Do Book Titles Matter?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. When I put in the title of my first novel Perception into a search engine, a lot of things come up–a lot of psycho terminology and textbooks. I had a reason for making this my title. It comes from a quote by DaVinci that is one of the major themes of my book.

“All our knowledge has its origin in our perceptions.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

The sequel Deception has the same story.

“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

And then it was a pattern. Insurrection sounded good to me. (Not just good, perfect.) Then Icame up with the prequel, Resurrection. As all artists do with their masterpieces, I decided it was genius.

Just because I think it’s great doesn’t mean it is. Perhaps the world will pass it by. Perhaps what people are really interested in is the words inside and word of mouth will work its turtle-paced magic. Whatever the case, I am glad it’s my title. And in the grand scheme of things, that’s all that matters to me. Some of the most unappreciated artists became famous because they didn’t deviate from what they believed in.

Robert McCrum of the Observer said this:

“Opinions vary and there’s no doubt that titles absorb a lot of pre-publication anxiety. Still, we are bound to ask: would The Great Gatsby be the 20th-century American classic if, as Fitzgerald suggested, it had been titled “Trimalchio in West Egg” or “The High-Bouncing Lover”? There have certainly been some narrow escapes. Gone With the Wind began as “Baa Baa Black Sheep”. One word titles (Shame; Money; Disgrace; Ulysses) often do well. But lesser writers, such as historians, should tread carefully. MK Lawson is about to publish a biography of a famous Angblo‑Danish monarch that might benefit from a rethink. His title? Cnut: England’s Viking King. Somehow, I don’t see WH Smith putting that one in the front window.”

When choosing a good title, there are a lot of things to consider.  Is it catchy? What are your major themes? Will people remember it? Is it common? Too common is bad, familiar is good. If you’re publishing with an agent and major publishing house, perhaps you should forget coming up with a title since they usually change it anyway. If you’re self-publishing, here’s a great article that might help.

Goodreads Giveaway

Just an FYI. I am giving away five copies of Perception (The Tigers’ Eye Trilogy, Book 1) on Goodreads. If you belong, please friend me or join my author fan page. There are lots of other books in their giveaway section as well.

Hope to see you there!

I StumbledUpon and found this:

Is this the coolest place you’ve ever seen?

I want to go there. I don’t want one. But it would be amazing to visit. I’m overwhelmed at all the books. It makes my one book more special to me because it is mine.

Malediction

Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

P.D. JAMES

I believe respecting a language means it should be protected. It should be upheld. Language, like any great building, has a foundation. That foundation can shift, can settle. The foundation might have a small crack. With language, there are those who would take a chisel to that crack–the chisel of malediction. (malediction: a curse; imprecation)

I know this may sound pious. Perhaps it is old-fashioned. But English is beautiful. It has variety. The possibilities are endless. As a writer, I often find the biggest struggle in finding the exact right word from so many good ones.

Lest anyone think I never swear or condemn those who do, here’s my confession: the occasional word flies out (especially if I am about to hit something with my car). But for the most part, I would hope that we as a society would use the vast and varied language to our greatest advantage and not allow it to degrade into a run-down building that has only the remnants of greatness.

Some people even use the written word to create a different kind of art: that of typography. It is an honor to the words themselves that add description, have form, and symbolize all that we are as a people, and as a person. Tell me what you think!

Thom Yorke Typography