There’s not much point going to the effort of writing a book if the end result won’t be noticed by anyone. Which means you need to invest in a) a good cover design and b) a snappy, unforgettable, ‘pick me up’ title and subtitle.

There are no absolutes when it comes to titles and subtitles, except that they shouldn’t be an afterthought. The two things I aim for when helping authors work on a title are: 

• that the title and subtitle complement each other. Often this means the title is catchy while the subtitle provides a more explicit description of the book’s contents, and
• that, especially in a business context, the title and subtitle combo sells the benefits to the reader of picking up your book.

Here are five examples of great title/subtitle combinations from the bookshelf in my office...