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.
102 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
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 vedicalways@gmail.com
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)
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.
1-Reject
2-Hidden Horridness
3-Savior
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. laurapadron.aebn@gmail.com 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
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
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!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
Thanks
I’m just a beginner l now where to start compiling a suitable title for my book thank you 💝 this is a superb