Subtitles on Fiction Books

ByPhyllis Zimbler Miller

A good subtitle on a fiction book is a guidepost to the book’s contents.

While this may seem a simple statement, it is actually very important. Let me explain:

A prospective Miller Mosaic client contacted me for social media marketing for his book on Amazon. I looked at the book’s Amazon page and had no idea what the book was about. Yes, the title was interesting but who was the audience for the book?

I started to read the description and learned that the protagonist is 11 years old. Probably this book’s audience is what’s called Middle Grade. But with the adult-looking book cover and no subtitle, who the book should appeal to is very unclear.

Why is this important?

Because most of us are very fast to click away if we don’t think what we are looking at online is of interest to us. And we may actually be clicking away from things that would interest us if we instantly understood this.

The problem is that because we authors know what our books are about, it may not occur to us that others may not “catch on” as quickly. In a way, this prospective client is shooting himself in the foot by implementing social media efforts that lead back to an unclear Amazon book page.

As I said in my blog post “Happy Birthday to Women’s Friendship Novel MRS. LIEUTENANT,” I realized that the original cover of the novel may have been offputting for readers. And I also knew that the original subtitle — “A Sharon Gold Novel” — while making it clear the book was a novel may not have been a very helpful subtitle.

Thus at the same time I changed the cover I changed the subtitle on Amazon to “A Women’s Friendship Novel” to “telegraph” what the novel is about. (The new cover image only has “A Novel” to keep the wording from appearing cluttered at the small size shown on Amazon.)

If you do not currently have a subtitle on your fiction book on Amazon, consider adding this. You may be helping your prospective readers know they are at the right place when looking at your book’s Amazon page.

(Warning: If you add a subtitle via the KDP dashboard, your Kindle ebook is automatically reconverted. This reconversion can mess up the ebook’s content depending on how the conversion was originally done. The same thing can happen when you add a new cover via the KDP dashboard.)

Buy MRS. LIEUTENANT on Kindle now!

Don’t have a Kindle? No problem. You can get a FREE Kindle app for your iPhone, iPad, Android, PC or Mac at budurl.com/freeKindleapp

Or buy MRS. LIEUTENANT in paperback on Amazon.

P.S. Click here to read my April Ask PZM guest post on the question of the impact on authors of Amazon acquiring Goodreads. (I’m increasing my Goodreads presence — connect with me at www.goodreads.com/pzmiller)

© 2013 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks, including TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO PUBLISH AND MARKET YOUR BOOK IN THE AGE OF AMAZON and the romantic suspense spy story CIA FALL GUY.

Click here to visit her Amazon author page at www.amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She also has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com

8 Comments

  1. As always, Phyllis, you make a great point about subtitles.

    Awhile back I reviewed a Young Adult biography about a military hero for the Mobile (AL) Press Register. The target age was middle grade readers, but it was an interesting read–and it has won a GOLD Medal in its category from a military-related organization.

    Now that the eBook is available on Amazon, I noticed recently that the book had received a horrible review. It was evident the reader had no idea the biography was for youngsters– it wasn’t mentioned in the title– or the product description.

    I spoke with the author who realized that changes had to be made–at least to the book description.

    ~ Bonnie

    1. Bonnie —

      Thank you for sharing this example, and that was so nice of you to bring the issue to the attention of the author.

      Changing the book description is a good way to avoid the possible issues with reconversion of a Kindle ebook. But a subtitle addition is still better because not everyone carefully reads the description of a book before buying it.

    1. Joylene —

      It’s taken me a long time to learn certain things. And I know there is so much more to learn. But we can all help each other!

  3. Phyllis,

    I noticed this post first in the Military Writers Society of America page on Facebook… and thought it was a good idea.

    Subtitles are a GREAT idea in non fiction and I think you make a good point, with many similar benefit for fiction. Fiction is not my specialty, so appreciated reading your suggestions and was happy to see that subtitles are ‘approved’ for fiction too.

    It’s just the way of the world.. short snaps, concentrated info served up in a as few words as possible.

    1. Helena —

      Thanks for leaving this comment. It has taken me a long time to realize how important subtitles can be in fiction. As you point out, “short snaps” are needed in today’s world to capture people’s attention.

    1. Thanks for letting me know, Jerrye, that my posts are helpful. Being a book author is being on a constant quest to learn more!

Comments are closed.