Are descriptive chapter titles an under-used marketing tool for writers? I've been considering this recently in relation to indie published titles. Smart writers need to use every marketing tool available to them and I haven't seen much written about this, so wonder if I am in the minority?
I recently read a great piece by the wonderful Joanna Penn called
How EBook Readers Shop And The Importance Of Sampling about marketing and free samples and how we chose to buy books. The link is here http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/02/02/sampling/ and there is an interesting discussion in the comments about whether or not chapter headings add any value to the Table of Contents in an e-book. It got me thinking. I'm a big fan of reading a sample from a book before I buy it, whether browsing in a bookshop or via Amazon. I thought about everything the potential reader considers before making a purchase and wondered how, or if, having a list of actual chapter headings would make any difference.
I recently read a great piece by the wonderful Joanna Penn called
How EBook Readers Shop And The Importance Of Sampling about marketing and free samples and how we chose to buy books. The link is here http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/02/02/sampling/ and there is an interesting discussion in the comments about whether or not chapter headings add any value to the Table of Contents in an e-book. It got me thinking. I'm a big fan of reading a sample from a book before I buy it, whether browsing in a bookshop or via Amazon. I thought about everything the potential reader considers before making a purchase and wondered how, or if, having a list of actual chapter headings would make any difference.
Most of my books simply list the chapters, ie Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. Yawn. However, my most recent indie-pubbed backlist title, Beware of the Horse, was originally written with Chapter titles, each of which suggested action or emotion, and I decided to keep these in. I know it might be old fashioned now, but it means the reader can skim down and see if they like the sound of what they might encounter.
Bizarrely, this book is selling a lot quicker than any of my previous titles and I wonder if giving these "teasers" has contributed to that? I don't know the answer, but I wonder if chapter titles are an under-used marketing tool for writers? To test it, I am going to use this technique again and see what happens. I know I write books for teens and pre-teens, so maybe it is more acceptable to use such descriptive labels in this genre. But, as a reader, would I feel assisted or patronised if there were chapter titles in books for adults? What do you think?
Related post:
http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/lessons-in-indie-publishing-free-books.html
I was going to say it depends on the book I'm writing, but actually I've been using chapter titles for a while now - although my WIP is written from different points of view so the chapters are just the character names at the moment. I like your theory that it gives the reader a taste for what's to come.
ReplyDeleteHi Annalisa, thanks for stopping by. Glad to find a fellow writer who also uses chapter titles. I was just thinking about a lot of the TV series I like (the American supernatural ones) which are for grown-ups and the episodes all have titles, which do add something, and act as teasers and can intrigue, especially if they are a play on words or reference other sources. I will definitely use chapter titles in my new work.
DeleteI use chapter titles because:
ReplyDelete1. Why not when you can?
2. They avoid the boring numerals-only TOC.
3. Chapter titles help readers to locate the bit they want to reread.
4. I like to make them amusing, ironic or teasing where possible.
Hi Lexi - I totally agree, and especially with points 3 and 4. I'm a big fan of reference points for readers.
Deletebtw I enjoyed your blog post Fairy Dust!
DeleteI use chapter titles - but I write for kids. Think it gives them a chance to peek ahead. Never thought of it as a marketing tool.
DeleteHi David - me neither until recently. I also write for children and teens - I wonder if I would use chapter titles for adult books? It is a great creative tool.
DeleteI used chapter titles in my first book merely as a way to help me navigate my own book as I was writing it.
ReplyDeleteI left them in when I printed a proof copy. My husband noticed and said they were old-fashioned and no one uses them anymore. I hadn't ever thought about it, so I started looking in books to see. J.K. Rowling used them, and a few other people I read did too, but the vast majority of writers (or publishers) don't.
Of course, just because the publishing world says something isn't wanted by the audience doesn't mean that it's true. Smashwords has found that in almost every genre, books sell better with word counts higher than publishers typically recommend. So it would seem that readers actually want longer books than they're being given.
I was thinking about taking the chapter titles out of my next book, but instead I think I'll make a little effort to make them better (they can be a little TOO descriptive when I make them for myself; I don't want any spoilers). I think you make a good argument that they make navigating an ebook much easier. It's not like a traditional paper book, where you can remember the page number or the general location of the part you want to re-read.
Hi Keri - thanks for stopping by and some great points. It's interesting how people think of chapter headings as old fashioned; I wonder if that's why most writers don't use them? They are very useful with e-books, which you can't flick through so easily as a print book.
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