Comments on: How to Write a Subtitle That Sells [Definition and Examples]

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 22:36:58 +0000

In reply to Limor Matityahoo. Oh...this is a tricky area. Technically, I'm pretty sure you can change the subtitle and be fine. However, I think there are some tertiary effects of doing this that might not be good. By changing your subtitle, you will inherently change a lot of the keywords phrases you rank for, and you show up for. Furthermore, that subtitle is a very good subtitle, and it might hurt your conversion rates if you switch from it.

By: Limor Matityahoo

Limor Matityahoo — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 15:06:45 +0000

Hi, My book is a best seller on Amazon for the past 4 years now (New Stomach Old brain: How to lose 125 pounds in one year and stay sane ), and I decided to try ads. Thing is, my ads get suspended because the subtilte seems to be a claim. The only way I can change this is by changing the subtitle to an unclaiming one, maybe: “”Bariatric surgery – what happens when your body changes and your brain stays behind”. My question is, is it ok to change a subtitle after 4 years as a bestseller? won’t it hurt my sales? are ads worth this effort?
Thank you..

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 23:10:50 +0000

In reply to Sam Jones.

Instead of directly saying BDSM, perhaps think of phrases that are BDSM phrases (my following examples are only examples since i dn’t know your book or what is right) like “Bondage gone wrong” or “Dominating Billionaire Boyfriend”, etc….

By: Sam Jones

Sam Jones — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 20:24:26 +0000

Fantastic! The best blogs are the ones where the comments are adding value to the post itself:)

About to publish my first book- title is good I think (Sex, Truth and Freedom) but I am struggling with the subtitle… clear and bold, uhuh… 😀 now I have: Journey into Powerful Submission. It’s about BDSM and I think that needs to be added, because most readers will not know what submission is. Hm…

If you have any tips I’d love to hear it but I’ll give it a go myself too!

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 21:58:21 +0000

In reply to Jan. Sorry, it was implied that title meant the whole title and subtitle together.

By: Jan

Jan — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 21:20:49 +0000

Dave – couple of quick questions — do you still think that “Usually the title and book cover do most of the talking and the description seals the deal.” 02Nov2016 or do we need a subtitle for a kid’s fiction picture book? Also we are adapting and retelling a story from another language. Who is the author, the original one or us? Thanks.

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 14:59:58 +0000

In reply to Andreea. Three seems to be the best (Title is excellent) however, I'd be careful with the subtitle. Is the actually a memoir or a legit nonfiction. I know, I know, a memoir is technically a nonfiction, right? But when it comes to marketing, a memoir should be treated as both a fiction and nonfiction. Sure it's a true story, but it is a 'story'. People read memoirs to learn and be entertained. So, with this, you #3 title is excellent, but the combination of the title and subtitle doesn't tell me (the interested market scrolling through Amazon results) what this really is.

By: Andreea

Andreea — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 21:07:34 +0000

Hi. My nonfiction book is about our love story and the failure of our business (a salt cave, halotherapy). Can you please help me with titles and subtitles? I am thing at

1. What ended the salty dream?
no one talks about failure anymore

2. This could be your story
why failure will change your life?

3. Love and salt
the story of an ended dream

thank you

By: Paulina Vallin

Paulina Vallin — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 00:43:39 +0000

In reply to Vandana Mehra. Thank you very much! I appreciate it. I guess it never hurts to be able describe your book in under 200 words anyway!

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 14:42:34 +0000

In reply to Paulina Vallin.

They don’t need them, but I usually recommend it. In fiction, a shopper needs to be able to look at the cover and title and subtitle, and KNOW exactly what subgenre that book is. Not just that it’s a fantasy book, but taht it is a epic LitRPG fantasy. Sometimes you can’t just do that with the cover and title…and that’s when the subtitle is really important.

By: Dave Chesson

Dave Chesson — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 14:38:13 +0000

In reply to Vandana Mehra. Glad to have helped.

By: Vandana Mehra

Vandana Mehra — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 13:08:40 +0000

In reply to Dave Chesson. Thanks Dave for your response and it helped me alot.