How About Picking a Good Title

Rory C. Keel

A good title is almost as much work as writing the story. I ran across this information that has helped me in picking titles for my writing.

PINC was created by Michael Hyatt (former CEO of Thomas Nelson and author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World). It stands for Promise, Intrigue, Need, and Content. In essence, your book title should do one of the following four things:

• Make a Promise. Your book title can be your promise to your reader—what they will get out of reading your book.
• Create Intrigue. Your title can engage your potential reader in a compelling way—drawing them in to learn more.
• Identify a Need. Your book title can point out a need in someone’s life. It may be a need they already know they have, or it might be a need they become aware of through reading your title.
• State the Content. A book’s title can also simply state the content of the book—letting the reader know exactly what they will learn or receive from reading it.