stack of five books and red apple on desk, book title capitalization
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Book Title Capitalization Rules

stack of five books and red apple on desk, book title capitalization

When it comes to capitalizing book titles, there are a few standard rules that you should follow. In short, for a book title you will always capitalize the first and last words. You’ll also capitalize verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

You won’t capitalize articles, coordinating conjunctions, or prepositions.

Let’s break down each of these rules and take a closer look at some examples.

Capitalize First and Last Words

As mentioned, you’ll always capitalize the first and last words of your book title no matter what those words are.

For example, “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Pride and Prejudice” both follow this rule.

Capitalize Verbs, Pronouns, Nouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs

In addition to the first and last words, you’re going to capitalize certain parts of speech in your book title. These include verbs, pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

For example, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table” both follow this rule.

Don’t Capitalize Articles, Coordinating Conjunctions, or Prepositions

On the other hand, articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, (and, but, or), and prepositions (in, on, at) are not capitalized.

For example, “The Fault in Our Stars” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” both follow this rule.

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Erika Bennett is the Content Manager for Xulon Press. She has worked in the publishing industry for more than a decade and her passion is to make sure great books find their way into readers' hands. You can also find her writing on XulonPress.Substack.com.

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