Creating titles focused on a specific type—such as a specific genre, theme, character, or format—is a strategic way to signal to readers what to expect, making them a crucial marketing tool. Titles in this style often follow patterns to hint at genre or theme, ensuring they feel appropriate for their category while still standing out.
Here are key strategies for crafting titles focused on a specific type, based on effective industry practices:
Follow Established Genre Patterns: Analyze bestselling books in your genre to identify common title structures. For example, fantasy romance often uses patterns like “A [Noun] of [Noun] and [Noun]” (e.g., A Court of Thorns and Roses).
Utilize “Thing: Expansion of Thing” Structure: Many memorable titles use a colon to offer both a hook and a specific focus, such as Model Citizen: Unmasked or [Series Name]: [Subplot/Title].
Juxtapose Unique Elements: Combine unexpected words or concepts that reflect the unique selling point of your specific type, such as The Death Auditor for a thriller combining espionage and accounting.
Focus on Core Theme or Scene: Distill the story’s main theme into one sentence or analyze high-emotion scenes to find evocative phrasing.
Identify Specific Elements: Brainstorm keywords related to your specific genre, setting, or thematic elements (e.g., Shanghai Girls for a specific location).
Use Specific Character/Place Names Carefully: While you can use character or place names, they often lack power unless they are highly evocative (e.g., Barbara Bloodbath) because audiences do not initially care about unfamiliar names.
If you tell me what type of project (book, article, video, etc.) and what its specific theme or genre is, I can help brainstorm some targeted titles for you. How to Write the Perfect Title
I’m not great at this, like I mentioned, but if we use the above pointers, we can do a few things to help us come up with a title. Medium·Julia Amante – Fiction author, Speaker, Mentor. How to Write Unique Titles that Stand Out From the Crowd
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