STEP 2: BRAINSTORM SEVERAL POTENTIAL TITLES You’ll want to see brainstorming for titles not as a specific thing you do for an hour, but rather a long-term process. It may take you months to finalize a title. But you start by simply brainstorming titles. Literally start a file and write down every book title you can think of for your book. I know that telling someone to brainstorm is like telling someone to “be creative.” So what I’ll do is list every possible way we know of to find a good book title, complete with examples (remember, these techniques are not just for your main title, they will be the basis for your subtitles as well). Feel free to use any of these as inspiration for your brainstorming. Also, do not be afraid to put bad titles on your brainstorm list. Bad titles actually help you—because they will get you to a good title. Here are some best practices: 1. Use clever or noteworthy phrases from the book: This is very common in fiction, and can work well with novels. It also works well with nonfiction books where the concept of the book can be summed up quickly or with one phrase. Examples: • The Black Swan • Lecturing Birds on Flying • I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell 2. Use both short and long phrases: We usually start with a really long title and work our way down to much shorter phrases. The goal is to have the main title be as short as possible—no more than five words—and have the subtitle offer the context and put in important keywords. PiCkiNg ThE PErfECT BOOk TiTlE · 191