What's In A Name?

The first thing anyone ever learns about a book is almost always the title. That one little phrase/word can be the make it or break it point for your book: it can lead a reader to decide whether or not he or she wants to read the book or to just put it back on the shelf. No pressure, right? Right.

The perfect title should convey three things to a reader: it should introduce the tone, represent the main topic of the story, and intrigue the reader—all while being short and easily pronounceable. It’s one of the hardest parts of writing a book in my opinion. I am sort of terrible at naming things. (Especially characters' last names, but that's a whole 'nother blog post)

So how do you come up with a good title for your awesome novel?

Get ready to groan, because my first example of a good title is Twilight. I know, I know. TWILIGHT? But seriously, I think the title sets the tone for the book perfectly. On the outside, the book is about a human girl who meets a few vampires. But underneath the surface, the story is really about helplessly falling in love with the wrong person—it’s about being afraid and excited at the same time. In nature, twilight falls just after sunset, which is the time of day when all the light has just disappeared from the sky; when you’re still reeling from the magic of the setting sun, but yet wary of all the things you can’t see in the dark. The book is full of angst between the two main characters, and I believe that the word, “twilight,” correctly sets the tone. With the myth that vampires can only come out at night, it also poetically represents the main topic of the story.

 A book that is dead on with presenting the plot to the reader is my favorite middle grade book, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. Just by reading the title, the reader knows that something is going to be stolen from someone, which of course, makes for an interesting plot. With the use of the word, “always,” it leads the reader to wonder what exactly is it that is going to be stolen? Time? Life? Afterlife? The possibilities are infinite, and it makes the reader want to crack open the cover to see what the synopsis is. 

 Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor immediately caught my attention when I first saw it on shelves at the bookstore. The possibilities of magic, voodoo, and family issues all ran through my head, so I picked the book up—I wanted to learn more about it. A play on words with a popular phrase, using a single word that provokes strong feelings, or choosing a few words that create a compelling thought are all good choices for choosing a good book title.

Another important part of choosing a title is that it must be easily pronounceable. I’ve found that I’m less inclined to pick up a book that I can’t pronounce. If I can’t even say the title, then what is awaiting me inside?

You also want to make sure that if you choose a phrase from inside your book, that it doesn't sound forced. I tried that with Wicked Illusions, and everyone that read the sentence, "I knew it was just a wicked illusion" told me that it sounded forced-- and that's because it WAS. I'm not saying that you can't take a nicely worded phrase from your novel and use it as your title, just make sure that it flows well in the context. Don't make the reader roll their eyes at you.

All in all, the title is the first impression for the reader. If the title is no good, then the reader is most likely going to think the book is no good. It may be a hard feat to execute all the things I talked about in just a few words, but with hard work—and often suggestions and opinions from friends and critique partners— you can do it! 

(I actually got the title for my work in progress from someone's personalized license plate on the car sitting in front of me at a red light. Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to look for it!)