What Makes a Good Book Title

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is what we often hear. It means that we should not be deceived by the looks, face, clothes or appearance of people. It comes from a parallelism in books. Some people, in the past and even in the present, dismiss a book because it does not look interesting. It is about the cover of the book. Part of the cover of the book is the title. And, nevertheless, we as readers can judge a book by – not its cover – but by its title.

In the first place, publishers can judge a book by its title. The title can delay the publishing of a book. Some publishers even work with the authors to have the title revised if necessary. The title is an important part or even aspect of a book. It is its name. And unlike people, titles can be easily changed if not for the process of changing it. The title is also an important part and aspect of the marketing of the book. This is exactly the reason why publishers and authors need to come up with the best title that they can for a given book. They know that readers can either be attracted or uninterested in a book because of its title.

As titles are given the necessary importance by authors and publishers, readers can now really judge a book by its title. You can choose a book to read by considering their titles. You can simply choose the book with an interesting title. Authors, writers, editors and publishers have made sure that books are represented well by its titles. Now, the chances of reading an interesting and high quality material based on the title is higher now. So, aspiring writers also need to develop the skill and art of making titles. You can even try to be a writer and make your own titles.

Here are some techniques that many authors use in making the titles of their books. You can practise them too if you have started writing your own novel or dreams to do so. You can also use these as a reader in choosing what to read.

Preparation

Calm down. Relax. Think when your brain and body is not tired. It can be early in the morning or anytime when you wake up and may have already eaten breakfast or taken a bath. You may
also try working out the title even if you are tired or pressured. These are the times you can utilise the different forces around you and within you.

Representative of the Story

Base the title of your book on its overall description, outline or summary. It can be about the main character, the main location, the time settings involved whether flashback, major or minor or a mix of these. It can also be the main event of the story. Base your title on your favourite line from the book. Identify the keywords in those lines. Use their synonyms if they are more attractive or more interesting. However, there are instances in which the title may not be immediately or necessarily be representative of the story like for mysteries, surprise ending stories or those with a twist.

 

Avoid dull titles. They should be catchy and has a recall factor. See to it that the title you give to your story or book should not be misleading of its genre. It should be appropriate for it. You cannot give your science fiction story “Horror in the Twilight.” Use catchy words, figures of speech, alliteration, action words, mystery, conflicts, popular expressions, play of words, words with hidden or double meaning or the name of the compelling character in your story. You can also use possessives like “Voldrof’s Other Plan.”