A good book title hints at what’s between the covers while also piquing reader interest. It can’t be too confusing, too long, too short, too cheesy or too pretentious.

A title is often one of the most difficult parts of your book to write. That’s why one author recently created a poll on PickFu to weigh two title ideas:

• Option A: D.O.G., Ph.D.: A Year of Conversations With One Very Smart Dog
• Option B: Conversations with Minnie: One Dog’s Perspective on Life

Can you guess which one won?

Even authors who’ve been writing and selling books for years can benefit from split-testing their book covers.

Take Trevol Swift, for example. Author of two previous books in the Justicar Jhee series, Swift took the third book to PickFu to find out which cover stood out best. Swift wisely tested with an audience of 50 fiction readers, stating that the book is a science fiction murder mystery.

Option A features a mysterious purple cover with a cityscape, water, and a moon (or two?).

In Option B, the cityscape changes. Swift does away with the enclosed feeling of the first cover but retains many of the same elements, including the super-cool type treatment of the author’s name and book title.

Can you guess which one won?

Have you ever run a poll on PickFu and received razor-close results? Even without a clear “winner,” it’s likely that once you take a closer look into the answers, you’ll find intriguing trends — just like one author recently did.

In this PickFu poll, author Michael Sean Comerford asked a general audience of 50 people, “Which book would you buy?”

For many authors, one of the most exciting parts of seeing their novels travel the road to publication is watching the creation of a book cover. In traditional publishing, the author rarely has any say in what the cover looks like. But that’s not true in self-publishing. And with PickFu, you can make sure the cover you choose for your book resonates with your target audience.

Take the case of a recent PickFu poll, in which an author tested covers for a time travel book aimed at tween girls. The poll asked a group of parents who are Christian and between the ages of 18 and 44 which fantasy book cover they prefer.

Option A shows the silhouettes of four girls striking a fierce pose.

Book titles make a huge difference in sales. Imagine if Where the Wild Things Are had kept its working title and concept, Where the Wild Horses Are.

Would it have been as compelling as an island of wild, unknown, monstrous things? I think not.

It’s amazing what a difference one word in a title can make. One PickFu author recently found this out while split testing two titles for a children’s early reader book.

While it’s tempting to name your book something catchy and clever, it’s not always a good idea. One author recently used PickFu to test two book titles for a book about weight loss. The two titles had just one difference, as you’ll see below.

Option A makes a play on the word loser and the phrase weight loss with “The Weight Losser: Small Everyday Changes With Big Results, Weight loss [sic] Habits and Hacks, Tips and Stories.”

When poll results are inconclusive, it can feel like something went wrong, or like your survey wasn’t valuable. But is that the case?

In a recent poll, a science fiction author tested three potential titles for a book, asking 50 general population respondents, “Which science fiction book title is catchier?”

• Option A: Liminal.
• Option B: Soul Harbor
• Option C: Impermanent Universe.

Can you guess which one won?

Be careful what you name your book. Bad self-help book titles can be a real turn-off for potential readers. You’ve got to get your title just right.

One author recently discovered this lesson while testing titles for a self-help book on PickFu. This author wisely asked 100 people who read at least one book a month for votes and opinions on these three potential titles.

Will your book cover attract your intended audience? It’s hard to know if you don’t test it first.

A recent PickFu poll perfectly illustrates this point. In this poll, an author of mystery books asked 50 women, ‘Which book cover is more appealing?”

Take a look at the two mystery book covers.

Option A features a woman standing in a sexy, let’s-take-on-the-world pose. A cityscape is her backdrop, along with some alluring silvery sparkles to go with a silver-black color scheme.