A winning nonfiction title is clear, not clever.
It gives a stranger enough information to understand what kind of book she’s looking at and why she might care.
That sounds simple.
It isn’t.
You have three seconds
Most people will only ever see your book as a tiny thumbnail on Amazon. Usually on a phone. Usually while scrolling past dozens of other books.
You have only a few seconds to make her stop.
Nothing does that like a title that immediately makes sense.
Nothing kills it faster than a title she has to puzzle over.
My $30,000 lesson
I once wrote a book called Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture.
Can you guess what it was about?
Neither could anybody else.
It was about not being a drama queen — not blowing your problems out of proportion like a melodrama.
Get it? A major motion picture?
No.
No one got it.
That book bombed. I still owe my publisher $30,000 in back royalties.
So learn from my pain:
Clever is the kiss of death. If you have to say “Get it?” — forget it.
The pastor who ended up in the New Age store
A pastor I love — megachurch, top Christian publisher, endorsements from famous names — released a book the same month as one of my clients.
She was an unknown woman running a little nonprofit feeding the poor in the Nevada desert.
His title was clever.
If I offered you $10,000 to tell me what his book was about from the title alone, you couldn’t do it.
Amazon couldn’t either.
They put his book in the New Age category.
My client, with her clear title and the right positioning, outsold him four to one in paperback and left him in the dust on Kindle.
A confusing title doesn’t just lose readers.
It can make it harder for Amazon to understand where your book belongs and who might want it.
What a clear title does
A strong title gives a stranger enough information to recognize whether the book belongs in her life.
Look at titles that work:
- One Man’s Inspiring Journey to Hike the Appalachian Trail Alone — the subtitle of my client Peter Conti’s book. You immediately understand the subject.
- Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life. The subtitle clarifies the benefit.
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Plain language. Clear promise.
The lesson isn’t to copy these titles.
It’s to notice how little explaining they require.
Leave the Christianese at church
Insider language works beautifully on a Sunday morning.
On Amazon, it can become a wall.
Phrases your small group would understand instantly may mean nothing to a woman searching for help at 11 p.m.
Use language real readers understand.
You can write a deeply Christian book without making the reader decode the title before she knows whether it’s for her.
Test it on strangers
Before you fall in love with a title, show it to people who don’t already know what your book is about.
Don’t explain it first. Don’t give them a single clue.
Ask them what they think the book is about.
Their answers will tell you far more than another hour spent staring at your own list of title ideas.
If you have to explain the title, it isn’t clear enough yet.
Expect this to be hard
Ever hear stories about famous authors collecting rejection letters?
Coming up with the right book idea and the right title is hard.
It was hard for me on book number 30.
Every time I teach this, the title conversation takes longer than people expect.
That’s fine.
Invest the time required here.
A title affects whether readers stop, whether they understand the book, and whether they care enough to click on it to learn more. And maybe even click that buy button.
Why readers really skip your book
Readers don’t skip your book because they didn’t like it.
They skip it because they couldn’t tell what it was about.
Quick answers
Should a nonfiction book have a subtitle?
Absolutely, yes. A subtitle gives you additional space to clarify what the book is about, who may benefit from it, or what the reader can expect.
How long should a nonfiction book title be?
Short enough to remain readable when the cover appears as a small thumbnail. Let the subtitle carry additional detail when necessary.
Should a Christian book title sound obviously Christian?
Not necessarily. The title should first help the right reader understand why the book matters to her. Your faith can be unmistakable without relying on language only church insiders understand.
If your book idea still feels fuzzy, read Sermon or Solution? Why Most Christian Books Don’t Sell.
Have a title you keep changing — or a book you still can’t quite explain in one sentence?
Take my free 90-second What Kind of Writer Are You? quiz. You’ll discover your writer type, your biggest strength, the hidden trap slowing your book down, and your one next step.
Not sure what kind of writer you are? Take my free 90-second quiz — What Kind of Writer Are You? — and discover your writer type, the hidden trap stalling your book, and your one next step.