Crafting Book Title Ideas in 2023: Free Tools & Trade Secrets

Many authors struggle to craft that perfect title that encapsulates what their book is about and that will entice potential readers, leading to better book sales.

Self-publishing authors don’t have their own book marketing professionals to help them craft the perfect book title, so we must manage on our own.

How do I come up with a title for my book? There are lots of ways to come up with a title for your book, such as:

• Consulting free book title generators for ideas
• Brainstorming on a piece of notebook paper
• Looking up similar bestsellers in your genre for inspiration
• Taking a notable line from your book

We'll talk a lot about book title generators in this article, and there’s no shame in experimenting with a book title generator. Plus, there’s no cost to try it out.

Yes, they’re usually generic… but don’t use the generic suggestions. Story title generators are most helpful in sparking your own unique inspiration.

For this article, I've researched various methods to come up with your book title, as well as tested and linked to all the best book title generators, separated by genre.

Some links in this article may earn me a small commission if you use one to purchase a product or service. It’s at no extra cost to you! And it allows me to continue writing these fantastic articles that don’t cost you anything to read.

How to Come Up With GOOD Book Title Ideas?

A good book title idea can come from anywhere, but it's important to have a system in place so you don't have to figure it out from nothing. With that in mind, I've come up with a number of tips you can use to craft your book name. These include:

• Research your genre
• Understand your story's core theme
• Provoke curiosity
• Note the problem you are solving (for nonfiction)
• Include your character/setting in the title (if appropriate)
• Brainstorm like crazy
• Remember conflict
• Use ChatGPT
• Use book title generators

Let's walk through each of these one by one.

Tip #1: Research Your Genre

Honestly, this should be the first step for anyone who wants to discover good story title ideas is to understand the titling conventions for books in that genre. The same is true for nonfiction as well, although results can often vary more.

For example, in epic fantasy, you will often find book titles that follow one of these formats:

• A [BLANK] of [BLANK] and [BLANK] (ex. A Song of Ice and Fire)
• The [BLANK] of the [BLANK] (ex. The Lord of the Rings)

Now, you might be asking, isn't that unoriginal? Well, let me put it this way. Readers have certain expectations when it comes to books in the genres they like. If they do not immediately recognize your book as being in their genre, they're not going to buy it. So your book should be ‘familiar' in the sense that it has a similar vibe to other books in the same genre.

And if you look at the bestsellers in your genre, chances are you'll find that most of them follow the same 5-6 titling conventions. Use that.

Tip #2: Understand your story's core theme

Really, understanding your story's core theme should be a no-brainer for any author. You'd think it's obvious, but you'd be surprised how many authors neglect to reflect their core theme in their book, not to mention their book title.

Firstly, you should have an idea of what your theme is. It's usually an issue that your story revolves around. You might have multiple characters coming at the theme from different perspectives, or perhaps it's a moral that you want to teach. Ideally these things should be planned when just starting your novel, but if not, it's likely that a theme will emerge while you're writing.

Take a look at “Pride and Prejudice”. What's the book about? You guessed it, pride and prejudice. Now, isn't that a bit on the nose? Perhaps, but remember, readers like to have a sense of what they're getting into. If they can't get a hint of the theme from your title, they might just pass it by.

Tip #3: Provoke curiosity

You might ask, “How do I make my title intriguing?” It's simpler than you think. Pique the reader's interest, make them ask, “What's the story behind that?” Think about “The Catcher in the Rye.” It makes you question, “Who's the catcher? Why rye?” Intrigue and curiosity are important when coming up with your title.

I often say that every book should have a mystery, even books that are not mysteries. It's that mystery that often entices readers to keep turning the pages, and a good mystery in your book title is a great way to get them to pick it up and start reading.

Tip #4: Note the problem you are solving (for nonfiction)

For those of you writing nonfiction, this one's crucial. Your title should be like a billboard advertising the problem you're solving. Consider “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” What's it about? I bet you can guess. But isn't that too direct? Again, your readers need to know what they're investing their time in. If your book solves a problem, let them know upfront.

For some nonfiction, you might still use a clever title for your main title, which means it's important to identify your problem (and ideally your solution) in the subtitle, where you have a little more room to make it clear what your nonfiction book is about.

Tip #5: Include your character/setting in the title (if appropriate)

In some cases, it's appropriate to use your main character or setting in your title. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,” or “Murder on the Orient Express” come to mind.

Now you might argue, “But what if people don't know my characters or settings? Will it mean anything to them?” To which I'd say, make them curious about your character or setting. Your title should evoke an image or set a tone that ties in with your narrative. But remember, only do this if it fits naturally with your story and genre title conventions.

Tip #6: Brainstorm like crazy

Next up, we have brainstorming. This is where you go to town and simply write down every idea you can possibly think of, even the bad ones. Because brainstorming isn't just about coming up with ideas; it's about coming up with a ton of ideas and then refining them.

So take out your pen and paper (or laptop) and let the ideas flow. In fact, I wouldn't stop until you have at least 20-30 titles written down. In the process, you'll find you get a lot more creative as you go.

Once you have the list, you can start refining them and narrowing your options down to the best ideas.

Remember, it's about quantity over quality at first. From a wide range of options, the cream of the crop will eventually rise to the top.

Tip #7: Remember conflict

Here's a tip that's easy to forget: conflict. Conflict is the essence of any good story, so why not hint at it in your title? Look at “War and Peace” or “Game of Thrones.” You immediately know there's tension, there's conflict.

Conflict is what drives the story as a whole, and, like a good mystery, is one of the driving factors for getting readers to turn the page.

Remember your audience. They're looking for a gripping tale, and nothing grips like a good conflict.

Tip #8: Use ChatGPT

Now, let's talk about a tool that's at your disposal. Meet ChatGPT, your AI companion in the writing journey. Stuck on a title? Why not ask it for suggestions?

AI has come a long way, and you'll be surprised at the clever, creative titles it can come up with. Use it to your advantage, because when you're stuck, sometimes a non-human perspective can offer just the inspiration you need.

Now I know what you're thinking. AI? Isn't there some controversy around that? Should I really be advocating that you use something that potentially scraped the Internet and “stole” work done by others?

Let's just say I have a lot of thoughts about AI, some good, some bad. But one use-case that I can absolutely get behind is using AI like ChatGPT to inspire ideas and help writers push past writer's block. That's why we developed our own book description generator with AI so it could do just that.

Helping authors get to their ideas faster, that's a use case I can get behind.

Tip #9: Use book title generators

Last but not least, there's an entire world of book title generators out there waiting for you. Generators that DON'T use AI. Sounds too easy, right? Well, no one said coming up with a title has to be hard. With most generators, you can just pop in your genre, theme, or a few keywords and see what comes out.

They might not provide the perfect title, but they can give you a starting point. From there, tweak it, twist it, make it yours. Remember, inspiration can come from the most unexpected places.

With that in mind, I've developed what I believe is the Internet's most comprehensive list of book title generators. So let's get into that next…

List of Book Name Generators

Many book name generators are genre-specific — and that’s on purpose. The typical sentence structure and word lexicon for erotica book titles are completely different from science fiction book titles. (Suddenly, I’m interested in sci-fi/erotica crossover titles.)

What should I name my story? You should name your story with a title that’s relevant, marketable, eye-catching, and genre-related. Make sure a casual reader knows by the title whether your book is non-fiction, adult fantasy, short story, romance, memoir, middle grade, etc.

To help you get the most out of a random book title generator, many of those listed below fall under a specific niche/genre.

You might notice a couple of these generators are mentioned multiple times. That's because they allow you to choose different genres with the same free tool.

Fantasy Book Title Generators

• Fantasy Name Generator
• Random Fantasy Novel Title Generator
• Serendipity Fantasy Novel Generator
• Writing Exercises Story Title Ideas
• Reedsy Fantasy Title Generator
• Fantasy Name Generator by RinkWorks (Character names)
• Fantasy Name Gen (Character names)
• Seventh Sanctum Name Gen (Character names)

Sci-Fi Title Generators

• Random Sci-fi Title Generator
• Adazing’s Book Title Creator
• Story Toolz Half Title Generator
• Reedsy Sci-Fi Book Title Generator
• Pulp Sci-fi Title-O-Tron (This one is just plain fun.)
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a sci-fi option.)

Horror Title Generators

• Generator Land's Horror Titles
• Writing Exercises Story Title Ideas
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a horror option.)
• Seventh Sanctum's Evil Names (Character names)
• Plot Generator for Horror Stories (Plot/blurb generator)

Romance Title Generators

• Reedsy Romance Title Generator
• Book Title Creator
• Writing Exercises Story Title Ideas
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a romance option.)

Mystery Novel Title Generators

• Reedsy Mystery Title Generator
• Thriller Book Title Generator
• Story Toolz Half Title Generator
• Randomly Generated Titles
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a mystery option.)

Check out Kindlepreneur’s article on How to Write a Mystery, written by an author of 16 mystery novels.

Crime Book Title Generators

• Tara Sparling’s Crime Thriller Book Title Generator
• Thriller Book Title Generator
• Reedsy Crime Title Generator

Comic Book Name Generators

• Rum and Monkey's Comic Book Name Generator
• Ruggen Berg's Title Generator
• Fantasy Name Generator’s Web Series Name Generator

Children's Book Title Generators

• Kids Book Title Pinterest Page
• Story Title Ideas for Kids Books
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a children’s book option.)

If those don't help you develop a good book title for your children’s book, here's a great article full of pro tips.

Don’t forget to check out Kindlepreneur’s in-depth article on How to Write a Children’s Book.

Non-Fiction Book Title Generators

• Portent's Content Idea Generator (My favorite!)
• Adazing's Book Title Creator
• Kopy Writing Kourse Book Name Generator
• Awesome Titles – Title Generator (700 Headlines with 1 click)
• Fantasy Name Generator (It has a non-fiction option.)

Nothing beats a title that matches the intent of what people are typing into Amazon. The best non-fiction title is the one that uses the words of the customer.

To figure out what people are typing into Amazon, make sure to learn about Kindle keywords or use a special tool, like Publisher Rocket, that will pull this information for you.

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Book Title Generators Explained

Now that you’ve seen the vast amount of free book title generators out there, you may wish to learn more about how these generators function and generate book titles.

Some book title generators work by identifying a typical pattern or structure to the book titles within a specific genre.

For example, consider the made-up book title The Wizard’s Quest. Imagine this is taken from the fantasy genre. The title generator may identify the pattern that the first word in the title is “The,” followed by a character’s name, followed by a noun describing something about the story.

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This book title formula could generate titles such as:

• The Hero’s Journey
• The Thief’s Mission
• The Priest’s Trial

Other ways that title generators may work include:

• Using synonyms for words taken from other book titles
• Using a random combination of words that have been deemed appropriate for the genre
• Using a formula such as a physical description word plus a color and a name

There are many types of book title generators, and they don’t all work the same way. But these proposed methods should give you a good idea of how they operate.

If You'd Like to Learn More about Book Title Generators

To help you with learning about book title generators, here are a few more resources and links:

Podcast Episode – When and How to Change Your Book Title                                           

How to Title a Book — I wrote an article on The New York Times’ book title creation process and how you can use that process to craft a novel title that sells more books.

Collection of Great Book Title Ideas on Pinterest — This Pinterest page collects some of the best book titles to give you a glimpse into what other creative authors have come up with over the years.

7 Tools for Creating Superb Bestselling Book Titles — This article helps you dive deeper into book title testing. This way, you'll know your book generator title is the right one.

Feeding Your Writer's Creativity — Check this article out to give your writer brain a shot of creative adrenaline when coming up with your title using the above generators.

How to Select a Subtitle That Sells — Subtitles are almost as important as book titles. Subtitles can be used to boost discoverability and increase the keywords for which you rank.

My Favorite Book Title Generators

Check out the video below to see my favorite book name generators in action and how a nonfiction title generator can work surprisingly well as a novel title generator.

Want more videos like this? Then click HERE to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Test Your Title in 3 Ways

Here are 3 ways to test your title after you’ve crafted your favorites:

1. Analyze Your Next Title
2. Ask professionals
3. Try Pickfu

Don’t forget to check out Kindlepreneur’s article on How to AB Test Your Book Title, Cover, and Description.

1. Analyze Your Next Title

ViralML’s Analyze Your Next Title free tool helps you figure out if your book title is marketable and stands a chance of selling well. It compares your title to one million well-reviewed titles.

This nifty tool gives you 3 data points:

1. An overall percentage, out of 100%
2. Smiling title skew
3. Ideal title length

What is smiling title skew? According to viralml.com, “If we analyze enough top Amazon sales ranked books, we notice the following pattern: they start with distant words and end with distant words but are tied together by closer ones… A good title starts and ends with the least synonymous words.”

I used to suggest Lulu’s Title Scorer, but it seems to have been taken off their website recently.

2. Ask Your Target Readers

Next, test your book title with potential readers. Some people go to Facebook groups or family and friends to ask their opinion. Most of the time, however, these are not the best people to ask.

Perhaps you have friends who read in your genre. Sure, ask them.

I recommend asking librarians, bookstore clerks, anyone in the publishing industry, or other writers. All of these professionals know more about your target audience than your dad or neighbor or coworker. They know what sells and what doesn’t.

3. Use PickFu

For an online survey of readers from your target market, use Pickfu.

PickFu is a survey service that takes your potential book titles, finds the target market for you, and has those readers vote on which title they like best. Not only will you learn which title is best, but you’ll also glean some insight into why your target market loves one over the other.

Basically, PickFu takes the guesswork out of the process and gives you raw data that will stay with you for your whole career.

You can even see how I used PickFu to test a book description for the popular book Battlefield Earth. My book description helped Galaxy Press double their conversion rates and make more sales.

What are you waiting for?

There are plenty of free tools to help authors jump-start their creative juices. There are free tools at your disposal to test your title and make it the most marketable title possible.

Although these generators aren’t perfect, they are free and better than nothing — especially when serendipity is not on your side.

Just remember, these generators are to help you brainstorm book title ideas and shape how you create your ultimate book title. They shouldn’t be used as prescriptions. Like all fantastic writing, your title shouldn’t feel generic.

After you come up with the perfect title, make sure your book cover design and the fonts you choose for your cover are awesome, too, to catch those Amazon shoppers’ eyes.

For more Kindlepreneur fan-favorite posts, check these out:

• Scrivener Review: See what the hype is about — and snag my exclusive coupon code.
• Best Book Writing Software: What software do you need and not need.
• Best Proofreading Software: Should you use Grammarly or ProWritingAid? It depends.
• +127 Best Book Promotion Sites: Free and paid ways to advertise your book.
• Social Media For Writers: Writers need to market themselves, and social media makes that easier than ever.

Give those book title generators a go, and don't forget to let your writer brain run rampant before zeroing in on the one perfect title.