Finding that RIGHT title

Dr. Drib · 03-26-2012, 06:39 AM

Have you ever agonized over finding just the right title for your novel?

I've got two that I'm considering and, while I'm happy with the one I'm pretty sure I'll use, I can't help but feel that the other one would also work.

I often find titles to be the most hilarious aspect of Indie-written novels - unintentional humor, to be sure, but still hilarious stuff. (On a more serious note, I wonder if any of these 'horrible' titles [my judgment] predispose the big publishers from not offering contracts to Fantasy authors, perhaps judging the merit of the work only on the title.)

"Orifice of Offal: The Trash-Eater Chronicles"
(Volume 8, 3rd Trilogy, Book 2)*

Don
*This is NOT a promotion; the book does not exist in any form whatsoever.

Justin Nemo · 03-26-2012, 06:57 AM

Hey Doc, I shouldn't worry about it. They'll change the name when they make it into a movie anyway!!

mr ploppy · 03-26-2012, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

"Orifice of Offal: The Trash-Eater Chronicles"
(Volume 8, 3rd Trilogy, Book 2)*

Don
*This is NOT a promotion; the book does not exist in any form whatsoever.

Please write it soon.

EileenG · 03-26-2012, 09:46 AM

Trad publishers will change the title, usually to something that won't be the same as anything else they publish.

If you are self-publishing, then look for a title that will pop up on searches. I'm thinking of calling my next one "Free Erotic Novella". Bet that will pop on Google searches.

anamardoll · 03-26-2012, 11:09 AM

I like one-word titles that are relatively unique. It's irksome to me to look for a title I remember and have to wade through 20+ with the same name. ("A Murder of Crows" comes to mind.)

I end up hitting the thesaurus pretty hard sometimes, but it's worth it.

Lazybones · 03-26-2012, 11:53 AM

I have a tough time going from "Working Title" to the final version, usually with a few stops in between. For my series novels, I try to develop a theme that relates the titles to each other; for example in one trilogy I used a variation of the last word in the previous title as the first word in the next (i.e., Paths of the Chosen, Choice of the Fallen, Fall of Creation). In my current series I'm using traits (Heart of a Hero, Soul of a Coward, Will of a Warrior) that summarize the journey of the main protagonist.

Nancy Fulda · 03-27-2012, 11:36 AM

We talked about this in my online writer's group once. The general concensus was that

(1) Titles are just dang hard
(2) If you can find a perfect fit for the book, you're dang lucky, and
(3) The publisher will probably change it for marketing reasons anyway

When I write short stories -- which generally aren't retitled by the editor -- I look for something that ideally serves three purposes. It should be memorable, so that it will help people recall the story. It should have thematic resonance, meaning that it adds extra depth to the story. And it should be intriguing, so that it will entice editors to read the manuscript.

Since I stink at titles, I seldom manage to fulfill all three purposes at once.

rhadin · 03-27-2012, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

(On a more serious note, I wonder if any of these 'horrible' titles [my judgment] predispose the big publishers from not offering contracts to Fantasy authors, perhaps judging the merit of the work only on the title.)

When I worked for the publishing houses, we ignored the title when evaluating a manuscript. We thought (and usually correctly so) that marketing was an author's weakest skill and a good title is a marketing matter. We always reserved the right to rename a book.

crich70 · 03-29-2012, 01:09 PM

I agree with the others. Publishers do have a tendency to change a books title. When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote one of his novels he named it "The Sea Cook" and then the publisher turned around and named it "Treasure Island" which does stand out more.

Dr. Drib · 03-29-2012, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

I agree with the others. Publishers do have a tendency to change a books title. When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote one of his novels he named it "The Sea Cook" and then the publisher turned around and named it "Treasure Island" which does stand out more.

As well, the word "The" can make all the difference in what you may want to read:

"The Invisible Man"
"Invisible Man"

Don

VydorScope · 03-29-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

We thought (and usually correctly so) that marketing was an author's weakest skill and a good title is a marketing matter.

This is soooo true. IMO

Me, I think of the title as a several word summary of the plot and hope for the best.

morriss003 · 04-03-2012, 05:51 PM

I think that you can use titles to suggest the type of book that you are writing. When I was starting my sf series, I wanted to give people an idea of what they could expect. With that in mind, I went to my Robert Heinlein list and looked at his juvenile titles, and then I looked at the titles of juveniles from the 1950's. That helped me select a title that would suggest teenagers, fun, and adventure.

crich70 · 04-04-2012, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morriss003

I think that you can use titles to suggest the type of book that you are writing. When I was starting my sf series, I wanted to give people an idea of what they could expect. With that in mind, I went to my Robert Heinlein list and looked at his juvenile titles, and then I looked at the titles of juveniles from the 1950's. That helped me select a title that would suggest teenagers, fun, and adventure.

It can also give away too much of the plot if not chosen carefully. J.R.R.Tolkien always felt that "The Return of The King" wasn't the right title for the 3rd part of his 'Lord of the Rings' (or so I understand) because it reveals something central to the story. I imagine the publisher was the one who chose it.

morriss003 · 04-04-2012, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

It can also give away too much of the plot if not chosen carefully. J.R.R.Tolkien always felt that "The Return of The King" wasn't the right title for the 3rd part of his 'Lord of the Rings' (or so I understand) because it reveals something central to the story. I imagine the publisher was the one who chose it.

That's true, but the title can also conceal something in plain sight. The trick is to word it in a way that seems innocuous but causes the reader to say "Hey!" at the end of the story.

Rick G · 04-04-2012, 06:13 PM

I've taken to going with my gut. For my last two, I put in a working title with the thought that when I was finished editing inspiration would strike and I would find the perfect title. Turns out that in both cases I realized the working title was perfect all along and I should've spared myself the hours of agonizing.

03-26-2012, 06:39 AM	#1
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,823 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Finding that RIGHT title Have you ever agonized over finding just the right title for your novel? I've got two that I'm considering and, while I'm happy with the one I'm pretty sure I'll use, I can't help but feel that the other one would also work. I often find titles to be the most hilarious aspect of Indie-written novels - unintentional humor, to be sure, but still hilarious stuff. (On a more serious note, I wonder if any of these 'horrible' titles [my judgment] predispose the big publishers from not offering contracts to Fantasy authors, perhaps judging the merit of the work only on the title.) "Orifice of Offal: The Trash-Eater Chronicles" (Volume 8, 3rd Trilogy, Book 2)* Don This is NOT a promotion; the book does not exist in any form whatsoever. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 03-26-2012 at 06:41 AM.*

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03-26-2012, 06:57 AM	#2
Justin Nemo Stercus accidit Posts: 330 Karma: 513878 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Nookpadle 6	Hey Doc, I shouldn't worry about it. They'll change the name when they make it into a movie anyway!!

03-26-2012, 09:46 AM	#4
EileenG Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 7462052 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Dublin Device: My phone	Trad publishers will change the title, usually to something that won't be the same as anything else they publish. If you are self-publishing, then look for a title that will pop up on searches. I'm thinking of calling my next one "Free Erotic Novella". Bet that will pop on Google searches.

03-26-2012, 11:09 AM	#5
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I like one-word titles that are relatively unique. It's irksome to me to look for a title I remember and have to wade through 20+ with the same name. ("A Murder of Crows" comes to mind.) I end up hitting the thesaurus pretty hard sometimes, but it's worth it.

03-26-2012, 11:53 AM	#6
Lazybones Groupie Posts: 162 Karma: 1719250 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sacramento Device: Kindle	I have a tough time going from "Working Title" to the final version, usually with a few stops in between. For my series novels, I try to develop a theme that relates the titles to each other; for example in one trilogy I used a variation of the last word in the previous title as the first word in the next (i.e., Paths of the Chosen, Choice of the Fallen, Fall of Creation). In my current series I'm using traits (Heart of a Hero, Soul of a Coward, Will of a Warrior) that summarize the journey of the main protagonist.

03-27-2012, 11:36 AM	#7
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	We talked about this in my online writer's group once. The general concensus was that (1) Titles are just dang hard (2) If you can find a perfect fit for the book, you're dang lucky, and (3) The publisher will probably change it for marketing reasons anyway When I write short stories -- which generally aren't retitled by the editor -- I look for something that ideally serves three purposes. It should be memorable, so that it will help people recall the story. It should have thematic resonance, meaning that it adds extra depth to the story. And it should be intriguing, so that it will entice editors to read the manuscript. Since I stink at titles, I seldom manage to fulfill all three purposes at once.

03-29-2012, 01:09 PM	#9
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I agree with the others. Publishers do have a tendency to change a books title. When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote one of his novels he named it "The Sea Cook" and then the publisher turned around and named it "Treasure Island" which does stand out more.

04-03-2012, 05:51 PM	#12
morriss003 Evangelist Posts: 438 Karma: 3409790 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Maui Device: kindle	I think that you can use titles to suggest the type of book that you are writing. When I was starting my sf series, I wanted to give people an idea of what they could expect. With that in mind, I went to my Robert Heinlein list and looked at his juvenile titles, and then I looked at the titles of juveniles from the 1950's. That helped me select a title that would suggest teenagers, fun, and adventure.

04-04-2012, 06:13 PM	#15
Rick G Renaissance Geek Posts: 17 Karma: 127772 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: NJ Device: iPad & kindle	I've taken to going with my gut. For my last two, I put in a working title with the thought that when I was finished editing inspiration would strike and I would find the perfect title. Turns out that in both cases I realized the working title was perfect all along and I should've spared myself the hours of agonizing.

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