18 Ways to Choose a Title

Gwynn Scheltema

 

Your book title is the first impression your readers get of your novel. It’s the first chance to connect, to inform, to intrigue, and to firmly hook readers. A great title will help readers find, remember and buy your book.

You want your title to be representative of your story, to give an indication of content or theme or genre. You want it to be unique but not confusing. You want it to be memorable and easy to spell. If you are writing a series you’ll want something to tie them together.

On a practical level you need a title short enough to fit on the cover or spine, but long enough to not get lost among other titles in computer searches. Consider how it will fit in URLs, tweets and Pinterest posts, how it will read on digital devices. The current trend seems to be single word titles, but five words or less is a good length to aim for.

Because a title is such an important aspect of your book, choosing one can be tricky and even overwhelming. The choice isn’t necessarily one you need make when you are still drafting the manuscript. If you have one in mind when you begin, by all means make it your working title, but reconsider its suitability again when the book is finished.

 So let’s get started…

What is your story about?

• The Hunger Games
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

A memorable image

• Little House on the Prairie
• In the Shadow of the Banyan
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 Character’s name

• Carrie
• Anna Karenina
• Jane Eyre

 Characters role

• The Golden Son
• The Last Emperor
• My Sister’s Keeper

 When the story happens

• 1984
• That Summer in Franklin
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

 Where the Story takes place

• The Colonial Hotel
• Treasure Island
• Jurassic Park

 Genre

• Murder on the Orient Express
• A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
• Dracula

 Metaphors

• All the Light We Cannot See
• The Nightingale
• Three Day Road

 A representative line from the text

• Cutting for Stone
• Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight
• Sweetness in the Belly

 Questions

• They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
• Who Has Seen the Wind?
• Are You My Mother?

 Go against expectation

• Fahrenheit 451
• The Blind Assassin
• Slumdog Millionaire

 An important symbol or object in the story

• The Golden Compass
• The Book of Negroes
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 A Play on words: double meanings, puns

• Living Underground
• Lifting the Veil
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

 A twist on a known phrase

• The Wife’s Tale
• Elementary, She Read
• By Book or by Crook

 Single words 

• Divergent
• Room
• Silk

 Old titles reworked

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
• Zen and the Art of Faking It
• Gnomeo and Juliet

 The promise of a story

• The Handmaid’s Tale
• The Girl on the Train
• Gone Girl

 Theme

• Infidel
• Pride and Prejudice
• Greener Grass

 

There is no ONE right way of choosing a good title. Brainstorm many possible titles, ask family and friends or readers which ones grab them. And when you sign a publishing contract make sure you know who gets to choose the final title.

DID YOU KNOW

When naming Writescape’s annual retreats we chose titles that had double meanings, were metaphors for the act of writing and which evoked a visual image: Spring Thaw and Turning Leaves

Registration is now open for Turning Leaves. We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2018 on November 2 to 4 at Fern Resort near Orillia, Ontario. This all-inclusive retreat includes Friday night fireside chat with our guest, Andrew Pyper, about the writing life and an intense morning workshop with Andrew on Saturday. He’s an award-winning writer, a master of dark and disturbing mysteries and fantasy, and excellent workshop facilitator.

Our limit is 20 participants. A $250 non-refundable deposit will guarantee your spot. We expect there will be a waiting list.