Book Titles

     Robert C. Gallagher said, "A good book title is the title of a successful book." And why, you may ask, is a book title so important? Because this is the first thing an editor or agent will see. It will be the first thing a reader sees on the shelf and you must have a title that will stand out from all the others stacked along the wall. Your title is first and foremost on your book or short story. If the title sounds boring, trite, or just plain silly, then you already have one strike against you, and in today's markets, you can't afford even that one strike.

     You may have any working title you want, but before you send it out to editors and agents, you better rethink that title. Inert Family of Gases, I don't believe, would have made it very far on the bookshelves, unless of course, you're a teenage boy looking for something gross and disgusting. But Malcolm Knox wisely changed that title to Summerland, which is a much more pleasing title and one you'd be more likely to pick up.

     Then, there is Pansy. This epic book might still be in the author's desk drawer, but thankfully, Margaret Mitchell changed the title to Gone With the Wind and a legend was born. Titles can make or break a book or short story. Make sure the title fits the story, and give that story punch with a great title.

     I'm not saying you won't get a book published without a good title (editor's are notorious for changing the author's titles, whether you want them to or not), but if your title catches that editor or agent's attention, they are far more likely to read it.

     Under the Red, White and Blue does not have the same ring as The Great Gatsby, but that's the title F. Scott Fitzgerald started with. And who would even consider buying a book entitled, Pickled Eel and Treacle Tarts? But The Secret World of Annette Robinson makes you want to pick that book up and find out what the secret might be, and now we don't have to wonder while staring at the title just what the heck is treacle tart anyway?

     There is help on the internet. If you enter "Title generator" into your search engine, it will take you to a place called fictionalley.org and with a few key words from your short story or novel, it will generate titles for you. From those, you might actually come up with the next Gone With the Wind.

     Work on coming up with a better title than Murder by Day Old Fish. Although, now that I think about it...NAH!