Pro tip: Imagine people saying your title out loud.

There are exceptions, of course. But those are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Long words, nonsense words, archaic words, and made-up words from your story have their place in titles, but make sure they are at least easy to say and spell. You want readers to be able to search for your book on Amazon or Google.

Intriguing, eye-catching, evocative titles can be simple. In fact, it’s easier to market a book that uses simple words to evoke powerful emotion.

5. Obey Your Genre

If you don't stick to the titling tropes of your genre, your readers won't know what to expect. This leads to unhappy readers and bad Amazon reviews.

You must obey your genre. Research your genre’s titling norms. Look at other books in your genre, topic, or niche. Analyze their title structure. Write down a list of genre-specific terms that sound right for your book.

If your book is a crossover genre, feel free to research all the genres that are combined in your book. To help your readers know what to expect, you should probably include terms and tropes in your title that apply to both genres, coupled with the powerful imagery of your book cover.

If you're still stuck, then this is where genre-specific title generators can come in quite handy.

6. Put a Hook in the Title

A good hook can get people to say, “I need this,” or, “What the heck? I better check this out!”

If done right, a hook in the title can stop the right readers dead in their tracks.

Turning genre tropes on their head tends to work.

You can also take a cliche title structure and turn it on its head, such as “The Art of [TOPIC].” This could sound cliche, but you could make it hook and surprise a reader with a twist: “The Art of Making Bad Art.” (I just made that up, but now I want to read it because it’s such a good hook.)

Hopefully, you wrote your book with an initial hook in mind — or at least a one-sentence synopsis to draw in readers. You should already have a hook for your story, so consider using it in your title.

5 examples of putting a hook in the title:

• I Still Miss My Man, But My Aim is Getting Better
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• Death of a Salesman
• In Search of Lost Time
• A Season in Hell

7. Use Relevant Keywords

This one's my favorite. By doing your Kindle keyword research , you can find what terms people are searching for. Once you know this, you'll be able to use relevant keywords to boost your discoverability and marketability.

Example: Someone writing a resume might call it a “CV” or a “curriculum vitae,” especially outside the United States. Research may also reveal that people writing resumes are writing a cover letter as well.

A non-fiction author notices this and includes relevant keywords , increasing discoverability and sales. They could insert “resume” in the title and “CV” and “cover letter” in the subtitle.

Now that you have a short list of keywords people are actively searching for, use them in your title and subtitle to make sure your book ranks for those searches. That way, your book has a better chance of being discovered and bought.

If searching for Amazon keywords seems rough or time-consuming, you're going to love Publisher Rocket.

With Publisher Rocket , you can achieve the following:

• Know how many people are searching for a phrase on Amazon
• Gauge the competition for your book on that topic
• Determine how much money others are making
• See how much money a specific keyword makes on average
• Ensure your book beats the competition and ranks at the top for that keyword

8. Speak in Benefits

Especially for non-fiction, it is often more compelling to speak in benefits the reader will receive rather than the problems you are solving.

In marketing speak, this is the argument of features vs. benefits. The features are what many companies (or authors) tend to focus on, but consumers tend to buy the product (book) they feel can offer the benefits they need.

As Krista Walsh of Honest eCommerce puts it : “Features tell customers what, and benefits tell customers why.”

Imagine you’re suffering from migraines. Which book would you prefer? Pain-Free Mind or 4 Ways to Treat Migraines ?

“Pain-Free Mind” makes you think of better days and more pleasant scenarios. “4 Ways to Treat Migraines” sounds like a dull pamphlet from your doctor’s office. Plus, using the word “migraine” may subconsciously remind the reader of their pain, which may sour them to your book.

In this example, Pain-Free Mind is likely the preferred title for most authors.

(Don't worry about it being too ambiguous; that's where the subtitle comes in. Pain-Free Mind: How to Completely Eradicate Painful Debilitating Migraines and Headaches .)

3 more examples of non-fiction book titles that speak in benefits:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People — instead of “how to be a leader” or “why you don’t have friends”
• Winning: The Ultimate Business How-To Book — instead of “how to be good a business person” or “why you aren’t winning”
• How to Be a Real-Estate Millionaire — instead of “how to sell more real estate” or “you’re not as smart as I am”

9. Consult Book Title Generators

Book Title Generators use algorithms, Google, and Amazon information to create random titles that can inspire the perfect title. Did I mention that basically all of them are free ?

For a list of the best book title generators, check out my article on the Best Book Title Generators . In that article, I list the different book title generators and break them into categories and genres.

WARNING: When you consult book title generators, remember these are often generic story titles that reference random genre tropes. Some allow you to insert your own info, but most generators simply spit out general, randomized titles that are mainly meant to inspire you. Don’t take their suggestions as prescriptions.

10. Add Emotional Trigger Words

There are fundamental words that hold more weight in readers’ minds. We call these power words or emotional trigger words.

A few word changes can instantly evoke emotion in your potential buyer. These power words may elicit urgency, mysticism, intrigue, etc. They are proven marketing words that increase engagement and drive better conversions .

Switch out the weaker words in your title with the right emotional trigger words to drive a better mood or feeling.

Imagine telling someone that a book is good . Now imagine how much more weight your description would have if you said mind-blowing .

Here are a few other examples:

• Big versus ginormous, monumental, or gigantic
• Neat versus exciting, exhilarating , or jaw-dropping
• Scary versus monstrous, repulsive , or unnatural
• Get versus obtain, steal, earn, or pilfer
• Beat versus slaughter, destroyed, or obliterated
• Small versus tiny, miniscule, or bite-sized
• Hit versus slam, strike, or pound
• Soft versus tender, hushed, or muffled

In writing your book, not just writing the title for it, watch out for common modifiers that try to strengthen “weak” words. Very strong is a weaker way of saying powerful . These modifiers, like the word “very,” help spot your weakest words and rewrite them.

Bonus download: Check out my personal list of 400+ Power Words to help improve your book titles and give you superb ideas.

11. Check Discoverability (Including International)

Check your book title’s availability and discoverability by doing a simple Google and Amazon search for your potential title. If there are no matches, you’re golden.

However, if your title is exactly the same or very similar to another book’s (or movie or board game), you may want to go back to the drawing board.

In the US, there are no copyright laws on titles . For this reason, you will see a lot of books and movies with the same title, like these .

(Check out Kindlepreneur’s article on How to Copyright a Book in the US — Written by a Lawyer to cover yourself legally.)

Don’t compete with a more-popular book of the same title. Some scheming people might think this would be a great strategy to trick readers. But if someone downloads your book by mistake, be prepared to earn a scathing review.

Self-publishing authors should also check discoverability and marketability internationally .

When J.K. Rowling published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK, her marketing team realized that the US market wouldn’t be as receptive to the name . To Americans, the word “philosopher” didn’t have the same connotation as in the UK and was perceived as boring.

They changed the name for the US market to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone .

As it turns out, many movies, TV shows, and novels change their titles internationally. Check out some examples here .

You should also check for your book’s domain name availability .

I don’t recommend creating a website just for a book. If you are going to make a website, it should be for you as an author, and you can showcase all your books there. This is author branding versus book branding. Some disagree with me on this .

If you intend to create a website just for your book, make sure you can get your book title’s domain name. This will really help the discoverability and marketing of the book .

Alternatively, you might buy your book’s domain name and turn it into a redirect to your author website .

12. Test Your Title For Success

You should be brainstorming multiple title ideas. All authors need to test their new book titles among their target market to set themselves up for success. This includes side-by-side testing, Facebook groups, SurveyMonkey, and more.

Just ask Tim Ferriss.

In 2007, Ferriss finished a fantastic book, and he thought he had the perfect title: Broad Bands and White Sands . Thankfully, he didn’t just go with his first impression. He tested his possible titles and found his third option, The 4-Hour Workweek , resonated most with his target reader.

If Ferriss had gone with his personal favorite, he would have missed the success that he soon found. He spent maybe $200 on testing, but it likely earned him a 1,000x return on investment.

Ask the experts. Instead of asking family, friends, and coworkers who may not fall in your target audience (and who may just want to make you happy), show your working title to individuals with experience in all sides of book publishing, including:

• Editors and proofreaders
• Book store clerks
• Other authors
• Readers in your specific target audience

I say librarians and book store clerks because they see what people are reading and buying. They can tell you if your title (and cover) sounds (and looks) like something their customers would pick up.

Use PickFu to test your title for success. PickFu is a robust service that allows you to submit your different titles (or covers) to anonymous people who vote on which they prefer. It’s super easy to use and quick to set up. And it’s affordable when you use Kindlepreneur’s link to buy.

Steve Scott of Authority.pub credits PickFu for helping him choose the right book cover and ultimately helping his 10 Minute Declutter book become as successful as it is.

Use Facebook groups to test your title for success. Social media is a free and easy way to test your book title among potential readers.

Find a book group on Facebook and create a poll post. In the poll, list your potential titles and ask group members to vote on which they prefer. This is not a perfect system, but it’s free.

WARNING: One mistake many authors make with this is that they use just any old Facebook group. However, you need to ensure the group you use relates to your niche and contains potential buyers or professionals in your target market.

13. Check for Trademarks

While you can't legally trademark most titles, there are specific instances when someone can. That's why it is important to check your government's database of trademarks before choosing your title, just in case someone has trademarked it. Here are the links for the US, UK, and Canada:

• US Trademark Search
• UK Trademark Search
• Canada Trademark Search

But isn't it illegal to trademark titles? Yes…except when you can.

A trademark applies to branding, which is why you can trademark a series name instead of an individual title. That series name is an example of a brand.

But it gets tricky when you have a Title, or Title elements that are also part of a brand. For example, “Catcher in the Rye” is trademarked, because it is part of a larger brand beyond just the book title.

Many authors might remember #CockyGate , where one author tried to trademark the word “Cocky” in relation to books. That one ultimately didn't hold up legally, but you can see how this could be a problem.

The Bottom Line: Make sure your book title is not already violating a trademark before you use it.

14. Add a Subtitle

Regarding non-fiction, you absolutely should use a subtitle to help your book's sales conversions and discoverability.

For fiction, you may or may not use a subtitle. Your book cover and title should effectively tell potential readers exactly your book’s genre and target audience, without the need for a subtitle.

Some fiction authors put “a novel” or “a young adult novel” as a small subtitle to clarify any potential confusion.

Of course, book series often use the series title as the main title and the individual book title as the subtitle.

Ask yourself, if you gave your fiction book cover to a total stranger and asked them what genre it was, would they get it right? If yes, then you're good — no subtitle needed. If no, you might want to use your subtitle to clarify the matter.

To understand how to effectively create a book subtitle, be sure to check out my full article here .

Real life examples and why they're good, bad or just plain ugly.

Check out my video on the best book titles. Plus, at the end, we have a little fun covering some of the more horrendous, terrible, and absolutely ridiculous book titles out there.

Want more videos like this? Then SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel.

There are a lot of great resources out there that can help you with this process. During my years of research on the topic, here are some that I would recommend you check out so as to build a stronger title selection.

• 100+ Blog Title Templates That Grab Attention : Sure it’s for blog titles, but you’ll find out that this list of titles can really stimulate some creativity.
• Michael Hyatt Four Favorite Strategies for Creating Titles : From the master himself, he has a couple of ideas that are pretty unique.
• Tools to Help You Title Your Book : This is a guest post that I did for Write to Done that uses some blog title generators to help stimulate a title idea.
• A-B-C-D Formula for Irresistible Nonfiction Book Titles : a guest post by one of my favorite self-publishing authorities, Derek Doepker. He lays out the goods on nonfiction specifically.
• How To Write An Unforgettable Book Title That Screams “Buy Me! : my friend Steve Scott shares the 10 steps he uses to create profitable book titles (he’s sold over 1 million copies)

Podcast Episode – When and How to Title a Book

What to watch out for.

When you're creating your title, there are a few things that can easily cause it to sink at the marketplace. So to avoid poor sales resulting from your title, here are a few additional things to avoid:

• Complex Language: A title is not the place to write your thesis statement or explain everything that is going on. You want your title to be clear and concise, otherwise you might frighten potential readers away.
• One-word Titles (sometimes): This one comes with a caveat. Generally, one-word titles are unclear and harder to rank for on Amazon. This is especially true of non-fiction, but you can rely on a subtitle to include your primary keywords if your title is shorter. Fiction is a little bit different, where one-word titles are often much more common, and even encouraged in some cases. For fiction, it's best to see if other books in your genre are doing the same thing.
• Misleading or Confusing Language: You'll want to make sure that your title clearly illustrates exactly what it is about. Bear in mind that you could be using a word or phrase that means different things to different people. Make sure to screen your book title for references that might be considered offensive or have a double meaning.

Thankfully, if you follow the steps above, you should have no problem creating an amazing title for your book.

What’s your title going to be?

Let me know if you composed the perfect title using this step-by-step guide.

After all, it’s how I title my books. It’s how The New York Times bestselling authors title their books. It’s how self-published authors should title their books.

Fun example: Although this book cover typography could use some work, I consider this book title a success because it catches my attention and makes sure that when I double-take, I see that it is actually about quilting:

Hey, you go, girl!

As you can see, crafting a perfect book title is not an exact science. Follow my 13 steps, and you’ll come up with an interesting, relevant, marketable title. It needs to convey the point of the book, not alienate the genre, be discoverable, and convert customers into buyers.

Dave Chesson

Related posts, cyber monday deals for writers 2023, how to write a nonfiction book in 2024: the ultimate guide for authors, launching a book: the ultimate step by step guide, sell more books on amazon, amazon kindle rankings e-book.

Learn how to rank your Kindle book #1 on Amazon with our collection of time-tested tips and tricks.

32 thoughts on “ How to Title a Book: 13 Steps to Choosing a Title That Sells ”

Excellent post Dave. And so rich with additional links out to other articles thanks Vicki

Cool post Dave.

Many people miss the 1900s book title experiment and believe that ebook titles are a “new thing” or just something that you throw together that makes it sound nice. Another way to test a title is to ssend people through Adwords and see which title they click on. it can be expensive in the long run, but a couple of hundred dollars can make a world of difference (search for Google $100 coupon for free Adwords cash). It will also gain a really good understanding of what exact searchers are looking for. Kind regards Jasonera

Very true. That’s how The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss got his title. It was going to be something like White Sands and Broad Bands until Ads told him otherwise.

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How To Write Book Titles The Proper Way: A Complete Guide For Writers

• February 10, 2022

Book titles within essays or papers can be tricky. There are specific rules that are given for how to include a book title in a way that sets it apart from the content of your writing given by the Modern Language Association. However, as with many other things in life, there are exceptions to the rules. This article will guide you through the rules of the writing style guides so that you can include a book’s title in your paper or essay correctly.

How to write book titles:

Style guides and book titles.

When it comes to book titles within text, there are a few different style guides that have rules you can follow, depending on your writing type. The three types that you will encounter most often are; MLA style, Chicago manual of style, and APA. A writing instructor will usually tell you what style guide you are expected to use for a particular essay or paper.

MLA Style Guide

The MLA handbook states that you should always italicize book titles when styling book titles within your text. The exception to this rule are religious texts. You would not italicize the Holy Bible or the sacred books or titles of other religions. Note the following example.

Pam had stayed most of the summer indoors, re-reading her favorite book series. She was already up to  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , and she didn’t regret not being more active or going outside.

In the above example, the book title is italicized. Fiction titles and nonfiction titles alike must be in italics when within the text.

Series Titles in MLA

In the above example, a book from a series was used. But what if the text had not specified which book from the series Pam was reading? Would it still need to be in italics? The answer is: in this case, yes. In other cases, sometimes.

It’s really not as confusing as it seems. When you are talking about a book series but don’t want or need to include the complete series titles for the purposes of your work, you only have to put words in italics that also appear in the book titles. So, because  Harry Potter  is part of the title of all of the books in the series, you would italicize his name every time you mention the book.

However, if you were talking about Katniss Everdeen, you would not have to do this, as the book series she is featured in doesn’t use her name in the titles of  The Hunger Games  series. The same would be true of books like the Nancy Drew books.

Quotation Marks

There are instances in which titles should be placed inside of quotation marks within a paper or essay. This is done when you cite the titles of poems , a chapter title, short stories, articles, or blogs.

So, for example, if you were to write a paper that featured a poem from a book, you would put the book title in italics and the poems cited in quotation marks.

An example of an enduring love poem is “Annabel Lee” from  The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. 

Chapter Title

Another time that quotation marks should be used is when using the title of a chapter. If you are citing a specific chapter of a book, you would enclose the title of the chapter in quotation marks, and the title of the book should be in italics.

The desperation and sadness of a man on death row can be seen in the “Wild Wind Blowing” chapter of Norman Mailer’s  The Executioner’s Song. 

Short Stories

Short stories are another case. Much like the title of a chapter or poem, in which the title is placed in quotation marks, while the title of the book or collection it is found in is italics. The same can be said for sections, stories, or chapters cited within a literary journal.

Stepping away from his norm of horror and gore, Stephen King writes of trust, love, and regret in his story “The Last Rung on the Ladder,” which can be found in his short story collection  Night Shift. 

Punctuation Marks

If you are citing a story or title that includes question marks, you need to make sure to italicize the question mark when citing. Keep all punctuation, such as a question mark, comma, ellipses, colon, or exclamation mark, as it is in the original individual books.

If you want a funny and irreverent read, you’ve got to try  Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.  Chelsea Handler has done a phenomenal job of being vulgar, relatable, and explaining life from her viewpoint in this hilarious and memorable book.

The Digital Age: Are Book Titles Underlined Anymore?

MLA style used to dictate that a book title should either be in italics or underlined. However, that is no longer the case. As computers started to take over as the major tool used in writing, it became unpopular to underline book titles. Therefore, this rule was dropped from the style guides.

However, it should be mentioned that when handwriting an essay or research paper, many instructors prefer that you underline book titles, as it’s relatively difficult to handwrite italics. If you are in a writing course or a class that is heavy on handwritten work, be sure to ask your instructor or teacher which method they prefer for citing a book title.

How to Come Up with Book Title Ideas

Now that quotation marks, italics, and style guides have been discussed, let’s move on to how you can come up with your own book title. If you’d like a title for your book that sounds interesting and will get a reader’s attention, you may find this article helpful.

Coming up with a good title for your book is a challenging yet essential marketing decision . The right title can make your target audience choose your new book off of the shelf instead of another writer’s work. Your book cover and your book title are quite possibly the most important marketing decisions you will make.

How to Choose a Good Book Title

Certain criteria should be met if you want to have a good book title , and there are specific steps involved in getting there. You may have assumed up until now that titles of books were just spur of the moment decisions made by authors or publishers, but a lot of work goes into writing good titles.

Grab the Reader’s Attention

As a general rule, you want your reader to remember your title and to sound interesting, even without the reader having seen the cover. There are several ways to do this. You can be a little dark with your title, be controversial, provoke the reader, or even be funny.

There are many examples of such works that use memorable and attention-seeking titles. The following are some different titles that are effective and would most likely provoke a reader to grab them from a shelf for closer inspection.

• Burn After Writing (Sharon Jones)
• Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling)
• Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (Chelsea Handler)
• The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger)
• Chicken Soup for the Soul (various authors)
• God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian (Kurt Vonnegut)

Shorter Titles

If your full title for your book is long, you may end up boring a reader or creating a situation where a reader tries to remember the title of your book, but it’s too long and ends up getting it confused with another book. Although you should always do your best to make sure that there aren’t books by other authors that share a title or have a title similar to your book (more on that in a minute), you don’t want a person to get confused and get the wrong book instead.

Research Your Title Ideas

It’s a good idea to take the titles you have considered for your book and make a list. Then, do your homework. You can use tools like Google Adwords to test out your title to see if there are others like it, or you can simply use any search engine and plug your title ideas into the search bar and see what similar or exact titles of the same words pop up.

Readers are generally busy people. They don’t have the time or the energy to ensure that writers get a title right. They’ll look for the book they are interested in, and if it proves to be too difficult, or if there are other books written that have the same title, they’ll move on to something else.

A writer really has to make sure that they have a title that isn’t going to be ignored, is interesting, isn’t too long, and isn’t too similar to other works.

The same goes for titles of short works within a larger body of work. Short works, like poems or stories, need to have unique titles as well when included in a larger body of work, such as a collection. If stories are similar in nature, be sure to title them differently so that readers will be able to tell them apart, as well.

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Posted on Jun 27, 2018

How to Title a Book: What Do Good Book Titles Have In Common?

So you’ve (finally) finished your book, only to find one last question standing between you and the bestsellers list: how to title your book. Maybe you don’t like the working title you’ve been using these past few months. Perhaps you’ve come up with a title you love — but everyone else says that it might hurt your market potential.

So what makes for a truly good book title? Luckily, there’s a short, simple, 4-point checklist that will help you choose a book title that’s guaranteed to catch a reader’s roving eye. Only joking! Although that would be nice, wouldn’t it? While there’s no sure-fire method for formulating the perfect title, this post will give you ideas for devising a title that enhances your book and gives it the best chance of success.

We recommend downloading this actual free book title checklist to follow along while you read this post. Otherwise, let's get started!

FREE RESOURCE

Book Title Checklist

Create a title that stands out — and sells.

Why do book titles matter?

Without a book title, your book can't exist. Having a title in place before you start writing can help inform or reinforce your themes and motifs  as you plan your novel. To learn more about the planning process, go here for a  complete guide and a free book outline template. Secondly, if you don’t already think of the title of your book as a marketing decision, start now. Your book title might be the single most important marketing choice you make. The title plays a key part in creating a first impression — possibly even more so than your book cover design . Think about the last time you browsed Amazon or looked at a bestsellers list. Chances are that what caught your eye was the:

• The book cover design, and

Now, a good title won’t magically make a book sell, but a bad one will hinder sales at best and, at worst, alienate its core readership. With that in mind, let’s start making some good decisions!

What do good titles for books have in common?

Like we said earlier, there are no hard-and-fast rules for crafting the perfect title. There are, however, some patterns and similarities between good titles that may help you choose your own.

They intrigue and entice the reader

Think along the lines of: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?  by Philip K. Dick.

They match the book to its genre

Think along the lines of: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie .

They are (normally) of a sensible length

The aim is for your readers to have some idea what’s going on, without revealing too much or having a paragraph on the front cover. Long titles can work — just think of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer — so long as people can recall just enough of it to find it on Amazon (or by asking a bookseller in a store).

Think along the lines of: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

They help readers discover the book

Think along the lines of: Beekeeping for Dummies or Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker.

Things to watch out for

Whilst there aren't things you  need  to do, and so there aren't things you need to  not do when choosing a book title, there are certain things that are best given a wide berth.

Overly complex language

Even books about a specialist subject can have a simple, accessible title, like Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Remember that a title is there to intrigue and entice — not repel and frighten off readers by making them think that your book is going to read like a thesaurus.

One-word titles

If you title your non-fiction book “Bottles,” it’s going to be very difficult to rank as the first search result: you’d be competing against people selling hot water bottles, books on the ecological impact of plastic water bottles, and research on bluebottle flies. Avoid confusion by striking the balance between cryptic titles and ones that attempt to summarize the entire book on the front cover. (The exception is flash fiction , where the brevity of one-word titles matches the brevity of the story itself.)

Potential confusion

Don’t get caught out — be careful not to choose a title that might be offensive in certain regions, or that might have an unintended double meaning. Equally, if your book title relies on a reference that is extremely local, or perhaps a little niche, it might be an idea to reconsider and aim for something more universal.

How to title a book: a couple of methods

There really are no bad ideas when you’re coming up with potential titles — just ones that are better than others. Try to write down anything that comes to mind.

Start free writing

Write absolutely anything that comes into your head: words, phrases, names, places, adjectives — the works. You’ll be surprised how much workable content comes out from such a strange exercise.

Look for formulas or set phrases

Obviously, we’re not advocating plagiarism, but try playing around with formats like:

“The _____ of _______”

“______ and the _____”

These will work for certain genres, though they are by no means the only patterns you can play around with. Have you noticed how many blockbuster thrillers these days feature the word “woman” or “ girl” somewhere in the title?

Use characters as inspiration

If your central character has a quirky name or a title (like Doctor or Detective) you can definitely incorporate this into your book title. Just look at Jane Eyre , Percy Jackson , or Harry Potter , for instance —  working with one or more or your characters’ names is a surefire way to get some title ideas down. Equally, you can add a little detail, like Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure , to add a little color to a name and make it title-worthy.

Do the same for setting

Is your book set somewhere particularly interesting or significant? Even if your title isn’t just where the action takes place (like Middlemarch by George Eliot), it’s something to have in the back of your mind. You can include other details, like The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum or Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, to give your readers a sense of action and character, as well as setting (which tend to be linked).

Is there a particular phrase or idea you can work with?

Think Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird here — this is a central symbol and significant piece of dialogue in the novel. It’s enigmatic (what does it even mean? Is it a warning? An instruction?) and makes us really sit up when these words appear in the text itself. Try and think of your inspiration for writing your book or sum up your central theme in a few words, and see if these inspire anything.

Find inspiration from other works

You might be surprised at how many books refer to other works in their titles ( The Fault in Our Stars by John Green comes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar , and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men takes its inspiration from a Robert Burns poem). Going this route allows authors to use an already beautiful and poetic turn of phrase that alludes to a theme in their own book. From Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials , so many books have used this technique that might also work for you.

To subtitle, or not to subtitle?

In non-fiction publishing, there’s a trend of evocative or abstract titles, followed by a subtitle that communicates the content (and is packed with delicious keywords that the Amazon search engine can’t resist). This is also another way to get around long titles — and to add a little panache to an otherwise dry subject matter. In the United States, it’s also quite common to have “A Novel” as a subtitle (if, you know, it’s a novel). In the United Kingdom, this practice is much rarer.

Start with a generated title!

If you’ve gone through all of the above and are still wringing out your brain trying to come up with the golden formula — fear not! There are other ways to get the cogs whirring and inspiration brewing, such as title generators .

What are the rules for choosing a book title?

There are no actual rules when it comes to naming your book. Editors and agents might have their own rules of thumb. But hey, it’s your book and you can call it what you want to. That being said, each retailer has its own particular rules and standards for titles — rules you’ll need to adhere to if you intend to publish there. Let’s take a look at Amazon’s guidelines. Not permitted in Amazon book titles:

• Unauthorized reference to other titles or authors – so don’t think you can get away with titling your book “Stephen King’s Dreams.”
• Unauthorized reference to a trademarked term.
• Reference to sales rank (e.g., "bestselling") – even if it is a bestselling book.
• Reference to advertisements or promotions (e.g., "free") –  a lot of people search for ‘Free books’, which is why Amazon doesn’t want you to call it that.
• The title field should contain only the actual title of your book as it appears on your book cover.
• Foul, vulgar, or obscene language – as Jeff Wheeland , author of  There's More to Life than a Shitty Cubicle found out, you can't advertise your book on Amazon if you swear in the title.

Whilst Amazon doesn’t always effectively police their own rules, if you want to build a reputation as an author, you’ll naturally want to avoid underhand practices.

Test your book title

Congrats! If you’ve got this far, it’s time to test your title. Thought you were done? Oh, no. Even if you are 110% certain that you’ve hit upon the next Harry Potter title-equivalent, a little market research won’t hurt and could be the crucial difference between an okay and a bestselling title.

Here are some ways you can check if your title floats in the real world and in the heads of your audience who, after all, are the most important people in this process . It’s vital to remember that book titles are ultimately for readers.

Start local

Begin with your family and friends, but remember that if you just poll inside your immediate circle for feedback, chances are it will be biased towards the positive and not totally objective. While this may be great for the ego, at this stage in the game you need some genuinely constructive criticism. Distinguish who your target audience is (they might not be your friends), and try to get some feedback from these people.

Facebook groups

Like many things, there is a Facebook group for this exact purpose. Just searching for ‘book title review’ or ‘test book title’ will yield some preliminary results. All it takes is to put up a post asking people to choose between two or three, and some real-life (probably literary-headed) people will give their honest opinions. If you're looking for a group to help you out, why not check out The Street Team , a book marketing group moderated by Reedsy?

SurveyMonkey

In a similar vein, gain the opinion of people slightly further out of your inner circle by making a survey on SurveyMonkey and share the link with as many people as you can. Obviously, this will start amongst friends and family, but if you encourage them to share it the ripple effect should kick in and you’ll be getting some valued feedback from all sorts of participants in no time. Nothing beats genuine, honest opinions, and it’s even better the wider you can cast your feedback — people are less likely to be clouded by personal bias if they don’t know you.

Not a fan of SurveyMonkey, or want to try different survey methods? Check out this list of useful SurveyMonkey alternatives .

Run an Adwords campaign

Depending on your technological capabilities (although it sounds more complex than it is in practice) you can A/B test your title, provided you have a final two, via an Adwords campaign . This way, success is measured by clicks, and you have in-depth analysis to work off. This will require a bit more work than the others, maybe involving creating ads that have people sign up to for a free sample or free chapter of your book. But, like most things that take more effort, the results will be worth it.

Unbiased surveys

We were recently introduced to Pickfu — a testing service that allows authors to ask strangers their opinion. Their tagline is ‘optimize without an audience,’ shouting loud and clear how they’re going to help you test your book title, even if you don’t have hundreds of willing participants that you know personally. Getting the opinions of strangers is just as (if not more) useful than polling those you know personally — they are sometimes going to be more like your target audience than those closest to you.

Now it’s your turn

Your book title is the foundation that your book will stand on once it’s published, and will be a key part of convincing readers (or publishers!) to take a chance on your book. Hopefully, all this will get the ball rolling on your book title, and we’d love to hear the results!  Once you've got a title you're happy with, double check you're capitalizing it properly by reading through title capitalization rules . You can't be too careful.

3 responses

Tom Chmielewski says:

27/06/2018 – 18:51

I use basically the same tactic that I used writing headlines for newspapers and magazines I've worked for. I search out a phrase that hits at some core idea in my novel. In my first novel, "Lunar Dust, Martian Sands," I took from a prayer at a Martian memorial service for a crew who died when their tug exploded, and partly quoted the prayer on the back cover. "We travel beyoond Earth on Moon dust, and build our homes from the sands of Mars." The Moon dust is the Heiium-3 found in the dust to fuel the fusion drives for the interplanatery tugs. The Martian sand is the raw materialls on the planet colonists use to build their homes and other structures. Martian Sands is also the name I'm using for the book series.

Esbe van Heerden says:

19/12/2018 – 05:13

These are amazing tips on book titling, wow! This blog in general is sooo helpful. Something I’ve seen work for nonfiction authors, in particular, is a really simple formula: 1. The defining main title 2. The informative subtitle 📚The Defining Main Title📚 Make sure your main title is short (around 5 words or less) so that it is easy to remember, and specific. It needs to be easy to say when you talk about your book, and something you wouldn’t be embarrassed saying over and over again at a formal event. It could be something to do with your brand (Start With Why—part of Simon Sinek's brand), a movement in your industry (Deep Work—a focus-based movement in the entrepreneurial industry) or something else related to your book's theme that's catchy. 📚The informative subtitle📚 Make sure the subtitle gives context—it can be longer, more SEO-friendly, and descriptive. This is especially important when your main title is catchy or based on a brand, because that means the main title isn’t necessarily a good indicator for a fresh reader as to what the book is about. So the subtitle needs to give a new reader this context. When brainstorming subtitle ideas, here are three quick tips:
 1. Don't be a stuck record player! Avoid writing a subtitle that informs the reader about something they can already glean from the main title—don’t repeat ideas from your main title.
 2. Become a keyword master. Amazon is the biggest search engine after Google and YouTube and your subtitle should include a few key keywords. In saying that, don’t overdo it—it still needs to make sense and sound genuine to potential readers.
 3. Be clear and concise. Don’t let people get bored before they even finish reading the title of your book! And once you’ve come up with a few potentials, always ask yourself: What does the title I’m considering sound like when I say it out loud to new acquaintances at a party? If you are embarrassed to say it or can’t remember it—you’re in trouble. If people get what your book will be about after hearing your title—you’re onto a winner.

ginger northcutt says:

20/02/2020 – 12:16

i have become a great fan of reedsy this year. just like this one on titling, all the articles, how-to breakdowns, the courses (&amp; much more still to explore), they all have been super-informative &amp; offered w/ clarity &amp; then more resources are given. you will be seeing me hanging around reedsy's place more often, for sure!

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Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

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The former chief book critic of the New York Times , Michiko Kakutani is not only an invaluable literary denizen, but also a brilliant observer of how politics and culture disrupt the mechanics of power and influence. In The Great Wave , she turns our attention toward global instability as epitomized by figures such as Donald Trump and watershed moments such as the creation of AI. In the midst of these numerous case studies, she argues for how our deeply interconnected world might better weather the competing crises that threaten to submerge us, should we not choose to better understand them.

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg

From the author of the now-ubiquitous The Power of Habit arrives Supercommunicators , a head-first study of the tools that make conversations actually work . Charles Duhigg makes the case that every chat is really about one of three inquiries (“What’s this about?” “How do we feel?” or “Who are we?”) and knowing one from another is the key to real connection. Executives and professional-speaker types are sure to glom on to this sort of work, but my hope is that other, less business-oriented motives might be satisfied by the logic this volume imbues.

Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa

Out February 27.

“Tell me your favorite childhood memory, and I’ll tell you who you are,” or so writes Deborah Jackson Taffa in Whiskey Tender , her memoir of assimilation and separation as a mixed-tribe Native woman raised in the shadow of a specific portrait of the American Dream. As a descendant of the Quechan (Yuma) Nation and Laguna Pueblo tribe, Taffa illustrates her childhood in New Mexico while threading through the histories of her parents and grandparents, themselves forever altered by Indian boarding schools, government relocation, prison systems, and the “erasure of [our] own people.” Taffa’s is a story of immense and reverent heart, told with precise and pure skill.

Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley

With its chapters organized by their position in the infamous five stages of grief, Sloane Crosley’s Grief is For People is at times bracingly funny, then abruptly sober. The effect is less like whiplash than recognition; anyone who has lost or grieved understands the way these emotions crash into each other without warning. Crosley makes excellent use of this reality in Grief is For People , as she weaves between two wrenching losses in her own life: the death of her dear friend Russell Perreault, and the robbery of her apartment. Crosley’s resulting story—short but powerful—is as difficult and precious and singular as grief itself.

American Negra by Natasha S. Alford

In American Negra , theGrio and CNN journalist Natasha S. Alford turns toward her own story, tracing the contours of her childhood in Syracuse, New York, as she came to understand the ways her Afro-Latino background built her—and set her apart. As the memoir follows Alford’s coming-of-age from Syracuse to Harvard University, then abroad and, later, across the U.S., the author highlights how she learned to embrace the cornerstones of intersectionality, in spite of her country’s many efforts to encourage the opposite.

The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

Out March 5.

A raw and assured account by one of the most famous queer icons of our era, RuPaul’s memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings , promises readers arms-wide-open access to the drag queen before Drag Race . Detailing his childhood in California, his come-up in the drag scene, his own intimate love story, and his quest for living proudly in the face of unceasing condemnation, The House of Hidden Meanings is easily one of the most intriguing celebrity projects of the year.

Here After by Amy Lin

Here After reads like poetry: Its tiny, mere-sentences-long chapters only serve to strengthen its elegiac, ferocious impact. I was sobbing within minutes of opening this book. But I implore readers not to avoid the heavy subject matter; they will find in Amy Lin’s memoir such a profound and complex gift: the truth of her devotion to her husband, Kurtis, and the reality of her pain when he died suddenly, with neither platitudes nor hyperbole. This book is a little wonder—a clear, utterly courageous act of love.

Thunder Song by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe

Red Paint author and poet Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe returns this spring with a rhythmic memoir-in-essays called Thunder Song , following the beats of her upbringing as a queer Coast Salish woman entrenched in communities—the punk and music scenes, in particular—that did not always reflect or respect her. Blending beautiful family history with her own personal memories, LaPointe’s writing is a ballad against amnesia, and a call to action for healing, for decolonization, for hope.

Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against "The Apocalypse" by Emily Raboteau

Out March 12.

In Emily Raboteau’s Lessons For Survival , the author (and novelist, essayist, professor, and street photographer) tells us her framework for the book is modeled loosely after one of her mother’s quilts: “pieced together out of love by a parent who wants her children to inherit a world where life is sustainable.” The essays that follow are meditations and reports on motherhood in the midst of compounding crises, whether climate change or war or racism or mental health. Through stories and photographs drawn from her own life and her studies abroad, Raboteau grounds the audience in the beauty—and resilience—of nature.

What to Read in 2024

Yael van der Wouden on The Safekeep

How to Read the 'Bridgerton' Books in Order

Shelf Life: R.O. Kwon

Remembering Bendel’s Legendary Morning Lineup

My Anxiety Had Something to Teach Me

The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reads of 2024

Shelf Life: Miranda July

Kaliane Bradley on The Ministry of Time

Read an Excerpt from 'The Midnight Feast'

Shelf Life: Claire Messud

Honor Levy Says ‘Goodnight Meme’

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• Library Prizes

12 graduates awarded library prizes for best senior essays

Each year, the library invites Yale College seniors to submit their senior essays for consideration to win one of three prizes for excellence: the Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award, the Diane Kaplan Memorial Prize, and the Yale Library Map Prize. The winners are selected by librarians or faculty members, and the prizes are funded by Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

The prizewinners are each awarded a cash prize in the amount of $500 (honorable mention recipients receive $250), and all winners’ essays are published on EliScholar, Yale Library’s digital platform for scholarly publishing. As is the tradition, students receive their awards at their residential commencement ceremonies.

The Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award

The Harvey M. Applebaum ’59 Award recognizes a student whose senior essay or capstone project substantially draws on national government information or intergovernmental organization (IGO) information, including documents or data. Yale Library has been a designated federal depository library since 1859.

The Applebaum award was presented to Henry H. Carroll , Davenport College, for the essay “Ship Shaping: How Congress and Industry Influenced U.S. Naval Acquisitions from 1933—1938.” Read Henry Carroll’s essay .

Honorable mention was awarded to Nina Grigg , Benjamin Franklin College, for the essay “Surveyor: Scratching for a Wild Moon.” Read Nina Grigg’s essay .

The Diane Kaplan Memorial Prize

The Diane Kaplan Memorial Prize recognizes prizewinning students’ excellent use of research materials from the library’s diverse collections and also the high quality of their writing.

Three students received the Diane Kaplan prize this year:

Leo Egger , Trumbull College, for the essay “‘Living Its Strange Life’: A Literary Biography of Margery Latimer from the Archives in 18 Scenes.” Read Leo Egger’s essay .

AJ Laird , Benjamin Franklin College, for the essay “Whaling Logbooks: Colonial Knowledge Acquisition in the Pacific World.” Read AJ Laird’s essay and visit the related exhibit in Sterling Memorial Library exhibition corridor.

Shira Minsk , Pauli Murray College, for the essay “Steady through Time: Ella Barksdale Brown and the Perception-Based Politics of Black Women’s Racial Uplift in 20th-Century America.” Read Shira Minsk’s essay .

The Library Map Prize

The Library Map Prize recognizes students whose senior essays or projects make use of one or more maps or charts in substantive ways. Students may either create the maps or refer to maps found online or in the library’s special collections.

This year the Map Prize was awarded to two seniors:

Lisa Dong , Pierson College, for the interactive StoryMap essay “So, Where Are Your Really From?: A Digital Humanities Repository Mapping ‘Home, Identity, and Belonging’ within the Intimacies of the Fuzhounese Experience.” View Lisa Dong’s web-based essay .

Nick McGowan , Pauli Murray College, for the essay “Rebirth: Investigating Industrial Gentrification and the Land Use Policy in Chicago’s West Loop.” Read Nick McGowan’s essay .

The Department of History Prizes

The library also stewards the funds for three American History prizes, selected by faculty members in the Department of History. This year, five prizes were awarded for best senior essays.

Julia Aerin Hornstein , Ezra Stiles College, won the Howard R. Lamar Prize for the essay “Charles ‘Minnie’ Dole: The Peak of Masculinity and the Frontier of Western Snow”; AJ Laird , Benjamin Franklin College, won a David M. Potter Prize for “Whaling Logbooks: Colonial Knowledge Acquisition in the Pacific World”; Sydney Zoehrer , Silliman College, won a David Morris Potter Prize for the essay “Adobe: Material Histories at a Crossroads in Marfa, Texas; Hilary B. Griggs , Branford College, won a Walter McClintock Prize for the essay “Does a Man’s Word or a Nation’s Word Ever Become Obsolete?’: Fighting the Floodwaters on the Fort Berthold Reservation”; Teanna Hart (Sicangu Lakota), Silliman College, won a Walter McClintock Prize for the essay “Reconciliation Is Not Enough: Looking and/as Speaking Back at Portrayals of the American Indian”; and Taylor Rose won the Frederick W. Beinecke Dissertation Prize for the essay “Battle Born: Mining, Militarization, and Native Lands in the Nevada Desert, 1860–1990.”

Read more about the three Library Prizes and other Undergraduate Student Prizes. Read more about the History prizes.

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6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Monday is Memorial Day, when Americans pause to remember those who have lost their lives in the country’s wars, and if that somber occasion puts you in the mood to think about global politics and foreign policy, this would be a good weekend to settle in with “New Cold Wars,” in which my Times colleague David E. Sanger and his collaborator Mary K. Brooks evaluate the current state of tensions among China, Russia and America.

Elsewhere, we also recommend new fiction from Colm Tóibín, Juli Min and Monica Wood, along with a biography of the groundbreaking transgender actress Candy Darling and a book of photos by the incomparable Corky Lee, documenting moments in Asian American life. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

NEW COLD WARS: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West David E. Sanger with Mary K. Brooks

In this compelling first draft of history, Sanger reveals how a generation of American officials have grappled with dangerous developments in great war competition, from the war in Ukraine to the technological arms race with China.

“Vividly captures the view from Washington. But, as Sanger makes clear, … the fate of the U.S.-led order rests more than ever on the ideas, beliefs and emotions of people far outside the Beltway.”

From Justin Vogt’s review

Crown | $33

LONG ISLAND Colm Tóibín

More than a decade after Tóibín introduced us to Eilis Lacey, the finely wrought Irish émigré heroine of his novel “Brooklyn,” he’s conjured her again, this time as a married mother whose suburban New York life is disrupted by a crisis that propels her back to Ireland once more.

“Eilis is hardly passive. She is an interesting and vivid character because she manages to make her destiny her choice. … In her own mind, and in the eyes of sympathetic readers, she is free.”

From A.O. Scott’s review

Scribner | $28

SHANGHAILANDERS Juli Min

Min’s debut is a sweeping story, told in reverse. The novel opens in 2040 with the Yangs, a wealthy family tense with frustrations and troubles. Then the novel gradually moves backward to 2014, revealing along the way the complex lives of each family member and how they got to their anguished present.

“Having knowledge of these characters’ futures before we know about their past makes stumbling on their bygone days all the more touching.”

From Jean Kwok’s review

Spiegel & Grau | $28

HOW TO READ A BOOK Monica Wood

The latest from Wood (“When We Were the Kennedys”) brings together three lonely people in and around Portland, Maine — a retired teacher, a widower and a young woman recently released from prison — for a dextrous and warmhearted tale of unlikely redemption and connection.

“A charming, openhearted novel, deceptively easy to read but layered with sharp observations, hard truths and rich ideas.”

From Helen Simonson’s review

Mariner | $28

CANDY DARLING: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar Cynthia Carr

Carr, an astute guide to the Manhattan demimonde, offers a compassionate and meticulous biography of the transgender actress, who flitted in and out of Andy Warhol’s orbit before dying of cancer at 29 in 1974, after being immortalized in a famous photograph by Peter Hujar and in the Lou Reed song “Walk on the Wild Side.”

“There wasn’t really vocabulary to describe the territory Darling was exploring back then … and her biographer extends a sure hand across the breach. To push her from the Warhol wings to center stage, at a moment when transgender rights are in roiling flux, just makes sense.”

From Alexandra Jacobs’s review

Farrar, Straus & Giroux | $30

CORKY LEE’S ASIAN AMERICA: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice Photographs Corky Lee; edited by Chee Wang Ng and Mae Ngai

Several years after his death from Covid at age 73, the famed photographer’s work remains enduringly relevant. This new book, a sort of survey course in Asian Americans’ decades-long fight for social and political equality, offers both intimate, atomized portraits of the everyday and galvanizing visions of a larger unified movement.

“A man with an intimate understanding of the invisible, turning his lens on behind-the-scenes fragments and people that the annals of history have largely ignored.”

From Wilson Wong’s review

Clarkson Potter | $50

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

John S. Jacobs was a fugitive, an abolitionist — and the brother of the canonical author Harriet Jacobs. Now, his own fierce autobiography has re-emerged .

Don DeLillo’s fascination with terrorism, cults and mass culture’s weirder turns has given his work a prophetic air. Here are his essential books .

Jenny Erpenbeck’s “ Kairos ,” a novel about a torrid love affair in the final years of East Germany, won the International Booker Prize , the renowned award for fiction translated into English.

Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” left Singapore’s opulent, status-obsessed, upper crust when he was 11. He’s still writing about it .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .