Titles Do Not Sell Books…
But Indie Writers Love Their Titles…
They make them huge on their books and at the top, as if it will help sell the book. Does nothing. Zero. Nada.
Flat Nothing.
Stephen King tends to be an exception. Readers remember his titles.
But I challenge you to think of five Nora Roberts titles or Dean Koontz or five titles from any major writer. You might have a favorite book or two, right? But how do you tell another person about the favorite book?
You give the author name first and then the title.
Example: “James Lee Burke wrote this fantastic novel called In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead.” (I can’t, for the life of me, remember another Burke title.)
Word of mouth is one of the top ways books get found. And author names are critical to that information flow. And wow is it easy to get a title wrong when telling someone. But if they have the author’s name, they can find the book.
So brand your books to your name, play down the titles. Build a name brand. And let your fans follow your name.
One Comment
LM
From the other side of the cognitive fence, let me add supporting point: author name sells ALL your books.
Do I remember who wrote the Emily Wilde books? Not usually, sadly. Do I remember who wrote Murderbot and Teixcalaan and other favorite series? Yes… after I think about it really hard or just you know, go peek.
BUT.
If I rec those, someone might read one book. One series. If you rec the author, you rec their catalog. The writers of those books, sans Teixcalaan, have written tons of OTHER books too.
There is never a reason to downplay your name and make it harder for readers like me to remember who wrote the book they loved and so not pick up your latest unrelated offering. Just saying.