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Sunday, November 14, 2010

TITLES_OR A BESTSELLER BY ANY OTHER NAME IS LAME


Titles.

They are the things that get the reader in the bookstore to pick up the book.

But more important even than that,

they are the things that interest or push away a prospective agent.

The title is the key to getting your book read.

The quality or evocative poetry of your prose means nothing if you cannot get the agent or the reader intrigued in your book.

So how do you pick that sure-fire title? After all, doesn't it sometimes feel as if the mine has been pretty well worked out?

It seems as if all the great titles have been picked.

Secret : It's always felt that way. Ernest Hemingway complained of the same thing. Samuel Clemens a century before him said it as well.

There are some signposts to guide your way in your search for a great title for your book.

1.) THE BOOK YOUR FATHER DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ!

A catchy title like that almost insures your book will be picked up. So catchy snags the interest of agent and reader alike.

But catchy isn't everything. Your title must accurately portray your book.

2.) SHORT shouts and penetrates like an arrow of prose.

Imagine walking down the book aisle and seeing the title, LUST. Come on, you know you're going to pick it up.

But again one word titles seldom catch the essence of your novel. You need more. But what and how? What do catchy and short have in common?

3.) MEMORABLE

The best titles are memorable. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. THE SUN ALSO RISES. BLOODSUCKING FIENDS. THE GRAPES OF WRATH. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE.

If it reaches out and grabs you, it will do the same for the agent and reader, too.

4.) THE DELPHI EFFECT

We want to know the forbidden, the secret, the dangerous ... ever since Eve that has been our curse.

Go down the aisle and see the titles : THE SECRET TO SUCCESS. THE KEY TO SEX. THE FORBIDDEN PATHS.

Tell me you won't at least pick those books up.

5.) MAGIC

That element is elusive, slipping through your mental fingers like quicksilver. It is hard to put into words. But like with pornography, you will know it when you see it -- and so will the agent and the reader.

**
All right. We've deduced that the best titles are catchy, short, memorable, and evokes forbidden or secret knowledge. Plus they will possess that elusive element called MAGIC.

How to we come up with that catchy, short, evocative, and memorable title that sparkles with magic?

A.) THE BEST HUNTER GOES WHERE THE GAME IS.

Ernest Hemingway prowled the Bible and John Donne. He swore (actually quite a lot -- just joking) -- where was I? Oh, yes. He swore that the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were rich mines for great titles yet to be chosen.

He believed that the Bible and great poems tapped the creative unconscious of readers. If you can't find something stirring in the book of Revelations, shame on you.

If we choose well, our book title will stir something deep and unconscious within the reader as he passes down the book aisle.

B.) LIFE AND TITLE CHOOSING ARE LIKE A POKER GAME.

Stay in there long enough and an ace will come your way. Time and patience. Those items you will need in spades.

Winning doesn't happen by accident in poker, life, or title choosing. You look at your hand, discard what you don't like, and draw new cards.

Keep at it long enough, and you will draw a Royal Flush.

C.) CAST YOUR MUSE UPON THE WATER.

Write down single words from the dialogue of your characters, then whole phrases. Then, write down place names, character names. List them by last then by first.

Write down pairings of opposites of names in your novel.

Write down the motto of your villain in the most eye-catching way. Did that spark the magic?

Get a book of quotations. Skim the pages. Look for something that jumps out at you. If it jumps out at you, it will jump out at an agent or reader.

D.) TRUST YOUR GUT.

Your instincts will jar you when you hit the right title. Savor it in your mind. Remember the best titles are short, catchy, memorable, and evocative of the forbidden.

Think THE LOVELY BONES. Wasn't that a great title? It caught your attention. It placed apparently opposite words together, didn't it? And it sounded slightly forbidding, too.

Now, go out and do some title-poker. And keep your eye out for the magic.
***


17 comments:

  1. I don't know how much I will be at this blog during the next 8 days. I am working them straight through with half of them on call. I volunteered to work Thanksgiving and be on call then since I have no family. And Thanksgiving is time for being with loved ones for that yearly meal. Have a great holiday week.

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  2. Awesome post. Titles are difficult for most of us!

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  3. Laura : They are difficult for me, too. Hey, they were difficult for Hemingway and Mark Twain. So we can feel not quite so alone.

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  4. Funny thing about Hemingway, apparently he was horrible at picking titles and so usually his wife or his editor or both came up with those awesome titles of his.

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  5. Brilliant tips! I have real difficulty with titles and had no idea Hemingway felt that all the best titles had been used! Wow! I usually find one and get excited only to realise it's been done before very recently.

    However! This list is most helpful. I think I may refer back to it next time I get stumped.

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  6. Great post, Roland, and very true. Titles are the first very important step we take as writers, and so long as we have an accurate and interesting title then we are sure to make it further in the publishing world. And I agree with you, one word titles rarely can truly speak everything for your book.
    As you said, when we come with the title we have to involve a bit of magic to it. We have to be creative and not just say, "Oh it's about two lovers who journey somewhere? Okay, I'll call 'Lovers' Journey'." It needs to drag the reader in and have them wondering the whole the significance of the title.
    Great post:)

    --Lindsey

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  7. ...there was a little known writer a few years back who penned a manuscript titled, "To Kill a Mockingbird." The number of readers back then who walked past that book without stopping to at least see what that title was all about couldn't have been more than a scant few. And I think she did okay:)

    Titles are the bloodline that keep a book's heart from stopping. I've changed mine three times during the edit process...they're that important.

    Great post, Roland, and keep in touch.
    EL

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  8. Sorry you have to work so hard in the next 8 days. We will ALL miss you wonderfully informative and hauntingly seductive prose.

    Finished the cut in today. I hope to be done by Thursday. I'm leaving for Florida next Saturday. Long drive. 2 days on the road. I can't wait to get there.

    Do you have that collection of books. I had collected about forty of them years ago. They are beautiful and fun to read.

    I was told to change my title from the agent who critiqued my last week. She was adamant about it too. I like my title and so do a lot of others, but I will play around with it just to see.

    I'm sorry to hear that you have no family for the holidays. Just remember our extended family .... friends can be a comfort to those without family. I know, my parents are gone, and siblings are scattered. So I can relate. Remember your blog family cares about you!
    WE really do. You are all heart and we know it.

    Michael

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  9. Oh good; even Stephen King had problems with titles.

    When I trashed the titles for my first and second novels I pretty much left them at Book One and Book Two (kinda like thing 1 and thing 2). The first one has a lame title, at least. And several titles sitting in a word documen labeled "book titles".

    Nice to know I have the great Man's blessing to keep those atrocities.

    Cool tips.

    I'll set a plate for you at my house Roland. You will be with my family in spirit at least.

    ......dhole

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  10. Donna : Thanks. And the great thing about eating meals in spirit is that there are only spirit-calories to worry about!

    Michael : I have a few shelves of those leather bound books : Mark Twain, Roger Zelazny, Jules Verne, Raymond Chandler, Clifford D. Simak, Ambrose Bierce, William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl Sandburg, James Thurber, and William Faulkner -- among others.

    Be careful on that long drive.

    Try to play around with variations of the the title you like with suggestions from your agent. She's been around and knows what appeals to editors.

    Elliot : Yes, a striking title will help our sales tremendously. And I'll try to stay on track with my blogging. You're my friends, after all.

    Lindsey : Yes, generic titles can be the death of our novels that we've spent so much time and tears and blood creating. But titles are hard!

    Mia : Yes, aren't titles a pain to come up with? Thanks for thinking of my post as worthy of coming back to.

    KarenG : Hemingway had his flaws, and that is for sure. I imagine all his ex-wives and ex-publishers could attest to that!

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  11. Hi Roland - Excellent post. I'll make note of your suggestions for choosing a great title. Your point is well taken regarding how a title "grabs" us, or does not, while we peruse offerings on a shelf. If the title is a dud, the book is easily passed over.

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  12. Lisa : It's so hard to capture the lightning of our novel in four words or less. To put mystery, suspense, danger, and love into those four words is a daunting task and that's for sure! I'm glad you enjoyed my post.

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  13. Great tips. I hate making up titles. They always sound, for me, stupid and contrived.

    ficklecattle.blogspot.com

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  14. Fickle Cattle : I have a fickle cat. And yes, titles are hard for me, too.

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  15. Great post. I always struggle to find a title but one always pops up at the last minute. I guess we shouldn't be in a hurry to choose.

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  16. Hi,

    Late as usual to your items, but hey, Titles I love, Titles drive me wild, Titles make me laugh, Titles make e cry.

    Talking of the title "Lust" and its connotations: eye-catching in itself.

    I penned "Inspired Lust" which as the title implies (sexual) and "Inspired" element referred to female author seeking inspiration for a new novel, who, well . . . how shall I say, indulged in casual sex, which led her to eet someone obsessive in his desires to point of thriller elements, but love and the hero won the day.

    Take the title Bullet: great movie, too.

    Take The Magus: intriguing plot entailing forbidden desires.

    So many more great titles, too, and damn good reads. Though I must say modern 21st century novels seem to lack depth re underlying elements, as though young authors don't have enough of life's experiences to pen true enotions! Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but even now I trawl bookshops and Amazon for old books.

    best
    F

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  17. Cool post! Except now I feel like my possible titles REALLY suck! Though I have got one thing right... Been perusing the Bible for a while...

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