Blog tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com
BOOK TITLES
The book title must grab my interest in just a few words. I personally do not like titles that are so long I feel as if I have read the book.
- I want my curiosity to be peaked.
- It should make me want to pick up the book and read the back cover.
- Then I open it and randomly read a few paragraphs as I flip through the pages.
Here are sample of titles that are intriguing and eye-catching:
Desiree
Love Story
Jaws
Moby Dick
To Kill A Mockingbird
Gone With the Wind
Gift From The Sea
And, I did buy and enjoyed every one of them. My favorite is Desiree.
Certainly longer titles have worked for many successful authors:
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent,
Terrific Days.
Under the Greenwood Tree or The Mellstock Quire
Often it is the non-fiction books that have the longer titles. My book is a perfect example: Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir. Just having “Outshine” did not seem enough. Just “Ovarian Cancer” sounded too boring. So, it became Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir.
Here are some thoughts to consider:
- Does the title give at least a strong hint as to what or who the book is about?
- Is a character or sentence from the book a clever title?
- Is my title original? Google to see if other books have the same title.
- Have two or three ideas and then ask friends, family, or members of a book club for feedback.
If the title is intriguing or informative enough for the potential reader to pick it up, then it is the right title. The most important part of selecting a title is that it is meaningful to you. You must be proud of the title and feel good standing behind it.
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Author Info:
Karen Ingalls is a retired registered nurse with a master’s degree in human development, which was a double major in psychology and human services. She is the author of the award winning book, Outshine: An Ovarian Cancer Memoir from which all proceeds are donated to gynecologic cancer research. Her second novel is Davida: Model & Mistress of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Her first novel, Novy’s Son challenges the reader to examine the issues of alcoholism, sexual addiction, and family dynamics. She has also written poetry, short stories, and has had articles published for professional journals. Karen also does presentations to promote her books and on subjects of health/wellness.
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Connect with Karen:
http://amazon.com/Outshine-An-Ovarian-Cancer-Memoir/dp/1592984622
http://amazon.com/dp/BO1BO2VQY
http://twitter.com/KarenIngalls1
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Ingalls/1473379352893458
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/karen-ingalls/37/509/ba8
Writing and Music 
Interesting topic and great things to think about when deciding on titles! Thanks for hosting Jan. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Novels by Jennifer Hinsman.
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Thank you so much, Jenny!
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I never really thought about titles before. Book covers are usually my magnet, and then I read the book blurb. I don’t think I’ve ever really focused on a title. Maybe that’s why I always have such a difficult time remembering the titles after I’ve read the books. lol! That being said, your advice is great! For my own novels, I knew that I wanted there to be consistency in the series. The title for the first book came to me immediately. I’ve read many series, and they tend to have either a word repeated or a theme within the titles. I chose to go with the phrase, “The One,” since the focus in the series is on the person who will save them from dying. Titles tend to come easily for me, but I will definitely be paying more attention to the words on those pretty book covers from now on. 😉
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Interesting point, Yevette. Just out of curiosity, how do you come with titles for your books?
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Well, the Diasodz series’ titles all start with “The One.” It just made sense to me the moment the concept popped into my brain. The series is about the Diasodz finding their savior and hoping that she will return them to their full powers. I have two other novels that I have yet to publish. For one of them, my best friend and I were talking about books, and she mentioned that she likes books with titles that have one or two words in them. The next day, the title just popped into my head. For my other unpublished novel, the first version of the title came to me easily, but I found that there were several other books with the same title, so I played around with synonyms until I found a combination that worked for me. I honestly never really put much thought into it; the titles just popped into my head and I ran with them. 🙂
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I think most of us can say that our title just popped into our head at some random moment. 🙂 I do advocate the idea of Googling the title just to see what is out there before settling on it. Thanks, Yvette!
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Sure, book titles as well as book covers sell books. But I don’t always rely on those alone. When I want to read a book, I read about the author first to know where he/she is coming from. For me, a book can be as good as the story of the author. Thank you Jan for hosting her.
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Jan, thank you so much for being such an amazing hostess. It was great getting to know you a little more.
Again, many thanks.
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I liked the discussion on titles, Karen. Like you, I prefer mine short and sweet. Thanks, Jan for hosting today’s stop.
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Great tips, Karen. Titles are certainly important. Short and sweet works for me!
Thanks for hosting, Jan!
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Thanks for stopping by today, Beem!
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Thank you, Beem your comment is appreciated. How we authors select our titles is an interesting topic.
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Thanks for sharing these tips, Karen. 🙂
Thanks for the warm welcome, Jan, as always.
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They are great tips! Thanks for stopping by, Natalie!
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Natalie, I find how and why a particular title is selected is quite fascinating. Some are easy to understand…others less so. Thank you for your comment.
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Some fantastic tips there Karen – naming is so important, for all the reasons you give 🙂
Thanks for having us over today Jan 🙂
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Thanks for dropping by, Jan. I am thrilled to spotlight Karen.
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Thank you for the compliment, Jan. I find titles a fascinating subject.
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Thank you for blogging on the topic of Book Titles. Like you, I appreciate brief ones, even though clarity at times requires us to add longer titles. It’s a struggle, isn’t it….
Thank you Jan, for hosting. And…Karen, thank you for sharing so openly about various topics on this Blog Tour.
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Hi, Gwen! Thanks for dropping by. I loved Karen’s post and am honored to host her.
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It would be interesting to do a study on how authors select their titles. And, why are readers attracted to certain titles and not others.
Thanks for sharing Gwen.
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I liked your insights into selecting a title for a book, Karen. Some very good advice here! Thanks for hosting, Jan!
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Thanks, John. I appreciate you dropping by for a visit!
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Thank you for your comment John. A book title can make or break the success of a book.
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