Creating the right book title is one of the choices that can greatly affect your book sales. In this article, we'll discuss the importance of the book title, tips and strategies for creating one, and the effectiveness of book title generators.
Why Do You Need a Great Book Title?
If you think quality content will secure the success of your book, you're wrong. Everything from the book title to cover design, and even the book description, enhances or downgrades the appeal of a book. This especially goes for eBooks. If you're planning to market your books on Amazon, you'll have to understand that your competition is fierce. There are thousands of great books on the platform that have only had a couple of sales because they're invisible.
Bland titles, unoriginal covers, and generic book descriptions are largely responsible for readers dismissing certain books and moving on to other titles. Before your reader gets a chance to review the book, they'll make a purchasing decision based on the book title.
A simple change in the title of the book can double or even triple the sales, whereas a bland, boring title can leave you with zero readers. This was the experience of the 1900’s publisher, editor, and writer Haldeman-Julius, who would alter the titles of quality books with low sales. After his intervention, the sales would increase up to five times.
Haldeman-Julius would often only slightly alter the titles, sometimes adding or removing a single word to create a massive difference. For example, The Mystery of the Iron Mask sold 10000 copies versus The Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask which sold 30000 copies sold). Similarly, Casanova, which sold over 22000 copies per year after its original title Casanova and His Loves got changed. As you can see, a simple tweak in the title of these books skyrocketed their sales.
How to Create the Best Book Title
Regardless of the quality of your book, the reader won't even consider it if the title is unappealing. Mainly, your book title needs to reflect something your customer wants rather than something you're trying to say.
It might seem logical for the book title to present the topic of the book and doing so is a mistake that most authors make. Giving a title to your book that is a direct description of its topic may be appropriate for academic publishing and schoolbooks, where customers prefer titles that depict the exact topic.
However, if you're publishing non-academic books, your customer's purchase is optional. It's based on interest, whereas a student's need to buy a book is based on a need to learn and pass the exam. When your reader browses a book based on their interest, they'll be quick to dismiss it if the title doesn’t appeal to them.
If you're aware of the importance of a great title, but are struggling to craft one by yourself, here's how to do it:
Use Hints
For a customer to buy a book, they need at least an inkling of the book topic. But the topic shouldn't be blatantly obvious as to avoid the book looking boring.
Make it Simple
The title should catch the reader's attention even when their attention is elsewhere. An effective title will catch the reader's attention among hundreds of search results after they've typed the keywords into Amazon's search bar.
The only way to do this is to craft a title that won't require a lot of conscious thinking to understand. The reader will catch it in the sea of other titles, and if it sparks their interest, they'll click on it. All the words in your title need to be simple enough for the general audience to understand, regardless of their education and interests.
Don't Confuse the Reader
Your title needs to send a clear message of what it can do for a reader, and why your customer wants to read it. If the title is unclear and confusing, the reader will simply pass.
Offer Results
When deciding whether or not to buy a non-fiction book, the reader will make assumptions on whether or not they'll gain valuable, useful knowledge. Make sure to highlight what the reader will learn from your book, which skills they'll gain, and what results they'll achieve.
Be Mysterious
A title that sparks the reader's interest but doesn't give away any of the book's secrets will make them think about the book, and they'll be intrigued to learn more.
Research the Market
Before making a final decision on your book title, find out what the most commonly used and searched phrases are within your niche in regard to:
- Titles,
- Subtitles, and
- Book descriptions.
The results of this research will tell you which words and phrases you should include in your book title and your book title generator.
Explore Different Ideas
Never set your mind on a single title before you've considered as many options as you can. The more ideas you explore, the better the result will be. Start from a large number of possible titles and narrow down the list to up to five best titles.
Get Feedback!
To make a final decision on your book title, consider the input you'll get from:
- Friends,
- Family, and
- Co-Workers
Why You Need a Book Title Generator
Book title generators help you draft the ideas for the best title. With a multitude of available tools online, you can choose those that are the best fit for your book considering your niche. Book title generators help you browse numerous title ideas to come up with the best one.
That said, a book title generator's suggestion shouldn't be the final version of the title. You can use them to get inspired and move on to work on your own creative ideas. The book title generators, however, might present you with examples you didn't think of before.
Here are a couple of recommendations when it comes to choosing book title generators:
Story Name Generators for Fiction Books
Lulu
Lulu.com is a story name generator that will give you multiple title suggestions based on your potential title. To optimize your results for success, make sure to use the right options from the drop-down menu. This generator is also useful for predicting the chances of your book becoming a bestseller.
Fantasy Name Generator
Fantasy Name Generator will give you up to ten title suggestions based on your query. Before your search, make sure to choose the niche options as the generator covers both fiction and non-fiction.
Writing Exercises Story Title Ideas
This generator will also suggest plots, scenarios, character, and fist lines, aside from book titles. However, keep in mind that these will be only suggestions to spark your creativity.
Ruggenberg
The Ruggenberg Title Generator works on the same principle as the previous generators. To use it, you'll type in up to six title suggestions. The generator will come up with alternatives, giving you more options to consider.
Reedsy
Reedsy will give you title suggestions for fiction genres that include sci-fi, romance, mystery, fantasy, and crime. To use Reedsy, click on the button to select your genre, and repeatedly click on “Generate Title” to browse title suggestions.
Non-Fiction Story Name Generators
Portent's Content Idea Generator
This generator will help you browse ideas for your non-fiction book title or your blog post title. It is simple to use. All you need to do is to enter the book topic, and the generator will come up with multiple creative suggestions.
Adazing’s Book Title Generator
This generator is easy to use. You can choose among multiple genres and edit titles to draft your ideas.
Kopywriting Kourse
This generator will create hundreds of title suggestions to help you narrow your list.
Awesome Titles
This generator will give you over 700 suggestions for the selected topic. All you have to do to use it to insert the keywords into the search bar. It will also generate titles that might serve as your subtitle, chapter titles, headings, among others
Finding the best book name using book title generators can be done successfully if you're methodical.
How to Use a Book Title Generator
Your success with book name generators doesn't depend as much on the particular generator as it does on your creativity and ability to detect the most interesting book title ideas. Here are a couple of tips when using book title generators:
Think of the Genre
To use a book title generator successfully, use the one that's the best fit for your genre.
Research Keywords
Do some research on keywords you’re considering for your book title to boost your search results, including the popular Amazon searches. For this, you can use Kindle Keywords.
Run Secondary Searches
Book title generators give you a multitude of possible choices. But your quest doesn't have to end with the first batch of suggestions. You can use your favorite suggestions from your first search and run a couple more searches based on those.
Combine Book Name Generators
While some book title generators randomly suggest titles based on genre, others do it based on keywords or title suggestions. You can use the results from one generator to suggest titles for other generators and compare your results. This way, you can follow your instincts and inspiration to come up with the most intriguing titles.
Conclusion
Figuring out the right title for your book is going to be a creative journey rather than a ten-minute formality. Don't be afraid to set aside days, or even weeks, to come up with a great story name for your creation, as it makes a great difference in the visibility of your book.
Here at The Urban Writers, we'll be happy to assist you with giving your book the final touches. We will help you with proofreading, editing, cover design, and of course, creating awesome book titles.
