How to Write Non-Fiction: Decide on your book title and subtitle

You might already have a title in mind, or you might not have a clue.

Don’t worry! At this early stage, you can use a working title and refine it as you go through the process.

For many years, I worked sporadically on a book about creating from the Shadow side and using our inner darkness to bring depth to our writing based on Jungian psychology. I didn’t know what the title would be, so for years I called it The Shadow Book.

In 2023, I finally finished and published it as Writing The Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words, but that title didn’t emerge until I had almost finished the manuscript.

Even if you are sure of your title, consider the following as you may need to change it, or add a more effective subtitle.

The importance of keywords and search-engine optimisation (SEO)

Non-fiction book buyers are usually looking for help with a specific problem, information on a particular topic, or insights from someone who has experienced a transformation they want for themselves.

Amazon and the other book retailers, Google and other search sites, as well as audio platforms like Spotify, are filled with people looking for books every day. How will those people find yours?

Switch your brain to reader mode.

What would you type into the search bar?

These are keywords or keyword phrases and they are the words you need to consider as part of your title and subtitle — if you want your book to be found in this way.

I use this principle for my non-fiction books. They don’t have clever or obscure titles. They answer a specific problem for my audience, which is obvious from the titles: How to Make a Living with your Writing, How to Write a Novel, and even my memoir, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways. You know whether you want these books by reading the titles.

You can research keywords in titles by going through the top-selling books in any niche on Amazon, or you can use Publisher Rocket to do more of an automated competitor analysis.

Use copywriting principles

Non-fiction book titles often use principles of copywriting, focusing on the benefits the reader will get from the book, and encouraging the reader to take action. Examples include “Seven Secrets of X,” “Stop Doing Y Now!,” or “Overcome Z Fast.”

Classic benefit-driven titles include How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff. The titles alone tell the reader exactly what they will learn if they buy the book.

You can include time-specific benefits. Examples include The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss, or Lean In 15: The Shift Plan. 15-Minute Meals and Workouts to Keep You Lean and Healthy by Joe Wicks.

Some titles grab attention with an element of surprise or shock. For example, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck, or You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero.

Other titles are more like listicles. For example, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout, or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

Of course, these strategies can be overdone, leading to a whole niche saturated with books that look and sound the same. It’s a balance, but the principles of copywriting for persuasion remain useful.

Don’t be clever — unless you use an obvious subtitle

Many authors like the idea of using a personal word or a catchy phrase that has meaning for them in the title, but this could be misunderstood by readers who aren’t familiar with the term. One way to mitigate this is to use a clear, targeted subtitle.

Irresistible by Adam Alter could be a dessert cookbook, a romance novel, or something on how to attract a partner, but the subtitle makes it clear: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.

Another example is Still Stripping After 25 Years by Eleanor Burns, which is actually about quilting. The cover makes it quite clear that it’s not about the sex industry, but the title alone could be confusing!

Seth Godin, marketing guru and non-fiction bestselling author, had to retitle one of his books because there was so much misunderstanding. The original title was All Marketers Are Liars. The subtitle made it clearer: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. Seth eventually changed the title to All Marketers Tell Stories, although the cover still has the word ‘liars’ crossed out.

Make it a ‘one-click’ buy for your target market

Think about your book-buying behaviour. There will be some categories of books you’re always interested in. For me, that includes the darker side of history and travel, as well as creativity, business, and investing.

If a title or subtitle stands out, I will buy the book, most often without knowing anything about the author.

This is why it’s so important to have a target market in mind. Will they see your book or hear about it and think, ‘I must have that!’ or click Buy Now immediately based on the title alone?

Consider testing your book title

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, tested multiple title ideas using Google AdWords to see which one his target audience preferred — a practice known as split testing. Tim’s original title was Drug Dealing for Fun and Profit. His first business was in health supplements, so it was a clever title with an element of shock. During his testing phase, he found that The 4-Hour Workweek got a better result, and he also split-tested his covers.

The book was originally published in 2007 and continues to sell — and to change lives. It’s a modern classic, but possibly would not have been if Tim had kept the original title.

You can do split testing yourself, using Google AdWords or Meta Ads or PickFu, a service that creates a poll for testing covers and titles.

Consider what people want, not what you think they need

When I left my day job to become a full-time author entrepreneur, I realised pretty quickly that the skills of running a business were quite different from the craft of writing books. A successful author needs both.

As I learned how to run my business, I wrote a book to help others on the same journey, Business for Authors: How to be an Author Entrepreneur.

It contains everything an author needs, including detailed information on accounting and taxes, topics that aren’t sexy but are critical for business.

For a while, I couldn’t work out why the book only sold a few copies. It was so clearly needed in the author community and it had great reviews from those who bought it.

Then I considered the title and the topics included, and decided to write something related but without all the technical business stuff.

How to Make a Living With Your Writing is now in its third edition. It’s one of my bestselling non-fiction books in every format, and the original edition was included in a list of the Best Business Books of 2015 by Inc. Magazine.

Self-help guru Tony Robbins did something similar. He published Money: Master the Game, a doorstop book packed with interviews and tips and advanced strategies for building wealth, in 2014. It was way too much information for the average person.

Clearly, it didn’t hit the market he wanted it to, as three years later, he published Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook, a cut-down version in a much more easily digestible format that I recommend to anyone interested in investing.

Changing your book title after publication

If you’re with a traditional publisher, this might not be possible, but if you’re an independent author, you can always change your title later, as long as you own and control the rights to the book.

You can upload a new version and overwrite the previous ebook edition, so it retains reviews, although you will need a new ISBN for print editions.

My first self-published non-fiction book was originally called How to Enjoy Your Job or Find a New One.

When I discovered SEO and keyword research, I rewrote and republished the book as Career Change. There were ten times as many searches for ‘career change’ as for ‘how to enjoy your job,’ so my sales went up after the change purely through organic search.

If you search for ‘career change’ now on Amazon, you should still find it on the first few pages for that keyword phrase.

Use AI tools to help you generate title and subtitle ideas

You can use ChatGPT, Claude, or other AI tools to help you with ideas for your title and subtitle.

Tell it about your book and ask for twenty ideas for titles and subtitles, then ask it for another twenty with a specific focus on your target market. Repeat until you have a good list and then you can mix and match the ideas, or use them to spark your own variations.

Remember to check whether a book already exists with the exact title and subtitle. Although there is no copyright on titles in the English language, it’s good to make sure yours is unique.

Questions:

•   What are the top-selling titles in your niche from the last few years? What do they have in common?

•   Look at your bookshelf, physical or digital. What are some of the book titles you have bought because the title itself attracted you?

•   Research keywords and keyword phrases in your niche. What words and phrases are the best for your target market?

•   How could you use copywriting tips to improve your title?

•   What are some possible book titles and subtitles? How could you test these?

Resources:

•   Publisher Rocket for category and keyword research: www.TheCreativePenn.com/rocket

• PickFu for book title or cover testing: www.TheCreativePenn.com/pickfubook