Lesson 7 of 7 Free account 4 min read
Non-fiction Titles, Subtitles and Positioning
In non-fiction, the subtitle does much of the selling. Learn to write keyword-aware subtitles, choose comparable titles, and craft a hook that tells readers why this book is for them.
Key takeaways
- A non-fiction title can be short and memorable because the subtitle carries the specifics.
- A strong subtitle names the reader, the outcome or the method, in words readers actually search for.
- Comparable titles show readers, booksellers and publishers where your book sits and how it differs.
- Your hook is the positioning statement from lesson one, sharpened into a line a reader can repeat.
You've spent months making the book good. Now a reader gives it a few seconds: a cover thumbnail, a title, a subtitle and maybe the first line of the description. In non-fiction, those few words have to answer the reader's real question, which is 'Is this for me, and will it help?'
How do non-fiction titles and subtitles work together?
The title is the name. It can be short, intriguing or emotional. The subtitle is the explanation: who it's for, what it does, or how. Because the subtitle carries the information, the title is free to be memorable. 'Quiet Hours' tells you almost nothing on its own. 'Quiet Hours: How Busy Parents Can Find Time to Write a Book' tells you everything.
Memoir and narrative non-fiction often use a more evocative subtitle, such as 'A Memoir of Grief and Gardening' or 'One Town, One Flood, and the Year That Followed'. It still tells the reader what kind of book it is and what it's about.
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