#title tips

Titles are the portal to your book, and what determines if a reader decides to pick it up. Here are some things to consider when planning one out!

Wattpad is a huge platform with hundreds of thousands of books, so you want to make sure yours stands out! The first thing you should do is look at what other people’s books (in your genre) are titled. This can help you find similar themes that catch your reader’s attention. You don’t need to copy them, just keep them in mind. 

Second, you should list some keywords in your book. You want words that give your reader a snapshot of what your book is about. For example, if you’re writing in the fantasy genre, you might include words like necromancy, fairies, adventure etc. Don’t worry about picking good words yet, because we’re just exploring the different paths your title could take.  

As you’re exploring, try to think of any title that doesn’t start with “The, A, An” or any other article. It really limits what your title will look like, and there are so many books on Wattpad that begin like that. Write down every title you can think of, no matter how you feel about it yet. 

Once you have a list, narrow it down by picking the shorter ones. Wattpad readers are usually on their phones, so if your title is super long it has a chance of being cut off. This might make readers skip over it instead of clicking on it to see the rest. (You can combat this with an appealing cover. If you’re interested, I have a post on that too!) 

With your new list, you can play around with wording, synonyms, and literary devices to create the perfect title! Remember that titles are not an afterthought, they need time to develop just like any other part of your book. So don’t be discouraged, let it sit for a while. As always, happy writing!