How To Write A Book Title

Your book may boast of incredible content, a great storyline and infallible characters, but if the title is limp and boring, then there is little in saving your efforts from completely going down the drain. Someone rightly said that a title is what makes or breaks a bestseller! You must have noticed how buyers browse through a book, rake up the front and back and then replace the book on the stands before moving on to the next book. This entire process barely entails more than a couple of seconds and that is all the time a writer has got to make an impression on his reader and make a bang with his/her title. The title of a book is meant to grab the readers’ attention and reveal his/her ‘state-of-mind’. Hence, it shouldn’t be a descriptive bore, but a power-packed punch meant to blow way the readers and get their attention hooked. Nevertheless, titling a book can be quite a test and might warrant extensive research and contemplation. If you have been looking for a name to title your book, then scrolling down this write-up on how to write a book title should leave you with plenty of ideas.

Writing A Book Title

Authoring a book is no small business and thinking of a perfect title is tougher than that. Someone rightly said, “Grant your book with a great title and you will have a bestseller at hand”. After all, it’s all in the name! However, before you turn to your mom and friends for help or even hit the bookstore and browse through the bestsellers for inspiration, just remember that the title of your book should be good enough to aesthetically appeal to the readers and should be impressive enough to influence them to buy it off from bookshelves.
Horror, science, fantasy or non-fiction, always make sure to style your title as per the genre of your writing. In that way, your readers will be in a better position to infer the contents of the book and gauge the storyline and style from its title. In short, your title should give the readers a sneak-peek into the subject of the book. You can go innovative with your title and spice it up using metaphors, similes and other figures of speech to whip up some mystery and fun.
Remember to stay away from using double-meaning words and phrases to outline your book. The cue is to be direct and precise with your name. After all, you wouldn’t really like to keep your readers guessing on the content of your book. You can also add a punchy, evocative subtitle to your main title to spark off curiosity and interest among the readers as well.
If you are really stuck for ideas and cannot think of anything fresh and unique, then going over the book and reading it all over again should leave you with some cues. You can also ask your friends, mates or relatives to go through the manuscripts and propose some interesting ideas. Another interesting way to devise a title for your book would be to scan through the most interesting parts and zero down on the catchiest phrase for the title. You can also use the protagonist’s name as the title or thread a title around the most pivotal characters in the book.
Once you have zeroed down on a title, pause to consider its impact on the buyer and relevance to your book. If you are convinced that your title is “commercially-viable” and packs a real punch, then your book is all set to find its way to the list of bestsellers soon.

If you have been desperately hunting for a title, then this article on how to write a title should at least give you an idea on how to get on with your name-hunting spree.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Art & Entertainment'