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My number #1 WIP, a trilogy, is in need of help other than from this author. I’ve been thinking about this poor trilogy for far too long…my ideas and thoughts aren’t even making sense to me anymore. 🙂
The three books have had the titles Never Alone, Leading On, and Forever Free , for about two years. I like both Never Alone and Forever Free, but if I use these I’ll need to come up with something better than Leading On for book 2.
The bad thing about these titles is that I cannot come up with a good series name. My mom pointed out that I could use Never Alone as the series name as well as the first book’s title, and I certainly could (like Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series).
Recently, I came up with another set of titles. Rejection, Redemption, and Released. If I used these, I could have Never Alone be the series title.
A friend pointed out that the R titles kind of give the story away. They do a little, but I don’t know if that is a bad thing or not.
What is your opinion on the first titles versus the second titles?
This is really the very universal question of what makes a good title for any book. I don’t pretend to have all the answers there, but what I do know I’m going to share (and I expect all the rest of you to do so too).
I’ll start off with this. I once heard this publisher guy say that the best title is one that is between 1-5 words and makes you ask a question or wonder something about the book. Let me give you two good examples. Let’s take this title I totally just made up, “Gustavus Boltimer”. There is something about that name that really makes you wan’t to learn who this fellow is. That is good. I’ll give you another example. This is the title I came up with for a historical fiction novel I plan to write after I’m done with my current work. The title is, “Sent Out To Die”. It may just be me, but I think that title is a pretty good attention grabber. However, if I called it, “The trials and adventures of a couple of Armenians during a genocide” I would probably only attract those who are already interested in the subject. That is not good.
Your title also has to have something to do with something very important to your novel. It is important though that you are only giving someone who is looking at your title a question that needs satisfying and not an answer. I think that is the problem with the three R’s. I am sure they have major ties to the most important parts of your novel, but they only give answers, not questions. This probably isn’t the best title, but just to get the point across, how about instead of the title, “Redemption” you made it something like “Delivered And Unworthy”. That may give a little answer but there is still a good deal of question there and I imagine it would still have major ties to your novel’s content.
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Hi there, Ivy! Thanks for asking this question. 🙂 I like the second group of titles the best. I think that they’ll be easier to remember, for one thing, and they sound a little cooler and mysterious than your first group. I’m also always a fan of one word titles 😉 but that’s just personal preference. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that your titles “give some of the story away.” Think about Tolkien’s “The Return of the King.” #SPOILERS! 🙂 So, if you like the R titles best already, don’t let potential spoilers stop you.
Daeus also makes really good points. Do you have the summaries of each of the books written up?
"When enemies attack your kingdom you don't flee you show them why it's your kingdom. With your lightsaber."
@Daeus those are great points. Thank you. And “Sent Out To Die” is quite an intriguing title. I’m looking forward to reading it someday…I have a lot of Armenian in me I’ve heard that somewhere up the family tree my ancestors survived the genocide. 🙂
@Sarah glad you like the R titles. 🙂 I do have tentative summaries written up…I can post them here if you’d like.
@Ivy Rose Really now, happen to have heard of the Karishians, Cartosians, or Adishians? My great grandfather survived the genocide. The story is going to be based on his story.
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@Daeus I’ll have to ask my grandma. She just told me that we have Armenian blood in us, so it’s a fairly new discovery. 🙂 Your books sounds so neat.
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