diff --git a/cmd/new.go b/cmd/new.go
index e9857a1..67a5b25 100644
--- a/cmd/new.go
+++ b/cmd/new.go
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func countSnippetLines() int {
 	// Count lines in snippet file
 	f, err := os.Open(config.Conf.General.SnippetFile)
 	if err != nil {
-		panic("Error reading snippet file")
+		panic("Snippet file must be specified - could not read snippet file.")
 	}
 	lineCount, err := CountLines(f)
 	if err != nil {