Naming your baby can be a hard thing to do. Parents argue for months about what to call their newborn; some parents want to continue a tradition and name the child after themselves, others simply want to know what three names will sound best together shouted across a busy toy store. The analogy of book to baby is common, and naming that book can be just as difficult as naming the baby. So unless you want your book to get shoved into lockers and beaten up on the playground every day, here are some important titling rules.

• Rule #1: Go beyond basic. You could call your book about accounting for small businesses Accounting for Small Businesses, or you could show a little flair. Give it a hook. Try it out as a question, a command, or statement. For instance, the above book sounds (a little) better as Balance Your Books in 15 Minutes: A Guide for Small Businesses. Say something interesting and you’ll stand out from the crowd.

• Rule #2: Don’t let it get too long. You have exactly eight seconds to grab a reader’s attention, and if your title is too confusing or cluttered, they will immediately move on. Boil your book down to a few words or phrases that sum up its contents. Say just enough to pull the reader in, and then stop.

• Rule #3: Make sure your title truly reflects the content of your book. If your title is Fishing in the Mountains, and it’s really all about getting good car insurance, you’re (obviously) going to attract the wrong kind of people. And all those people wondering how to buy car insurance will be forever left in the dark.

• Rule #4: Visualize the title on your ideal cover. The title will be a big component of the book’s exterior design, and your set of words needs to look good up in front. Mentally place your title on a proposed cover and see if it fits. Come up with a few fonts it would look good in. And finally:

• Rule #5: Draw inspiration from successful titles in your genre. Just like any parent, you want to believe that your book is smarter, faster, prettier, and cooler than all the other books, but it doesn’t hurt to see what’s worked for other top sellers in your category. At the same time, you don’t want your title to be a pale reflection of past hits; aim for a genre-appropriate title with a twist.

So when you’re ready to give your book a name, just think of how your own name has influenced your development, how it sums up the ineffable essence of you. Do your book a favor and grace it with a great name that will help it sell; don’t let your little baby get picked on by other, bigger books by giving it a title that’s the literary equivalent of “Norbert.”

Think you’ve already got a great one picked out? Put it to the test with Lulu’s clever but scientifically dubious Title Scorer challenge.

Tags: book title, book titles, title a book, Title Scorer

article, publishing, tips | RSS 2.0 | Respond | Trackback |