Fringe Fiction Unlimited discussion
Questions/Help Section
>
How to pick a good title/what makes a good title
message 51:
by
Tiger
(new)
May 18, 2014 05:53PM
What I really want is for the zombie pee to be what makes new zombies
reply
|
flag
*slowly steps away*Wut. Zombie pee? Should I be concerned...?
Interesting idea, but I kinda liked it the other way. Sexual gratification from zombie pee.Waaaaay off topic... ahem.
Tiger wrote: "What I really want is for the zombie pee to be what makes new zombies"Exactly. That's what I've been thinking and where I was wanting to take that story.
The Deviant sex thread sounds fun Lily haha
Send EVERYONE to the deviant sex thread!
Where the hell is that thread when you need it? lol
I also find it hard to think of good titles. For my novel I started with a working title of The Estate. When I did a GoodReads search I found there were already a number of book with that title so I had to find something else. I did some research and stumbled across a LuLu.com app call Titlescrorer. It has a fascinating premise. If I remember correctly, they analyzed 600 titles from best sellers over the last 100 years to determine what similarities they had and coded that into the app. The score is the % probability the title will be a best seller. So I ran a dozen possible titles through the app and settled on the one with the highest score. The Strange Will of J. W. Everett had a 69% score so that's what I went with. The original title had a score of 10%.
Nevermind I found it!http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index...
My title has a 63.7% chance of being a best-seller. Well, even if this app is crap, I like the sound of that percentage lol
Ugh, GR was slow on that.It's an interesting app. Nouns appear to be better than verbs. Take that all you Finding Nemo copycats!
Aparently the working title for my psychological thriller sequel sucks. 10%. I don't like this app anymore :(
Most of the titles I tried scored in the 10 to 15% range.
It's blow to the fragile artist ego. Oh well, working titles aren't carved in stone. I'll think of something better later.Thanks for sharing this app. It is handy. At the very least, for reminding me my title choices aren't always perfect lol
Heh, that is a fun app. I tried my old title - afraid to try the new ones...
Okay, how's this for a compromise? The title I've given the series gets a 69%, and the working title for one book, gets 10%. So, can I get away with fictional math and call it a 79% chance? I like that math better.
What's the title? Do you want feedback on it?
Lily wrote: "Nevermind I found it!http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index...
My title has a 63.7% chance of being a best-seller. Well, even if this app is crap, I like the sound of that percentage lol"
Mine has a 10.2% D': NOOOEEEEEE
Yeah, like I said, blow to the ego. It's humbling if nothing else.
26.3 for mine. Not bad I'd say haha. Not too good but not bad. Lol63.7 for my in progress one. A bit of an ego boost to get writing Lol
lolz i got Chain Reaction as 63.7% despite it being a common title (and no sales for the past 6 years it's been in print). The Most Unlikely Beginnings got 10.2% (i sold quite a few copies and it's been in print almost a year now), and Demonic Awakening and Dangerous Methods got 41.4% (Demonic Awakening had lots of interest, a few sales, whereas Dangerous Methods had a lot of interest and none, as it's a second in the series to Chain Reaction). I'm not sure what to make of it all... By the stats, Chain Reaction should be my best selling title, right??
Well, the title is only one aspect of course. Your cover, your pre-release buzz, how often you get reviewed etc etc etc all have to do with sales as well.
yeah, i know. my cover's dated and i have no reviews, despite Chain Reaction being in print for so long. though The Most Unlikely Beginnings sold a decent amount of copies, no reviews on that either. i just don't know what i'm doing wrong...
Well if you want some feedback I'd suggest making a thread, per the mods of course. And/or I can offer whatever sparse wisdom I've gathered from running an indie publishing company :P
I tried the app out - apparently all my titles suck! Lol Even the ones that sell well. Of course, I can't take it very seriously when it gives A Game of Thrones a score of 26.3%. ^^
You have to admit Game of Thrones IS a fairly bland title
Tiger wrote: "You have to admit Game of Thrones IS a fairly bland title"i've been wanting to read it, but i'm still on the waiting list at the lib. true that, it's a bland title, so obviously you can't trust the machines ya know :P
Fun app lolI don't know what science or math this app is based on. It could be anything. And of course, titles are only one small part of the overall package. I would take on the mindset of simply believing my sucky title will need a kickass cover and promo to hold it up.
My thought is to try and create a title that hasn't been done before. Even if a title is made to fit the mold of the genre that it falls into, a unique title will still garner more attention than the same-old that everyone else in the genre is using.
Also, a title that can somehow allude to the content of the story without being over-obvious scores brownie points :0)
Mod
Like The Last Unicorn made me always go "aww"
With all the details you've discussed in various threads, I think The Last Damsel suits your story very well. :)
Mod
I like The Last Damsel. It's kind of catchy.
Courtney wrote: "Thank you, C.G.! I want it to reflect but maybe entice people to skim the blurb. I was toying with "Darkness Behind the Stars" but that sounds too pretentious/oh-so mysterious and is that faux-ro..."Too true. That particular title made me immediately think of The Fault in Our Stars. Lol
Mod
For what it's worth "last" has multiple meanings in the series. Now I'm wondering what to call the following books. The series is just going to be The Last Damsel.
Should I go with cycle? sequence? saga?
I like Saga! Cycle sounds too much like periods. Could have a double meaning with a Damsel as protagonist if you know what i mean. ;)
Mod
Tell agents nothing! I'm serious. Very little gets an auto reject faster than saying, "This is the first book in a series." If you get your foot in the door and have an actual conversation with an agent, that's when you can tell them you're planning a series.
Mod
I think she means that finishing it is your number one priority. If you don't finish it none of this other stuff will matter.
I mean both lol1) Finish it
2) If you decide to query agents, pitch the one finished book only
3) If an agent starts a conversation with you (yay), at that point you can tell them you're planning a series, but only after an agent expresses interest
Mod
Fringe Fiction Unlimited
Books mentioned in this topic
A Game of Thrones (other topics)Chain Reaction (other topics)
The Most Unlikely Beginnings (other topics)
Chain Reaction (other topics)
The Most Unlikely Beginnings (other topics)
More...
