Bestselling: How to write a book that flies off shelves, earns millions, and can be summed up in a 500 word title

One of the most secretive and least understood jobs in book publishing is the titleist. You would think that a book’s author comes up with its title, but you would not be correct. Book titles are written by titleists, and experienced titleists can earn more than doctors, although not more than doctors who moonlight writing book titles.

To understand their special brand of magic, compare how skilled titleists have improved on the original efforts of unimaginative authors:

ORIGINAL TITLE	BEST-SELLING TITLE
Moby Dick	Moby Dick: How the hubris of Capt. Ahab challenged God, defied himself, and endangered a species
On the Road	On the Road: One man’s journey through the margins of America while struggling against substance abuse a shot of whiskey at a time
A Million Little Pieces	A Million Little Pieces: The fictional story of a real liar
The Bible	The Bible: Why Abraham kept God’s covenant, invented circumcision, bought up all the land in Canaan, and begat Isaac, who begat Jacob, who begat Judah, who begat Pharez, who begat Hezron, who begat Ram, who begat Amminadab, who begat Nahshon, who begat Salmon, who begat Boaz, who begat Obed, who begat Jesse, who begat David, who begat Solomon, who begat Rehoboam, who begat Abijah, who begat Asa, who begat Jehoshaphat, who begat Joram, who begat Uzziah, who begat Jotham, who begat Ahaz, who begat Hezekiah, who begat Manasseh, who begat Amon, who begat Josiah, who begat Jeconiah, who begat Shealtiel, who begat Zerubbabel, who begat Abiud, who begat Eliakim, who begat Azor, who begat Sadok, who begat Achim, who begat Eliud, who begat Eleazar, who begat Matthan, who begat Jacob, who begat Joseph, who begat Jesus, and eventually, Paris Hilton