Find your title the way editors do.
Write lots of options using eight patterns that work for nonfiction, cut to a shortlist, pair each with a subtitle, then test them, including on a cover the size of a phone thumbnail. Everything saves in your browser.
Title worksheet
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Subtitle formulas, filled in from step 1:
Volume first, judgment second
Fill every pattern, even the ones that feel wrong
A pattern you would never use often produces the phrase you end up keeping. Pull words from your chapter titles, your stories and the exact words your clients use.
Cut hard
Drop anything hard to say, hard to spell, or too close to a well-known book. Shortlist ten.
Judge each title with its subtitle
A title alone cannot be judged. The subtitle does the explaining, so the title can be short and memorable.
Test with real readers
Five seconds, five target readers, one question: who is this for, and what would it do for you? Read more in Stage 8.
Common questions
Is this a book title generator?
Not quite. Generators produce titles that sound like everyone else's, because they have never read your book. This worksheet gives you eight patterns that work for nonfiction, with a real example of each, and prompts you to fill them with your own words. The best titles usually come from phrases already in your manuscript.
How many title ideas should I write?
Stage 8 of the guide suggests about 50 before you cut. Volume matters because the first ten ideas are usually the obvious ones. The counter in the worksheet shows how close you are.
What makes a good nonfiction subtitle?
The subtitle says who the book is for and what it does for them, often with how. Three formulas cover most nonfiction: result and method, reader and result, or reader, result and method. The worksheet fills them in from your answers so you can adapt them. See Stage 8: title and subtitle for examples.
Can someone else have the same book title?
Yes. The US Copyright Office says titles are not protected by copyright, so two books can share one. That is exactly why you should search Amazon and the web for every finalist: a title that is already taken by a well-known book will be hard to find. Trademarks are a separate question; ask a lawyer if your title is also a brand.