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Novel Title Testing & Reader Reaction Survey

For authors and publishers deciding between candidate titles for a new novel. Measures which title is most appealing, whether it signals the right genre, and how likely readers are to pick the book up based on the title alone — with an AI follow-up that digs into the associations, confusion, or hesitation behind readers' top pick.

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Sample questions

A preview of what’s in the template. Every question is editable before you launch.

11 questions · ~6 min
Q01
Message

Thanks for helping us test titles for an upcoming novel! Your responses are completely confidential and anonymized. We'll show you a few candidate titles and ask for your gut reactions — there are no wrong answers. About 5 minutes.

Q02
Best–Worst Trade-off (MaxDiff)Required

Here are the candidate titles we're considering for the novel. For each set, pick the one you find most appealing and the one you find least appealing.

  • (Replace with Title Option A)
  • (Replace with Title Option B)
  • (Replace with Title Option C)
  • (Replace with Title Option D)
  • (Replace with Title Option E)
  • (Replace with Title Option F)
  • (Replace with Title Option G)
Pick best & worst per setBest:Most appealingWorst:Least appealing
Q03
Opinion ScaleRequired

Thinking about the title you rated most appealing, how clearly does it signal what genre the book belongs to?

Scale: 1 – 5
Min:Not clear at allMax:Extremely clear
Q04
Rating ScaleRequired

If you saw that title alone on a shelf or online listing, with no cover art or description, how likely would you be to pick it up and read more?

Range: 1 – 5
Min:Very unlikelyMax:Very likely
Q05
Multiple Choice

Based on that title alone, which genre do you think the book is?

  • (Replace with Genre 1, e.g. Literary Fiction)
  • (Replace with Genre 2, e.g. Thriller)
  • (Replace with Genre 3, e.g. Romance)
  • (Replace with Genre 4, e.g. Fantasy)
  • Not sure
Q06
Short Text

What's the first word, image, or feeling that comes to mind when you read that title?

Q07
Text Highlight

Below is a draft back-cover blurb using that title. Highlight any words or phrases that feel confusing, off-tone, or that don't match what the title led you to expect.

(Template note: replace with your own draft back-cover blurb before launching.) In a small coastal town where secrets wash ashore with the tide, one woman must decide whether the truth is worth the li…

Q08
AI Interview

Focus on the title the respondent rated most appealing. Ask what specifically drew them to it, what they now expect the story to be about, and whether any word in it felt confusing or mismatched with their genre guess. If they rated likelihood to pick it up low, probe what a different word or phrasing would need to convey instead.

Q09
Multiple Choice

In a typical month, how many novels do you read or listen to?

  • None
  • 1
  • 2-3
  • 4-6
  • 7 or more
Q10
Multiple Choice

What age range do you fall into?

  • Under 18
  • 18-24
  • 25-34
  • 35-44
  • 45-54
  • 55-64
  • 65+
  • Prefer not to say
Q11
Message

That wraps up our title test — thank you! Your reactions will directly shape which title makes it onto the cover.

What’s included

  • AI follow-ups

    Adaptive probes on open-ended answers that pull out detail a static form would miss.

  • Attention checks

    Built-in safeguards against rushed answers and low-quality respondents.

  • AI-drafted copy

    Wording, ordering, and branching written by the AI — tuned to your research goal.

  • Auto report

    Themes, quotes, and a plain-English summary write themselves once responses come in.

How it compares

We reviewed the closest templates from other survey tools. Here’s what they do well — and where this template goes further.

Why this template

  • Uses a max-diff exercise to force real tradeoffs between candidate titles rather than rating them in isolation
  • Pairs quantitative signals (appeal rating, genre-fit scale, likelihood-to-pick-up) with qualitative reaction (first-word/feeling association and blurb highlighting) for the same title
  • Includes an adaptive AI follow-up interview that digs into why a respondent's top-rated title worked or where it created confusion or hesitation
  • Captures reading-frequency and age-range screening data so authors/publishers can see if title appeal differs by reader segment

SurveyMonkey

Name That Novel Survey Template

A ready-to-use template built specifically around testing novel titles, so it's directly comparable in subject matter. It relies on standard closed-ended question types and static skip logic rather than any adaptive probing. As with most SurveyMonkey templates, respondents answer the same fixed question set regardless of what title they preferred.

What it does well

  • Purpose-built for novel/book title testing rather than a generic naming template
  • Backed by SurveyMonkey's established survey infrastructure and distribution tools
  • Likely quick to deploy with minimal customization needed

Where it falls short

  • No adaptive AI follow-up to explore why a respondent chose their favorite title
  • No voice AI interview option for richer qualitative reactions
  • No automated per-response quality scoring or transparent prompt methodology

SurveySparrow

Name Testing Survey Template

This is a general business name-testing template (brand/product/business names), not one built for novel titles specifically, so authors would need to heavily adapt the question wording and framing. It's a static template rather than a purpose-fit literary tool. It can still capture basic name preference and association, but without book-specific context like genre signaling.

What it does well

  • Flexible enough to be repurposed for testing any kind of name, including a book title
  • SurveySparrow's conversational chat-style UI can make static forms feel more engaging
  • Comes packaged as part of a broader business-naming template library

Where it falls short

  • Not tailored to novels — no built-in genre-signal or shelf/online-listing framing
  • No adaptive AI interview to probe confusion or hesitation behind a top pick
  • No automated quality scoring or auto-generated analysis report

Ready to launch?

Open this template in the editor. Every part is yours to change before the first respondent sees it.

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