Post 45
| Author: | Nola | Published: | about 7 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tags: | titles, originality, publishers, readers, genre | Category: | Writing tips |
Book Titles Part 1: Original Spin
Your writing group is on a roll. Whimsy Stonehenge is seeking a publisher for her fantasy novel Dragon Quest, Brad Spinetingle is about to self-publish his suspense novel Race Against Time, Faith Evergood has just completed her inspirational book Sacred Places, and you’re about to enter a competition with your romance novel Love Finds a Way. They’re all wonderful books—characters you love, beautiful settings, fresh prose, great pacing, thought-provoking messages. However, there are already dozens of books with the same or similar titles. Is that a problem? Isn’t it the content that counts? Yes, but there are at least four reasons why you should consider a more original title.
Attracting a Publisher or Agent
As Rachelle Gardner notes, publishers are usually the ones who have the final say about a book’s title. However, they won’t even get to that point if your book doesn’t grab them. If you have a tired old title, maybe your content is also old and tired. In contrast, imagine being the first publisher to see Douglas Adams’ manuscript for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Wouldn’t you want to turn the page to see what happens?
Attracting Readers
We choose books for different reasons: our favourite genre, brilliant cover design, positive word-of-mouth, good reviews. However, a stand-out title can also prompt us to take a book off the real, or virtual, shelf. I recently came across the 2016 novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. I didn’t know anything about it other than the title, but I immediately wanted to find out more. It’s now on my ‘to read’ list. The title hooked me and the synopsis reeled me in.
Avoiding Practical Problems
If your book has the same title as others, it can cause confusion when people search for it online or request it at libraries and bookstores. Websites of the same name can also create difficulties for you. When Tim and I were trying to find a unique name for our editing business, we brainstormed lots of possibilities. We thought Inspired Ink would be perfect until we discovered lots of tattoo parlours with the same name. We scrapped about twenty alternatives before deciding on The Write Flourish.
Avoiding Genre Confusion
Originality won’t necessarily solve the genre problem, but generic titles can sometimes be ambiguous or confusing. Let’s say that Faith Evergood’s book Sacred Places is a Christian devotional. A quick search of that title on Goodreads reveals numerous religious books from various faith perspectives, as well as books on travel, photography, and architecture. There’s even a novel with a buffed, shirtless man on the cover. It’s probably best that I don’t try to guess the sacred places visited in that book, but you see the dilemma.
In my next blog, I’ll give some tips for creating original titles. In the meantime, what are some of your favourite book titles? I’d love to hear your opinions.
Comments read 15 comments
Hi Nola, I really should really take the time to read more of your posts. I've always loved having a peek at your 'writing tips' posts. This one I can completely relate to. I have noticed many books with the same title. From the point of view of the reader, it is quite tedious when looking through the list (e.g. Amazon) to find the actual book you were looking for. Another thought I had was ... 'what about authors' names? I cannot think of the author's name for the life of me, however when I went to look up her beautiful Christian book, I found another author with exactly the same name, and thought 'surely not?' The other author with the identical name had written several horror books (not my preferred reading material). I like to sleep at night, by myself with no monsters joining me :-)
Hi Jo'Anne - Thanks for those kind words. It's been way too long since I wrote a post for my writing tips blog, but I'm back in the saddle and looking forward to foisting myself on the public again :)
I know what you mean about double-ups on Amazon. I've had similar problems when I haven't been able to remember an author's name or haven't known it in the first place. But it must be even more confusing when the author's name is the same. I have a couple of author friends who've found other authors with the same names. I guess that's where a pen-name can be handy, but it can be a problem if you've already published under one name. Interesting food for thought. Thanks for your comment :)
Great post Nola. Coming up with an appropriate but original book title can be quite a challenge. I usually do a thorough search to make sure there aren't half-a-billion others by the same or similar name. And even then, there can be double ups (eg with Heart of the Mountain and with The Herbalist's Daughter - but only a couple). Haven't found any other Akrad's Children as yet :)
Hi Jenny, yes it can certainly be a challenge. I guess there will sometimes be inevitable similarities. I thought I was being highly original by calling a short story "Kay's War" and then found out that everyone and their dog has had a war - LOL - I guess an advantage in fantasy fiction is that you can think of an original character name, like Akrad, and the chances are slim that someone else will have your title. Looking forward to seeing it in print. Thanks for commenting.
That is a definite advantage to fantasy titles. Hoping Akrad's Children will be in print by the end of the year, one way or the other.
It can also be a problem when you have fallen in-love with a particular title. It's so hard to let go!
Yes, I can imagine that would be difficult Jo'Anne. I know a couple of people who've been working on their books for ages and have just found out there are other books with the same titles. I guess it's good to check at the outset, but that's easier said in hindsight. And the name that another author has already taken might be perfect for your book. Though you may be able to think of an even better title. When we were trying to come up with a name for our business, I was disappointed to find some of my favourite ones were already taken. But 'The Write Flourish' has turned out to be the perfect name. We never would have thought of it if one of our other picks hadn't been taken. Thanks for your comment.
I'm giving away my age here but some of my favourite titles include:
Moonraker, an odd but evocative portmanteau which has titled many books and films; it suggests sail, smuggling and skullduggery.
Fahrenheit 451 somehow works where ‘Celsius 233’ does not; something to do with the number of syllables and how it rolls off the tongue.
The Chrysalids no one in the book is referred to by this term, an obscure variation of chrysalis, but it evokes metamorphosis and emerging butterflies and is perfect for a story about the emergence of a new species of telepathic human.
Ice Station Zebra delivers the goods; of course it will be a thriller about Cold War tension in the remote arctic.
Thanks Tim. They're all great titles. I loved 'Fahrenheit 451' in particular. Not only does the title draw you in, but the first line relates to the title really well (i.e. 'It was a pleasure to burn.'). I used to be an Alistair McLean fan back in the day, and 'Ice Station Zebra' also piqued my interest. I've seen the film of 'Moonraker', but I'd forgotten it was also a book. And I must get around to reading 'The Chrysalids'. It sounds like the sort of book I'd like. Thanks for sharing :)
Hi Nola,
What great thoughts. I love original, intriguing titles which draw us in and make us want to know more. I have a book on my kindle entitled 'Sewing for the Insane' which drew me in just by that title. There's also one I picked up from a friend's book clear-out based just on its title, 'A Seahorse in the Thames.' Looking forward to your tips, as I've always found titles a challenge. Good on you for starting up your blog again too.
Hi Paula - Those are great titles. 'Sewing for the Insane' sounds like something I should pick up - LOL It's amazing how a title can grab you before you even know what a book's about. If the book can leap off the shelf into someone's hands based on the title, there's a chance they'll at least look further.
And thanks for the encouragement re the blog. I think I did more than 40 in a row, but I found I was spending most of my writing time working on the blog rather than doing my other writing. Hoping to get more of a balance this time. Also have more experience now so hopefully each post won't take as long to write. It's been way too long :) Thanks for your comment.
Deciding on a title is so hard I know I'm not good at doing it. Finding the right one is of manifest importance and it's definitely a trick to find a unique one. I think the one I finished most recently, Raydon's Muse, might work okay.
Wow, that does sound like a great title, Lynne. Is it fantasy/sci-fi or something else? I don't think anyone will have that one :) It's certainly a challenge to come up with something that accurately reflects the content, genre and tone, but is also original. I'll have some ideas in the next blog, but I'll only be scratching the surface. Looking forward to hearing more about the new book. Thanks for commenting.
Another practical consideration when seeking an original title is that of a few dozen (well, maybe three or four ... LOL) other authors out there with the same name. I didn't realise there were multiple authors publishing under the same name as me until after the release of my first novel, so it would have been somewhat problematic if two of us had titles of the same or similar name. A great post, thanks Nola.
Yes, that would be tricky , especially if they were really different genres. I guess that's where pen-names can be handy, though it's hard if you've already published under one name. Also hard when your name is (partly) the same as a multi-Grammy-Award-winning singer :) Maybe I should do another post sometime on the pros and cons of pen-names. Thanks for the suggestion Adele :)
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