Choosing Winning Article Titles
Give How-To Pieces, Essays, Travel Features Attention-Grabbing Names
The title you give your piece of non-fiction should draw a reader, and an editor's interest, and make them want to read on.
Deciding upon a title for a non-fiction article can be a challenge, but the right title will set the tone of the piece for a reader, and an editor (at the query stage), and go a long way towards keeping them both interested and reading.
Choose a Working Title for Your Query Letter
Although the title you choose at the query letter stage, when you are soliciting an article assignment, may not be the final title that appears when your piece is published, a working title is an important inclusion in any query to an editor.
When editors read queries, they read to find out if you have a ‘complete’ idea in mind. Do you have a firm angle for the idea you are suggesting? Have you considered the tone of your piece, and do you have a title in mind? A query letter always has more promise of an editorial nod if it has a strong working title. Be sure to include one in each query you send out.
Title Depends Upon the Type of Non-Fiction Article
The title you pick depends upon the type of article you are writing. If it’s a how-to article – lets say about building a fence – a straight-forward title might best serve the article. ‘How to Build a Wooden Fence’ would probably please an editor and readers of a do-it-yourself magazine more so than something creative. Check out the do-it-yourself magazines that you wish to write for and see how their articles are titled.
If you are writing a personal essay (read more about this topic in Writing a Personal Essay), there is more leeway to be creative with your title, but you still want to evoke the essence of the piece, to draw a reader’s interest. For example, ‘Memories of a Mudroom’ was the title I choose for an essay that reflected upon growing up in houses with mudrooms, and how those rooms were used throughout the seasons. This title has some creativity, but it still gave readers an understanding of what was to follow.
Since travel articles include everything from short pieces about a particular venue (read an example of this in Newfoundland Museum ), round-ups about where to stay or eat, to essays about long and arduous journeys, you have to choose a title to suit the type of article you are writing. Travel magazines, the travel sections of newspapers, and online sources will show you the kinds of titles they use.
Writing a great title is like choosing a great angle for a photograph. There may be many ‘good’ ones from which to choose, but there is just one great one, and when you find that great title it will draw a reader (and an editor) in, making them want to know more.
