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Do you consider your readers when picking a title for your book?

Getting the title of your book right, is one of the many ingredients that can go into making a bestseller. Most writers, correctly, spend weeks or even months wrestling with a list of titles, trying to find the one that fits perfectly.

However, in today’s computer driven world it is vital to consider a few less obvious factors:

Make sure people can pronounce your title:

It may be tempting to use an unusual name or phrase from your novel. This may give your book a quirky edge. However, rather than this being a marketing advantage, it will be a huge disadvantage as potential readers struggle with the title at bookshop tills and libraries.

Make sure people can spell your title:

In today’s digital world being able to spell a search term, whether in Google or Amazon, is essential. Why make it more difficult than it needs to be for potential readers by including difficult to spell words? Here’s an example of commonly misspelled words.

Make sure Google can find your title:

It is essential that you pick a title that has a good Google profile. By this I mean choose a title with little keyword competition. For example, Dracula, Harry Potter and Disney are bad words to include in a title, but so are cola, mobile phone and virus software. All will fall off Google’s front page and become invisible. Try to come up with a title that has as little competition as possible – that is one of the reasons we are called BubbleCow.

Be prepared to change:

You may spend hours searching for the perfect title, and then when you secure a book deal the publisher can’t wait to change the book’s name. My advice is to just go with the flow. A publisher will have concerns for the book’s title in areas you have not considered. They will be looking at the competition, their back list, as well as other area such as marketing and sales. The reality is that if a publisher wants to change the name of the book, then you are fighting a losing battle, and so concede with grace.