TEMPTING TITLES
Titles sell books. A few years ago, I had a chance to pick the brains of Steven Schragis, publisher and founder of the now defunct Carol Publishing Group, about a book my agents had been unsuccessful in selling. Its title was Writers Helping Writers.
"I can tell you exactly why your book was rejected," Steve said. "I've seen about 10,000 titles, and sometimes I knew I could sell a book independent of its content simply because it had a great title. Your title, Writers Helping Writers, is blase'."
I was shocked. I didn't think it was that bad. Okay, I thought it was great or else I would have never sent it out. My agents thought it was great, but, bottom line, it didn't sell. Maybe the title was one reason it didn't sell. Still, Steve's point is well taken. Titles are important.
"It's the first thing that draws a person to your book," says Jessica Faust, editor with Berkley Publishing. "If it doesn't clearly stand out, it might not be bought. Ask yourself, 'Would I pick up this novel?'"
You need to know that many, if not most, titles chosen by the author eventually get changed by the editorial committee or the marketing department. "Don't get too wedded to your title," says Sarah Pinckney, editor with Simon and Schuster. Tell me about it!
Titles cannot be copyrighted. Nothing is stopping you from naming your book Roots or War and Peace. However, don't expect to get an openhearted response from agents or editors if you do. On the other hand, identical titles sometimes happen simultaneously, without anyone knowing ahead of time. The result can be confusion or the promotional efforts can help both books. Perhaps I should have titled my book Bird by Bird. You can check your titles with Books in Print, Forthcoming Books in Print, or by going to a site like amazon.com.
So what makes a hot title? "The more visceral the title, the more impact on editors," one agent told me. Certainly, it's got to be catchy--Who Moved My Cheese (Dr. Spencer Johnson); easy to pronounce--P is for Peril (Sue Grafton); evocative of an interesting story--Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells); and/or short--Riptide (Catherine Coulter).
Most important, titles must arise from your book and reflect its theme. Titles must come from within rather than from without, from the subject matter and slant in nonfiction and from the theme and story promise in fiction. Jessica Faust recommends that authors keep an open mind. "It's not a bad idea to think of more than one title," she suggests. "Have four or five titles and run them by other people."
Some titles contain meanings that trigger deeper emotions and may stir a reader to buy them solely because of that reason. For me, titles that do this have included Dancing in the Light (Shirley Maclaine), Misery (Stephen King), Beloved (Tony Morrison), and Real Magic (Wayne Dyer).
Make sure that your title sounds like it matches the kind of book you are writing. It's more difficult, for instance, to include the words "love" or "heart" in a title and not have associations to romance. For nonfiction titles, subject clarity ranks higher on the list than cleverness, and as much thought should be put into your subtitles as into your title. The nonfiction reader responds to titles based on need and interest, so your title should promise to fulfill that need. In short, offer a benefit.
One of my editing clients thought her title, Don't Even Try! did the trick, but what is her book about? Stop Being Manipulated: How to Neutralize the Bullies, Bosses, and Brutes in Your Life was, last I checked, still in print as a mass-market self-help book, and it was first published in 1995. I believe it's title alone helped keep it going. Study the titles of books in your genre or subject category. You'll quickly notice that styles differ for each.
Another observation made by one agent about fiction titles is that a great title usually has two or three meanings. Consider Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness or White Teeth (Zadie Smith). Be careful, however, about using foreign words or phrases, since your reader may not share your breadth and exposure to a particular language. Shogun, for instance.
Countless writers, stuck for title inspiration, have turned to the Bible, poetry, famous quotes, Shakespeare, even to cliches and lullabies. Don't feel stuck with the original; twist it, turn it. Substitute a new word for an old word to get a fresh feeling. Where Devils Fear to Tread creeps me out just thinking about it!
Most of the writers I know sweat like a day laborer over their titles, and it's worth the effort. My computer files show that I'm on the sixteenth revision of the title for my latest proposed book. How do you know when you're finished? When someone in Steven Schragis' position says, "Sold!"
©2001 Elizabeth Lyon