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
