Think Like an Editor: 5 Ways to Write a Good Book Title
You can learn so much about someone, or who they hope to be, from their bookshelves. If you looked at the shelf by my desk right now, you’d see Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection, Melody Wilding’s Trust Yourself, and Alexis Rockley’s Find Your F*ckyeah.
What does this tell you about me?
Well, you might deduce that I am a recovering perfectionist who enjoys dropping F-bombs from time to time and is perhaps on a quest to trust myself more.
What all three of these book titles have in common is they give readers a specific promise, and most importantly, that promise is emotionally evocative.
Some books name the problem in their title, such as the New York Times bestseller Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, while other books like Wilding’s highlight the end goal, the transformation this reader seeks on a deep and personal level—to “Trust Yourself.” Both strategies work because they tell the reader, “Hey, this book is for you.”
Notice how I said a bookshelf can tell you a lot about who someone hopes to be? A great title names the aspirational emotion or thing the reader might not have even known they desired in their lives or in themselves until they see those very words. It is that aha moment we’ve all had when you pick up a book that feels like the answer to all your present problems.
It's a book that just gets you.
It’s safe to say my bookaholism isn’t getting better, but that—and nearly a decade of working on successful nonfiction books—has taught me a thing or two about what makes a title sing. So I’m going to share with you the five ways to think like a book editor, create a damn good book title, and position your book like a pro.
Solve a Universal Problem: Meet Your Reader Where They Are
One mistake I’ve seen time and again is when authors have a title that is phrased as too personal to their own problems, which might make the reader wonder how the book will improve or affect their lives. This is because the author hasn’t translated their own struggle into a universal truth that brings the reader in.
For example, let’s take Jonathan Haidt’s #1 New York Times bestseller, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. This title brilliantly positions the book as an “us” problem—not just his kids, but also the readers' kids and all the kids of this generation. In addition, it creates urgency by naming this mass problem and its troubling effects on a national scale.
This isn’t about naming pain points as a sales tactic.
A great title also allows your reader to be seen and meets them where they are now in their own struggle, in the way that Michelle Zauner’s beautiful memoir titled Crying in H Mart might make you think, “Yes, I am there too.”
Put Your Spin on a Timeless Promise
Over 2 million books are published every year, and many trendy books have a burst of momentum during the on-sale window, only to quickly flame out a few weeks or months later. This is why you want to choose a title topic that is relevant but could have some staying power.
Make it matter now, and make it evergreen.
You might think you can’t have both, but when your title reflects a timeless issue or desire, it will always be needed.
Consider Gretchen Rubin’s mega-bestseller The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. She could have made the title personal, as in “My Happiness Project,” but that simple The includes us in the journey. This language also provides a spin on the timeless pursuit of happiness.
The “I” in the subtitle tells us this will be narrative-driven. The subtitle also conveys how we will uniquely feel and learn to be happy through Rubin’s experience, including carefree mornings, spaciousness in decluttering, going deep with philosophy, and having fun along the way.
While happiness has been written about a million times over, it was Rubin’s personal spin on the topic that made it feel fresh and stand out.
Set a Specific Tone for That Promise
Rockley’s Find Your F*ckyeah could have just been titled “Find Your Joy,” but which title is more memorable? Which one has more voice?
Because the book is about guiding readers to stop censoring themselves and discover what they really want out of life—not what they should want—the F-bomb is a perfect play on the theme of “uncensoring.”
The word “F*ckyeah” is also a very specific kind of joy and exuberance, whereas “Find Your Joy” would have been far too broad and wouldn’t convey tone or evoke emotional resonance.
The exception to this rule would be The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, because let’s face it, they could have named it Book and it would have sold. But it also makes sense for these two monumental thought leaders to write the book on joy.
Bring The Reader In by Using Their Own Words
Brené Brown is a generation-defining author in personal growth, but I can’t say her first self-published book had the most enticing title, Women and Shame: Reaching Out, Speaking Truth, and Building Connection. Later, Penguin bought this same book and republished it as I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't): Making the Journey from "What Will People Think?" to "I Am Enough."
The first title didn’t reflect the warm and accessible personality we have come to know Brené Brown for in her TED talks and in her writing, but it also didn’t welcome the reader into a prickly topic.
The second title uses the reader's own inner dialogue to communicate shame and overthinking without ever saying those words. It also promises to help us find a path to worthiness using our inner language: “I am enough.”
Which book would you be more likely to pick up? To speak to readers, you need to think like them.
Help People Give Themselves the Lives They Desire
Is your title offering readers something they should do, or are you giving them something they crave?
Think about the reader's perspective and whether your title feels like it’s giving them another chore to do, or offering them something they desire. Is it comfort, empowerment, or permission to do something they’ve dreamed of?
Take Kaci Rose’s instant bestseller You Deserve Good Gelato. This title is a permission slip to not only eat the gelato, but to travel to Italy to get the good stuff!
Readers have enough inner dialogue and societal pressures telling them what they should do or who they can’t be. When your book offers them inspiration, instruction, education, or empowerment to create a life they’ve been denying themselves, you aren’t just providing a powerful promise, you are helping people believe in their potential.
When you show others their potential, you ignite the ache to see it realized.
***
Good positioning shouldn’t start with thinking about how to sell the most books. It’s about sending out the bat signal to the right people—your ideal readres—so they won’t miss the wisdom you have to share. The better the positioning, the more people will walk through the door and benefit from the gifts within your pages.
Intentional positioning is not manipulative or salesy; it is understanding the needs and desires of the people you want to reach to welcome them into their own inner possibilities.
When you start from this place, the books will sell themselves.
If you’ve got a book idea that won’t seem to leave you alone and keeps nudging you to act on it, we can help you take it from a foggy idea to a clear, specific, and compelling book concept. Our calendar is filling up fast, so send us an email soon if you’d like to kick off 2025 by finally getting your book off the ground.
We’d love to hear from you!
