Baby-Steps #1 – Picking A Title That Doesn’t Suck

When you think of all the great books that are out there, what do they all have in common?

A great title, I’m sure you’re thinking.

True. But for most books, the title is so memorable because of one thing: it was a great book. The book became popular first, the title got known, then the title became ‘great’. Not usually the other way around.Many writers use the title as their main reason for never getting off the starting block. “Yes, I’ve got a thousand great ideas, but what am I actually going to CALL it?” I hear them cry. Or my other personal favorite, “If only I could come up with the right title, my book would sell itself.”

Let me tell you this. The title is of secondary importance next to the actual  content. You can come up with the best title in the world, but if your content is pure doggy-do, people are still not going to read your book.  Unless you call your book “How To Get Popular, Get Thin Fast, Get Six-Pack-Abs, Get Free Beer, and Get Laid,” in which case you might just stand a chance.

Let’s look at some of the titles of the world’s biggest-selling books…

War and Peace The Color PurpleLolita The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn War of the WorldsHamlet The Great GatsbyA Midsummer Night’s DreamWuthering HeightsMiddlemarch

I’d bet that if written in today’s buzzword-happy, keyword-toting market none of these books would particularly inspire you to pick them up if you saw them on the bookstand at the airport. Yet these books have sold millions of copies and are regarded as some of the greatest novels ever written. Did their titles help them become so popular? No. They’re greatness is entirely due to their content.

THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW

Don’t stress out if you can’t immediately think of a spectacularly great name for your novel. Often, the best way to get a title for you book is to simply start writing it. The most likely thing that’ll happen is that you’ll be mid-book when you’ll find a word or phrase jumps out at you from what you’ve just written. Voila! You’ve got your title. It’s better to let the title ‘happen’ to you this way, oirganically, rather than trying to force it.

Good luck!