Creating Chapter Titles for Nonfiction Books
If you’re like most authors, you want your book to be talked about, discovered, and enjoyed.
You don’t want people to react like this when they pick up your book:
When you browse a book—at the bookstore, on your online retailer of choice, or even in the library card catalog—you check out the cover, then flip to the table of contents, right?
What you see—or what your readers will see when they approach your book—determines what happens next. Will it be a date with destiny or another sad rejection?
We need to talk. About your chapter titles.
A well-thought-out table of contents can appeal to readers and publishers, show your personality, and set your book apart from others out there.
Chapter titles are seen by in-person and online shoppers and are often cataloged by libraries.
One of the things I love working on with my developmental editing clients is chapter titles. Doing this work together drastically improves the reader experience. So much fun!
It’s not just what’s in a chapter; it's what to call the chapter that matters.
With that in mind, here are some pointers and ideas on how to structure your nonfiction book chapter titles. If you’re a novelist, definitely read this article, too, because it applies for the most part, to you, too!
What to know when creating your (nonfiction) book chapter titles
Make your chapter titles grammatically parallel. In other words, each title should be structured in an identical way.
Each chapter title could be a sentence fragment.
Each could be a prepositional phrase.
Each could be a full sentence.
It could be a descriptive phrase.
It could be a to-the-point headline.
Some chapter title ideas for different nonfiction book genres
With self-help chapter titles or how-to book chapter titles, each chapter title could use a gerund phrase—an “-ing” verb—which conveys a process or action that’s taking place.
With chapter titles for a memoir, you might want to be a little more metaphorical.
For history chapter titles (and biography chapter titles), include the dates covered in the chapter in the chapter title. But don’t give away too much of the plot.
Reference book chapter titles? Science book chapter titles? You can be a little less creative. You want the reader to easily find what they need and know what’s in the chapter without banging their head on the wall.
What about chapter titles for a cookbook? Adjectival phrases may work great: Maybe each chapter uses an adjective to convey “delicious” or some kind of feeling. “Scrumptious gluten-free chocolate cakes,” “guilt-free casseroles,” “hearty backyard barbecue favorites”. The adjectives make the recipes sound so much more appealing.
Want to get really creative with your chapter titles?
Each chapter title could be a place, a concept, or some other noun (but it probably needs a subtitle).
Quotations are an option.
Some people may advise you to avoid quotations in chapter titles. I won’t. Quotes are a good option.
However, use short quote phrases, quotes that appear in the chapter—and use subtitles with them.
Quotations are common in academic and historical books. They work well in memoirs and even in business books. People like quotes, and quotes can reflect the essence of the chapter.
Shorter titles are better. Ideally, a chapter title should be no longer than 15 words.
Either use subtitles for every chapter title or don’t use subtitles at all. Again, having a consistent pattern in your subtitles is important. And if you include dates, i.e., 1992–1994, separate those dates with an en dash.
You can group your chapters into “parts,” but each part must consist of two or more chapters.
Want some guidance on structuring your nonfiction book?
Let’s work together to get you a great chapter outline and a plan for writing and finishing this book!
Thanks,