diff --git a/prosopopoee b/prosopopoee
index 108a8db..9c152f5 100755
--- a/prosopopoee
+++ b/prosopopoee
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ def main():
 
     settings = yaml.safe_load("settings.yaml")
 
+    assert isinstance(settings, dict), "Your settings.yaml should be a dict"
     assert settings.get("title"), "You should specify a title in your main settings.yaml"
+    title = settings["title"]
+    sub_title = settings.get("sub_title", "")
 
     dirs = filter(lambda x: x not in (".", "..") and os.path.isdir(x) and os.path.exists(os.path.join(os.getcwd(), x, "settings.yaml")), os.listdir(os.getcwd()))