Book Title Generator
Pick a genre, add a word you want in the title if you have one, and the book title generator suggests twelve title ideas at a time from patterns and words for that genre. Before you use one, check it against KDP's title rules below and search for books that already have it.
Updated · KDP's title rules from its metadata guidelines
A noun works best: a place, an object, a season
Title ideas
- The Last Ember
- The Knight of the Deep
- A Song of Bones and Shadows
- The Shattered Thorn
- Heir of Storms
- The Ember of the Ashen Wastes
- Song of the Hollow Realm
- Shadow of Ravens
- The Ashen Exile
- Shadows of the Last Ember
- Winter of the Burning Gate
- The Crown and the Dragon
Found one you like? Check its length and capitalization in the Book Title Analyzer.
How the book title generator works
Each genre has its own set of title patterns — “The ___ of ___”, “A ___ in ___”, “___ Made Simple” — and its own words to fill them: places, objects, people and ideas that belong to that kind of book. Every click draws twelve new titles. Type a word of your own and some of the patterns are built around it.
The generator doesn't know your story, so treat the list as a starting point. A good title often comes from changing one word of an idea that is almost right, or from putting your own word into a pattern you like.
Book title ideas by genre
| Genre | Title ideas |
|---|---|
| Romance | The Dance Next Door · Every Season with You · A Dance to Remember · The Starlit Season |
| Fantasy | Heir of Thorns · The Oath and the Rune · The Last Throne · Embers of the Forgotten Storm |
| Mystery & thriller | The Cold Widow · A Perfect Place to Hide · The Neighbor Upstairs · Murder at Ravens Hill |
| Science fiction | After the Horizon · Protocol Zero · The Red Pilot · Infinite Worlds |
| Horror | Voices in the Walls · The Sister in the Marsh House · They Came at Midnight · The Black Voices |
| Historical fiction | The Quiet Bridge · The Lighthouse Keeper of Charleston · The Glassblower's Daughter · Bells of the Valley |
| Literary fiction | Borrowed Rivers · The Narrow Distance · The Distance of Waiting · A Weather of Staying |
| Young adult | This Is Not a Storm · Everything I Never Said · The Bright Storm · Restless Liars |
| Children's | Goodnight, Tiny Hedgehog · Leo Goes to the Woods · The Tiny Hedgehog · A Rabbit for Leo |
| Nonfiction & self-help | Writing Without the Stress · The Confidence Workbook · Think Like a Leader · Writing Made Simple |
How to choose a book title
- Say what kind of book it is. Readers scan titles in a list of similar books; the words should fit the shelf the book belongs on, the way the ideas above differ from genre to genre.
- Keep it short and easy to say. People recommend books out loud and type them into a search box. Check how it looks in the Book Title Analyzer.
- Look at it on the cover. The title has to be on the front cover or the spine of a print book, and it has to read at thumbnail size. The KDP cover calculator gives the cover's size and a template.
- Search for it. Look the title up on Amazon in your category. Sharing a title with an unrelated book is common; sharing it with a well-known book in your own genre makes yours harder to find.
- Let the subtitle explain. In nonfiction a subtitle can say who the book is for or what it helps with, within KDP's rules below.
KDP's rules for book titles
KDP's metadata guidelines say the title field holds only the actual title of the book, as it appears on the cover. What it lists as prohibited in the title field:
| Not allowed in a KDP title | Example |
|---|---|
| Repeated generic keywords | “notebook”, “journal”, “gifts”, “books” |
| Unauthorized reference to other titles or authors | “For fans of …” with another author's name |
| Unauthorized reference to a trademarked term | A brand name you have no right to use |
| A suggested contributor who wasn't involved | Naming someone who didn't work on the book |
| Sales rank claims | “bestselling” |
| Promotions | “free” |
| Punctuation only, placeholders, HTML | “!!!!”, “n/a”, “unknown”, HTML tags |
The Guide to Kindle Content Quality adds that a title, subtitle or series name mustn't contain a URL, keywords, genre descriptions, promotions or references to other books in the category. If one book holds several stories, KDP asks for “Collection”, “Compilation” or “Series” in the title and on the cover.
Subtitles and series names
- Length. Title and subtitle together must be fewer than 200 characters, per the metadata guidelines.
- Same rules. A subtitle is optional and follows the same guidelines as the title, and so does a series name.
- On the page. KDP's titles and editions page notes that Amazon adds a colon between the title and the subtitle on the detail page, so don't type one into the title.
- Every format the same. Use exactly the same title for the eBook, the paperback and the hardcover: that is how KDP links them on one detail page.
Can two books have the same title?
Yes. The US Copyright Office says plainly that copyright does not protect titles, so a title isn't owned by the first book to use it. What KDP forbids is different: an unauthorized reference to another book, another author or a trademarked term. A title that borrows a series name, a character or a brand can break that rule even if the words are common.
Decide before you publish. KDP treats a new title as a new edition of the book, together with a new author name, ISBN, trim size or ink and paper.
What this generator doesn't do
- Read your story: the ideas come from patterns and word lists, not from your plot or your characters.
- Check whether a book already has the title, or whether a word is a trademark.
- Write the rest of the listing — for the description, try the book description generator, and for categories, the category finder.
Questions and answers
How do I come up with a book title?
Start from what the book is: its genre, its main place, object or idea. Try that word in a few title patterns — the generator does this for you — then pick two or three, say them out loud, look them up on Amazon and check them against KDP's title rules.
How long should a book title be?
KDP's limit is technical: title and subtitle together fewer than 200 characters. In practice a title is usually a few words, short enough to read on a thumbnail-sized cover; the explaining can go in a subtitle.
Can I use a book title that already exists?
Usually, yes: the US Copyright Office says copyright does not protect titles. But KDP prohibits unauthorized references to other titles, authors or trademarked terms, and a title that copies a well-known book in your genre makes yours harder to find.
What words can't I use in a KDP book title?
KDP's metadata guidelines prohibit sales-rank claims such as "bestselling", promotions such as "free", repeated generic keywords such as "notebook" or "journal", unauthorized references to other titles, authors or trademarks, and placeholders like "n/a". Keywords and genre descriptions don't belong in the title or subtitle either.
Can I change my book's title after publishing on KDP?
Not as a simple edit: KDP counts a new title as a new edition of the book, like a new author name, ISBN or trim size. Settle the title before you publish.
Do I need a subtitle?
No, a subtitle is optional on KDP. If you use one, it follows the same rules as the title, and the two together must stay under 200 characters. Amazon adds the colon between them on the detail page.
Sources
- KDP Help: Metadata Guidelines for Books
- KDP Help: Books Titles & Editions
- KDP Help: Guide to Kindle Content Quality
- US Copyright Office: What Does Copyright Protect?
Updated · Checked against the sources above by the SelfPub Go Team