How to choose a book title and subtitle

The two jobs: title and subtitle

The Scribe Method's chapter on picking the perfect book title calls the title the first impression potential readers have of your work, and asks for something compelling, clear and memorable. In nonfiction that usually splits across two lines:

• The title is short, easy to say and easy to remember. Someone has to be able to recommend it from memory.
• The subtitle carries the promise: who the book is for and what they will get. It can be longer and plainer.

A clever title with no subtitle leaves readers guessing. A long, descriptive title with no hook is hard to remember. Together they can do both.

Do not wait for the perfect title before you start. Use a working title while you write. The Scribe Method itself places the title chapter after the manuscript is drafted and edited, because the book you finish is rarely the book you planned.

Thirteen ways to find a title

The same chapter lists thirteen approaches, each with published examples. In summary:

A practical way to use the list: write five candidate titles under each of four or five approaches that suit your book. Twenty to twenty-five candidates on one page make it much easier to spot the two or three worth testing. Pull words from your reader conversations; the phrase a reader used to describe their problem often makes a better title than anything you invent.

Match the approach to the kind of book. Direct and benefit-led titles suit how-to books. Metaphors and curiosity suit thought leadership, where the idea itself is the selling point. Memoir titles often name a feeling, a place or a turning point. See choosing the kind of book.

Writing the subtitle

A useful subtitle answers one or both of these: who is it for, and what will they get? Some patterns that work:

• How to [result] without [thing they fear]: names the promise and removes an objection.
• A guide to [result] for [reader]: plain and clear, good for professional readers.
• [Number] [things] that [result]: signals structure and makes the book feel finite.
• What [reader] needs to know about [problem]: speaks directly to one reader.

An illustrative example, not a real book.

Use your reader's words, not your profession's. The Scribe Method's title chapter also says to check the title includes relevant keywords so readers can find it. The subtitle is the natural place for those words.

The rules: copyright, trademark and Amazon

Titles cannot be copyrighted

The US Copyright Office says plainly that copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans or short phrases (Copyright Office FAQ). Its Circular 33, Works Not Protected by Copyright, explains that it will not register individual words or brief combinations of words, even if a short phrase is novel or distinctive. So nobody can stop you using a title for copyright reasons, and you cannot stop anyone using yours. That is why checking what already exists matters.

A single book title generally cannot be a trademark; a series name may be

The US Patent and Trademark Office says a mark used only as the title of a single creative work will not register, and gives the book title The Tipping Point as an example. If the name identifies a series of creative works, such as the Chronicles of Narnia, it may register (USPTO: title of a single work). If you plan a series, or your title is also the name of your company, program or method, talk to a trademark attorney. Separately, avoid titles that use someone else's trademark: Amazon's guidelines prohibit unauthorized references to trademarked terms in the title.

Amazon's title rules

Amazon KDP's metadata guidelines for books say the title field should contain only the actual title as it appears on the cover, and that title and subtitle together must be fewer than 200 characters. The title may not include references to sales rank such as "bestselling", promotional words such as "free", repeated generic keywords, or unauthorized references to other titles or authors. The subtitle must follow the same guidelines.

Check what already exists

• Search your candidate title on Amazon and in the Library of Congress catalog. A recent book with the same or a near-identical title, especially on a similar subject, is a reason to keep looking.
• Search the USPTO's trademark records for the key words if the title is distinctive.
• Check whether the matching web address and social handles are free if you plan to build around the title.

None of this is legal advice. It is the minimum homework before you fall in love with a title.

How to test a title

The Scribe Method suggests two tests. First, imagine a reader confidently recommending the book by name at a party: if the title is awkward to say or hard to remember, it fails. Second, an optional click test: run small ads or a survey through tools such as Google Ads, SurveyMonkey or PickFu and see which title draws more interest. It also warns against relying on social media polls, because your friends are not your audience.

Add one more of your own: say the title and subtitle to three people who match your reader and ask them what they think the book will do for them. If they describe your promise, the title works. If they guess something else, it does not, however clever it is.

What most people get wrong

• A clever title with no subtitle. Wordplay is fine if the subtitle explains it.
• Naming the book after the author's method. "The FOCUS Framework" means nothing to a reader who has not read the book. Put the method in chapter one and the benefit on the cover.
• A title too close to a bestseller. The Scribe Method cautions against titles too similar to existing bestsellers unless you have a real twist.
• Overcomplicating it. If you have to explain the title, it is not working yet.
• Polling friends. They will pick the title they like, not the one your reader responds to.

If you want help finding a title with someone who has named many books, Scribe Media, which makes this site, offers a free call about your book.