![]() ![]() Confidential is a joking reference to murdered muckraker Sid Hudgen’s sin-sational writing style, but as a title it manages to evoke both the web of murder and secrets that bind the book together. In the context of its story, James Ellroy’s L.A. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most famous example of this trick, but other authors have made excellent use of it as well. When choosing a title that accurately represents your book, remember that nothing evokes your writing quite like your writing. Read through your book again: Is there a line of dialogue that seems particularly poignant? Is there a singular descriptor that stands out as provocative? What about an action line that turns heads? Many great book titles have been ripped straight from the books they describe. This is perhaps the easiest advice to follow out of all six steps, because all it requires is intimate knowledge of the manuscript-which, as the author, you have in spades. Let’s hit the books and learn how to name a novel! While choosing the right name for your book won’t ever be an exact science, our proven 6-step guide will direct you through the brainstorming process while looking to well-known novels of the past for inspiration. ![]() 6 Steps to Choosing a Rockstar-Quality Title You need a unique title that fits your novel like Spandex… something both evocative and provocative, something that encapsulates the feel of your story but stays concrete as well, something that says everything about your book but gives nothing away. Tighter Buns in 30 Days might fly off the shelves, but your readers will be angry if the book turns out to be a hardboiled detective story with no crunches or side-bends in sight. Whether they’re browsing bookstore shelves or scrolling through Amazon’s literary listings, most potential book-buyers make a snap judgement about a particular volume based on two things: the title, and the price.īut it’s not enough to merely give your book a name that will sell. After all, readers will judge your book by its cover-especially by what’s written on it. There’s a lot of pressure on us writers when it comes to titling our work. My last novel went through seven name changes before publication, and as of this moment I’m still considering changing it. If you’re like me, coming up with the “right” title for a project is an agonizing process. I know a few fellow authors who possess the magical ability to come up with a fun book title, then somehow manage to write an entire novel around it. ![]()
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