Crafting Compelling Titles and Subtitles

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Great advice for human interactions. Less useful for actual books.

Not only do we judge books by their covers, but when we read a book's title we decide in an instant whether the book is for us or not.

As you're crafting a title for your own book, keep in mind this general rule of thumb:

1. The title communicates the book's "premise."

2. The subtitle communicates the book's "promise."

Now that I've put it out there, I'm sure you're scrolling through all your favorite titles that break this rule. Fine, be that way.

What can be learned from the thumb-rule, is that the best titles communicate to a distracted book browser something of what is inside the book.

The title lets the reader know the general premise of the book:

• Eat, Pray, Love
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad

And the subtitle lets the reader know what the book promises they'll get from it:

• One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
• Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
• What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

So as you craft your title, you want to be sure that the reader knows what the book is about (premise) and what's in it for them (promise.)

Of course there will be those bestsellers that no one can account for, like Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, but it's more likely that you'll serve your readers and your book if a reader who's scrolling through titles on Amazon, or flipping through pages at Barnes & Noble, can know--in an instant--that your book is for her or him.

I learned this rule about titles and subtitles from my savvy friend Jonathan Merritt a few years ago...after I'd published a bunch of books.

Here are my titles (excluding collaborations/ghost writing). If the title is a win, credit goes to the publisher. If it's a fail, probably mine. So judge me...

• The Girl in the Orange Dress: Searching for a Father Who Does Not Fail
• Unsqueezed: Springing Free From Skinny Jeans, Nose Jobs, Highlights, and Stilettos
• Small Things With Great Love: Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor
• Permission Granted: Living Graciously Among Sinners and Saints
• Not Who I Imagined: Surprised By a Loving God
• Overplayed: A Parent's Guide to Sanity in the World of Youth Sports

Which of my titles communicates what you'll find inside and meets a need readers actually have? Too late to change 'em, so hit me with your best shot...

"I Want to Write a Book..."

Occasionally I’ll connect with someone who’s itchy to write. Maybe he wants to start a blog. Maybe she wants to write a book. And this potential writer is itchy to take the right next-steps to do this. 

Maybe you’re that potential writer.

Without yet knowing you or your story, here’s what’s in my heart for you and other eager potential writers…

Write

Start. Begin. String words together. Gather your sentences into a meaningful whole.

It’s estimated that 81% of Americans feel they have a book in them and should write it. I don’t know the stat for people who go on to actually write them. I feel fairly confident guessing it’s not 81%.

So by sitting down at your laptop and writing, you’re well on your way.

The thing that makes any legit is…writing.

Work at Your Craft

The best writers work at their craft. There are a number of good ways to do that:

• Attend a writer’s conference.Writer’s conferences offer great workshops to help you improve your writing. And they often offer opps to network with writers, editors, publishers, and agents. (Here’s a good listing of Christian writer’s conferences, if that’s your bag.) I’m not a conference junkie, but I do believe that there are a host of rich resources available at most writers’ conferences.

• Join a writer’s group. Gather with writers in your area. Meet face to face to share and critique one another’s work. Or, find an online critique group. Others’ feedback—noticing strengths and offering areas for improvement—is extremely valuable in growing as a writer.

Before You Publish...Publish

If you’re anything like me, you may secretly hope and believe that the first draft of the book that’s in your heart will become a New York Times bestseller.

Psychological professionals call this “magical thinking.”

If you’re serious about writing, begin to develop an audience.

• Guest post on a friend’s blog.

• Start your own blog.

• Pitch articles to online magazines.

• Enter a contest.

Though it can be tempting to want to dazzle audiences with that first book, either traditionally published or self-published, there’s a lot to be learned on the journey. Good writing is worth the wait.

Don’t rush.

But do start.

  
 If you've had a book in your heart for awhile, what's kept you from launching?

Bad News for Good Writers

Dear Gifted Not-Yet-Published Writer Who Has A Timely Message Audiences Need,

I think your writing is fantastic. You’ve allowed me to peek and I think that you have an important message and that you can deliver it well. I wish that was enough. It should be, right?!

It’s not enough.

In today’s publishing world, publishers who want nothing more than to publish great writing aren’t able to say “yes” to every book with a great message that’s written well if the writer has not worked diligently to build an audience. Some publishers do take that risk on a book they believe in, knowing that it might not pay out for them.

And if you’re like me—with way more confidence than might be merited—you believe that your awesome book will be the rare shining exception. Once the first reader reads it and tells all her friends, you figure, it’ll start selling like...a bestseller. And possibly it will. Much more likely, though, you’ll not find an audience for your writing unless you work to build one.

So—momentarily abandoning my signature irrational optimism—I’m just going to outline the bad news so that you have access to the facts you need.

1. Agents and publishers need to sell books.

Every agent and publisher I know loves great writing. In order to stay in business, though, they must publish and sell books that sell. It would be great if these two were synonymous, and sometimes they are. Not always.

2. Writers with audiences sell books.

Whether you publish with a traditional publisher or decide to self-publish, you must have access to an audience that trusts you in order to sell books.

3. Demonstrating an Audience is Requisite to Securing an Agent or Publisher

For an agent or publisher to consider representing you or publishing your work, you need to demonstrate that you’re reaching an audience. 

4. Building an Audience Takes Hard Work

Occasionally someone will build an audience with seemingly little effort—because they win an Olympic gold or are elected as President of the United States. (Okay…there was some effort.) The rest of us have to work REALLY HARD to grow an audience. Smarties, like @jeffgoins, with much more experience than I have can teach you how to do this. (Mention other smarties in the comments, below.)

5. Selling Books is Really Hard

Whether you publish with a traditional publisher or self-publish, selling books takes work.

Now start at the top of the list and read them all again. Congratulations, you now have a handle on the bad news.

The Good News

The good news is that there’s always something you can  be doing to build your audience:

• Pitch article after article to editors.
• Speak to audiences, for free at first, about your subject.
• Offer a freebie download at your site to build your mailing list.
• Guest post on blogs of folks you know.
• Make friends online by sharing their great stuff. (They will love you for this. And owe you.)

If you were bummed out by all the bad news, do one thing today to build your audience.

Cheering you on,

Margot

Crafting a Book Proposal? Don't Submit Yours Without Reading These 10 Tips

*In the comments today you can ask any book proposal related question. Go!

Every sentence of your book proposal should have one person in mind, and it's not you: it's the reader. Your job is to meet the reader’s needs—both that first reader, the agent or publisher, and the eventual one—by communicating efficiently and effectively.

1. Don’t get visually fancy.

Elaborate fonts, colors and graphics distract. Use Time New Romans 12 pt font in a Microsoft Word doc or PDF. Rule of thumb? Keep it simple.

2. Use plain language.

High-fallutin’ intellectual language is only appropriate for academic books. More often, communicate using a conversational voice.

3. Write in the third person.

Compose proposal in the third person, as if your agent or a professional collaborator has prepared it—allowing you to brag a bit.

4. Be clear and concise.

When a reader sets down your proposal, he or she can easily identify the premise of your book. Make the reader’s job easy: don’t use more words than are necessary to communicate effectively.

5. Avoid extremes.

Claiming every person always feels a certain way distracts reader by challenging her to search for an exception. “Most” and “often” are more effective.

6. Communicate value for the reader.

Throughout your proposal, make explicit the takeaway value for the reader who purchases and reads your book.

7. Title effectively.

  

Your working title suggests the book’s premise and the subtitle its promise. Avoid titles that are either too generic or too clever—both making the premise difficult to identify.

8. Prove you will market your book.

Don’t just say you’ll help with promotion. Offer concrete plans you will put into effect.

9. Practice Humility

Don’t oversell, insisting Oprah will return to daytime TV just to promote this book. And be cautious, even with faith-based publishers, about claiming that God told you to write it. #redflag

10. Offer an error-free proposal.

If you’re not paying for a professional critique, have a word-loving friend scour your final draft for grammatical or typographical errors.

Do you have a question about your book proposal? Ask away...

If You're Serious About Writing a Book, Be Serious About Writing a Book

You are serious about writing a book.

You’ve written a book proposal and you’re itchy to hold a paper book in your hands. In fact you’re so fired up that you knocked out the book proposal in one week and wrote the sample chapters in 3 days!

But are you serious enough to slow down?

• Are you willing to solicit feedback from a local writer’s group?
• Are you willing to spend six months writing and rewriting those chapters?
• Are you willing to hire a proofreader to review your final draft?
• Are you willing to save money and find childcare for your toddler so you can spend three days at a writer’s conference?
• Are you willing to spend 18 more months writing articles, to build your platform, before submitting your proposal to an agent or publisher?

If you’re serious about building a career as a writer, plan to invest time, money and energy in your proposal before submitting it to an agent or publisher.

Be that serious.

What have you done, on the road toward publication, to hone your craft?