How do
you come up with a really good title for a book?
In An Influential Author by Gregory Diehl, this topic is explored in detail. Here are some excerpts from his book:
In An Influential Author by Gregory Diehl, this topic is explored in detail. Here are some excerpts from his book:
It
seems unfair that an author can spend more time and incur greater stress while
crafting the perfect title and subtitle than they do while writing entire
chapters. Because titles are limited to
so few words, the influence of every syllable must be carefully
considered. Adding or removing a single
word can affect how attractive and saleable the book appears. If you phrase
something in a less-than-optimal way, you might ruin the title’s
memorability. If you try to stuff in too
many keywords to appeal to search algorithms, you will make your title ugly for
human shoppers.
Write A Great Title Does
A
great nonfiction title doesn’t just say what’s in the book. It invokes selective
curiosity from a certain type of person by informing them about the book’s
practical benefits and the ways it will accomplish them. Newbie authors often
want their work to carry an important-sounding, hypercreative, often cutesy
label. That’s how they want the world to know them and their work. But too much
elegance in what should be a simple and straightforward title obscures the
meaning of a book. The fancy phrase you think captures your message might be
lost on other people who don’t hold the same insider perspective and
associations as you.
An effective nonfiction title and subtitle
combination should:
·
Contain
the most commonly searched keywords related to the book’s message.
·
Sound
pleasant and easy to say out loud.
·
Stick
in the memory.
·
Paint
a clear picture of the book’s tone and subject.
·
Be
free of obscure or esoteric jargon (unless the book is targeting obscure or
esoteric readers).
·
State
or imply what kind of readers the book is written for.
·
Not
be easily confused for the name of another creative work.
·
Incite
curiosity and intrigue from the book’s target audience.
Title Testing
Like
every other area of your book’s presentation, you shouldn’t trust solely your
own opinion about the title and subtitle. You are too familiar with the implied
meaning of your tentative title to be objective about its reception. You cannot
isolate its working from your background knowledge. The most basic title test
you can perform is to ask people, without further prompt or context, what they
think your book is about when they hear or read its prospective title. Their responses might be different than you
expect. They might have a different interpretation of the tone or intended audience. Repeat simple title tests like this with your
beta readers and other people who fit your target readership. Eventually, you
will find unity between intention and interpretation.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
New
Year's Resolutions For Every Author
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/new-years-resolutions-for-all-authors.htmlHow Authors Get Bulk Sales Now
Some key principles
to rally your book marketing around
How to write
powerful, effective book advertising copy that sells tons of books
So what is needed
to be a champion book marketer?
The Book Marketing
Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How authors can
sell more books
No. 1 Book
Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
2018 Book PR & Marketing
Toolkit
2017 Book PR &
Marketing Toolkit
2016 Book Marketing
& Book Publicity Toolkit
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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