Do you ever choose a book by its title? <\/p>\n
I know that we\u2019ve discussed titles before, but there is a lot to be said about a book (or an article) title. As titles go, there are excellent ones, bad ones and many levels in between. A title is sometimes subjective\u2014while some people love it, others might not resonate with it at all. But, I guess, a good title is one that the majority of the audience for that book are attracted to or drawn to. <\/p>\n
It seems to me that if you like cats, you might be attracted by books with \u201ccat,\u201d \u201ckitty,\u201d \u201cfeline,\u201d or \u201ckitten\u201d in the title. If you enjoy adventure stories, you\u2019re going to be more intrigued by books with the words, \u201cadventure,\u201d \u201cjourney,\u201d \u201cescapade,\u201d \u201cquest,\u201d etc. in the title. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s definitely one reason why it is important and even wise to use words that identify your genre or topic in your title or subtitle. You want to let readers know whether your book is a mystery, history, romance, memoir or a collection of short stories. <\/p>\n
Be honest with your readers. I\u2019ve known \u201cself-published\u201d authors who wrote one book, but wanted it to fit into another genre\u2014one that was, perhaps, selling better. I applaud authors who study the industry and know what\u2019s selling. But you can\u2019t fit a square book into a round hole. You can\u2019t fool the readers. If they want a light read and they pick up your book of \u201cgentle stories,\u201d they will be extremely agitated to find murder and mayhem inside the pages. It\u2019s not fair or ethical to label your erotic book as a young adult novel.<\/p>\n
And this is a dumb thing to do, anyway. If you plan to establish a reputation as a writer in a certain genre or topic, you\u2019d darn well better create books that are representative of that genre or topic.<\/p>\n
So how do you entice your particular audience to buy your book? Through your amazing book cover and through your title. Once you know who your audience is, then direct everything toward their tastes, their interests, their intellect, their questions\u2026 For a nonfiction book, choose a title that responds to your readers\u2019 questions or concerns, for example. <\/p>\n
So what does this tell you? What have you deduced from this blog post so far? If you\u2019re paying attention, you\u2019re beginning to understand how critical it is that you know your audience. And this takes us back to the evergreen topic of writing a book proposal. Yes, a book proposal is a multi-purpose document. It can even help you to determine your book\u2019s title.<\/p>\n
For more about how to write a book proposal, purchase my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book<\/em><\/strong>.
\n http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a><\/p>\n