Author: | Nola | Published: | almost 7 years ago |
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Tags: | nonfiction, Adele Jones, genre, book titles, gimmicks, marketing, tone, word of mouth, series | Category: | Writing tips |
If you’ve followed the suggestions I gave in Part 2 and Part 3 of this series, you should have a long list of possible titles. Here are some things to consider when choosing the best options from your list.
Genre and Tone
Although there’s a lot of leeway within genres, ensure your title creates the desired impression. You wouldn’t call your light summer romance Nightmare on Ghoul Reef, but it’s not always easy to strike the right tone. Try testing your title in a poll and see what images it conjures up for potential readers. Tucker Max gives some great suggestions for doing that.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is an effective marketing tool. As Christian Sexton and Tucker Max note, however, people are less likely to share your book or ask for it at bookstores if they have trouble pronouncing it or feel uncomfortable saying it out loud (e.g. if it contains swearing or something offensive, such as The Benefits of Abuse). Titles that are difficult to remember may also garner less word-of-mouth traffic.
Gimmicks
Original titles can help get your book off the shelf and into a reader’s hands (See Part 1). However, avoid gimmicks that will frustrate readers. If you call your book A Trapeze on Mars, consumers will either take it literally and expect circus performers in space or they’ll assume it’s a stunning metaphor that captures an important element of your book. If neither of those things occurs, your unique title is just annoying.
Series
When writing a series, think about how the different titles fit together. Adele Jones used similar types of verbs for her young adult techno-thrillers—Integrate, Replicate, and Activate. James Patterson used phrases from nursery rhymes for some of his Alex Cross books (e.g. Along Came a Spider; Kiss the Girls). While the titles in a series don’t have to follow the same pattern (e.g. The Hunger Games and Mockingjay), consider how the titles work as a set.
Nonfiction
Although the suggestions in my previous posts don’t just apply to novels, nonfiction does pose a different quandary. If you’ve written an informative book about a particular topic, you want it to pop up easily when people enter key terms in search engines. Your book Rainbows on my Wellies might be the best self-help book on depression available, but it won’t help anyone if they can’t find it. Sometimes a straightforward title like Accounting Made Simple will be the best marketing option. However, a more creative title can work well if coupled with a subtitle that explains what the book is about. Brennan Manning does that to great effect with his book The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-up and Burnt Out.
When you think you have the perfect title, be sure to check sites like Amazon or Goodreads to ensure another author hasn’t beaten you to it.
Have you ever read a book that didn’t live up to its title? I’d love to hear your comments.
Comments read 16 comments
Hi Nola,
Great advice on choosing titles in all three posts. As I've been reading what you have to say, I think part of the test is whether I now feel intrigued to read all the books you've mentioned 😀 It's a sure sign the hook has done its job.
LOL - Thanks for that Paula. I'll be interested to see which ones you read and what you think of them :) I've certainly been intrigued by many titles over the years. One of my favourites is 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society'. I think getting the book off the real or virtual shelf and into someone's hands is half the battle. Thanks for commenting :)
Some great pointers, Nola. The Invention of Wings by Sue Kidd Monk - is a good book about slavery in 19th USA. When I saw the title, I thought it was about something else entirely (either the invention of planes, or a focus on flight in birds, reptiles, bats etc.). There is a passing mention of the phrase in a metaphorical sense but it din't really gel for me.
And I love Rainbows on my Wellies as a title - would pick that book up :)
Thanks for a great series :)
Thanks Jenny. I remember seeing Sue Monk Kidd's 'The Secret Life of Bees' before I knew what it was about. The story sounds really interesting, but the title would have made me think it was a book about beekeeping :) I guess there's always a balance between coming up with an interesting title, but also meeting the expectations of readers.
And we might have to at least write some short stories called 'A Rainbow on My Wellies' or 'Nightmare on Ghoul Reef'. Would be interesting to see how they turned out. Thanks for your comment. :)
Cool - I can feel a anthology or two coming on lol.
LOL - It could be bigger than 'Year of Pulses' :)
Oh, how exciting!
Start writing now, Kirsten. It's bound to be a bestseller :)
There are some great ideas here. I may have to look at part 2 and 3 of this series.
Thanks Nola.
Thanks Kirsten. It's tricky coming up with unique titles that also deliver the impression you want. Hopefully some of the ideas in those earlier posts will resonate with you. Looking forward to hearing what you come up with. Thanks for stopping by to comment :)
Thanks for the great ideas! Titles are my least favourite part of the writing process!
Thanks Charis. It's amazing how something so small can be so difficult to get right. I imagine it's the same problem with film titles.
I've got a title that I inspired my junior fiction novel and has really helped me to keep on track with my original theme the whole time I've been writing it. Now I'm not sure if the title is 'marketable'. Such a quandary. I'd hate to kill my darling.
Hi Lindsey, that is a quandary. I'm really attached to the working title for my book as well, but I haven't really tested it yet. If it's picked up by a publisher, they may have different ideas too. It's original and does relate to the book, so hopefully it will work. I guess it could be an idea to have a couple of other titles up your sleeve, but it is hard to let go of something you love. Good luck with it. And thanks for taking the time to comment :)
Great advice, Nola. (And thanks for the shout out. :) ) Titles can be a really challenging topic. 'Activate', the third novel in my YA trilogy, had a different working title I knew wasn't going to make the cut, but it still took a long time to find something that worked. Given the 'ate' pattern had already been set, I had to find something that met this pre-requisite, whilst still representing the novel's themes.
Interesting comment above about changing a working title. With some works you know this will be inevitable, but I had a story I worked on for years that I ended up renaming. It was like being introduced to a friend, as if they were a stranger. Perhaps we writers get a little over-attached to our own titles at times? I understand some publishing houses make this call for their authors. Now that could be an interesting renaming process if they picked something you found completely uninspiring! I guess in the end marketing wins out.
BTW good luck with the 'post-pulses' anthology. LOL.
Thanks Adele. I remember you saying that Integrate was initially a stand-alone novel, so it's great that you already had a title that would work well with a series. I think the three names work really well together, though am a little disappointed that 'Laminate' didn't make the cut ;)
And yes, it would be interesting if a publisher picked a name you didn't like. It would be nice to think some negotiation could happen. On the other hand, a publisher might think of a fantastic title you hadn't thought of. It's a shame in some ways that marketing has to win. But if more people are drawn in by the title, that has to be a bonus. Thanks for your comment :)
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