Sell More Books Part 1. What’s in a title?

Book titles sell books. There’s no doubt about it. Would you buy a book called, “Standard Accounting Practices, A Step by Step Guide”?
Maybe not.

A friend of mine wrote this competent work on bookkeeping and modern accountancy techniques. Sales where abysmal and she came to me for help. First problem: she had already published. It’s a real pain in the butt if you have— so much so, you’re better off un-publishing and starting from scratch. In the end it’s a new book even if no words have been changed between the covers. If you’ve yet to publish, take heed.

Time to tweak the title. With some cursory research you’ll find that book titles are not subject to FTC “truth in advertising” statutes. This works in your favor, mostly. The other lesson learned: never under estimate the power of a subtitle. Let’s try:

“Red Ink”
“Slash and Burn Ledger Techniques”

There was a definite increase in sales. Let’s try again, she said...

“Black Friday”
“The Audit from Hell”

Climbing the charts now…

“Demon Accountants”
“Keeping Tabs on the Underworld”

Movie rights quickly procured… The sequel of course was an international best-seller just days after publication:

“Smoking Hot Accountants”
“Double Entry: Counting on Sex”

Note:
It goes without saying, that the cover art should be changed in accordance to the revised title. Next week: Judging a book by its cover.