Title Case Converter
Capitalising a book title is not a matter of taste, which is why this title case converter applies the settled rules about which small words stay lowercase and which never do. Six styles, applied to whatever you type, from sentence case to toggle case, with a copy button.
Convert your title
Pick a style, then edit the text. The result updates as you type and every style is previewed below.
The Rules Behind Correct Title Case
Title case has one governing principle: capitalise the words that carry meaning and leave the small connective ones alone. Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are always capitalised. Articles, coordinating conjunctions and short prepositions are not, unless they land in the first or last position, where they take a capital regardless of what part of speech they happen to be.
That last-word exception catches people out constantly. A Room With A View is wrong; A Room with a View is right, because with and the second a are both interior minor words. But a title ending on a preposition would capitalise it, because nothing sits after it. Position overrides category every single time.
Subtitles follow exactly the same logic and restart it. The word immediately after a colon is treated as a first word and takes a capital even when it is an article, which is why Deep Work: A Guide to Focus capitalises that A. This converter applies the rule automatically wherever it finds a colon, semicolon or dash.
The minor-word list
Kept lowercase in the middle of a title: a, an, the, and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so, at, by, in, of, off, on, to, up, via, as, per and with. Anything outside that list takes a capital.
First and last always win
Position beats category. A minor word standing at the very start or the very end of a title is capitalised, which is why To Kill a Mockingbird opens with a capital To.
Colons restart the count
After a colon, semicolon or em dash, the next word is treated as though it began the title. Book subtitles depend on this, so an article opening a subtitle always takes a capital.
Hyphenated compounds
Both halves of a hyphenated compound are capitalised, giving Self-Published and Well-Known rather than Self-published. That is the convention most publishers and retail catalogues follow.
Getting the small details right?
We handle the rest of them too, from running heads and folios to display type on every chapter opener.
Which Words Stay Lowercase, And When They Do Not
The full list applied by this converter, together with the exceptions that override it.
| Word type | Words | Lowercase when | Capitalised when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Articles | a, an, the | Anywhere inside the title | First word, last word, or straight after a colon |
| Coordinating conjunctions | and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so | Joining words or clauses mid-title | First or last position |
| Short prepositions | at, by, in, of, off, on, to, up, via | Working as a preposition mid-title | First or last position, or used as an adverb |
| Other minor words | as, per, with | Mid-title in their usual role | First or last position |
| Long prepositions | between, through, against, without | Never lowercase in this style | Always, being five letters or more |
| Forms of the verb to be | is, are, was, be, been | Never lowercase | Always, including the short form Is |
| Phrasal verb particles | up, on, off, in, out | Only when genuinely prepositional | When part of a verb, as in Grow Up or Log In |
| Second half of hyphenates | -known, -published, -selling | Not applicable | Always, giving Best-Selling and Self-Published |
Title Capitalisation, Answered
Should a book title use title case or sentence case?
Title case is the standard for covers, spines, title pages and retail listings across English-language publishing. Sentence case appears mainly in academic references and in some European markets. If you are publishing a trade book in English, use title case and keep it consistent everywhere the title appears.
Does the subtitle follow the same rule?
It does. A subtitle is capitalised exactly like the main title, and the word directly after the colon counts as a first word, so it takes a capital even when it is a or the. Applying one convention to the title and a different one to the subtitle is among the most visible amateur signals on a cover.
Why is my four-letter preposition lowercase but a longer one is not?
Several house styles lowercase prepositions only up to a certain length, typically four letters. This converter uses an explicit list of common short prepositions rather than a length rule, which gives more predictable results and matches how most trade publishers set titles.
What about the word is in a title?
It takes a capital. Is, are, was and be are verbs rather than minor words, and their shortness has nothing to do with it. Everything Is Illuminated is correct, and leaving that Is lowercase is a common slip.
How should chapter titles be capitalised?
Match whatever you use for the book title, then apply it identically to every chapter. Consistency matters more than which convention you pick, and a table of contents makes any inconsistency obvious the moment a reader glances at it.
What is start case and when would I use it?
Start case puts a capital on the first letter of every single word without exception, including articles and prepositions. It appears in some headline and interface contexts, but it is not correct for book titles because it lifts the small words that title case deliberately keeps down.
Will this handle names and acronyms correctly?
Proper nouns take a capital like any other significant word, so they come out fine. Acronyms written in full capitals will be reduced, because the tool cannot tell NASA from a shouted word. Restore those by hand after converting, or paste them back in afterwards.
Does capitalisation affect how my book is found?
Retail search is not case sensitive, so a title in the wrong case will still be found. What it affects is perception. A listing with erratic capitalisation reads as unedited before anyone has opened the sample, and that costs more than any ranking factor would.
Typography And Layout Set To Professional Standards
Correct capitalisation is one small part of a much larger system: typeface pairing, optical sizing, hierarchy, kerning on the display lines, and consistency running from the cover through to the final chapter opener.
See Typography Formatting