How to title your novel? This is a question that authors around the world struggle with every day. A few years ago, an idea for a book came to me based on the principle of a migraine, a visual migraine.
For me, it was not a question of ‘How to title your novel’, it was more of what the story should be about now that I have the title! Yes, it was a single word emanating from a visual migraine on which now hangs all of the content of my current work in progress.
For my first novel, Transcending Love, the story itself provided me with the question of how to title your novel, not the other way around. Transcending Love is a story told over three continents, involving two hearts, but ultimately one soul. It relies on the premise of transcendence and the relationship between conscious thought and unconscious thought. For me, the title had to reflect transcendence in some form. What I arrived at and settled on was Transcending Love.
For my current work in progress though, unlike Transcending Love, I have a clear feel for the title, but it is the story and overall concept that elude me. I say elude, but what I really mean is conflicts. Yes, I am conflicted. I have, for the past couple of years, tinkered with my story, never losing sight of my predetermined title. But putting that title to one side, I now have to write a novel worthy of the title.
As I said, ‘How to title your novel’ is a problem faced globally by authors and ultimately publishing houses. If you Google How to title your novel, there are pages upon pages of answers available to you. AI, as the first entry on Google, suggests brainstorming keywords from the story’s theme. It suggests examining characters and plot and finding something unique within which resonates.
Writer’s Digest provide 7 tips for landing the perfect title for your novel. Number 1 being Google it! Point 5 on their list is crafting two meanings. This idea, I like. The idea that a single word could be interpreted multiple ways means the reader has to really immerse themselves to fully understand the story. The interpretation of a title could be taken literally or figuratively.
Some interesting examples of where a reader would be wrong to take a book title literally are succinctly talked about in this blog by Rashika on Expresso Reads. This is a funny blog and sums up, in my opinion, what we, the writers, find so challenging about book titles.
One example is, ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien. This title has potentially two meanings for the readers. It can refer to the physical weight of the soldiers’ gear, but it can also refer to the emotional and psychological burdens they carry, such as trauma, fear, and loss.
From my bookshelf!
In exploring further how to title your novel, I have taken a few books from my bookshelf for further discussion. I am going to deal with the easy ones first, the non-fiction books. Yes, we all expect a non-fiction book title to tell us exactly what to expect from the book, and the two that I have selected do not disappoint. 8000 Things You Should Know, yes, this is a fact-based book. Children and adults alike would enjoy this book. You are correct in thinking that it contains 8000 nuggets of information that the author believes we should all know!
The next easy one is The Highway Code. As a book aimed at adults, its contents accurately reflect the title. It is in no way ambiguous.
Moving on to the trickier book titles. The two books by Lee Child, Past Tense and The Sentinel, I think, could come under the categories of both literal titles and figurative titles. Past Tense, explained by the blurb on the back of the book, references the past and present featuring in the storyline. A reader though, could interpret it as ‘Past Tense’ as in how the book is written, or something has happened in the past and the situation is tense!
Now, compare that to The Sentinel. A Sentinel could be a soldier or a guard and could be a person ‘on watch’ on sentry duty. Read The Sentinel to find out more.
Moving on to Twilight. There is no subtitle, so the title itself is what has sold this book, or has it? In fact, I believe it is the book blurb on the back because, as a standalone title, Twilight explains nothing. It’s mildly intriguing as a word standing alone, but as a title, for me, it needs a book blurb. The book blurb “About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” For me, this one-word title would not have sold the millions of copies if it had not been for that blurb.
The Tragedy of Macbeth – William Shakespeare. Most schools cover this novel as part of their English Literature curriculum. If it weren’t for that fact, would The Tragedy of Macbeth sell many copies today? Again, the blurb on the back of the modern-day copies is what would sell it if you were browsing a bookstore for your next read.
Moving on swiftly to Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. What does Nineteen Eighty-four as a title say to you? Is it a novel set in 1984? What is the genre? As a novel first published in 1949, we know it as a novel with foresight. I don’t know whether an original copy would have had a blurb; modern Penguin versions say little, and today, it is sold based on reputation and being a classic. But, is 1984 a title that you would use today?
I will touch lightly on the final three from my shelves. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Well, the world knows that Harry Potter is a Wizard, and this book is about his adventures in the Chamber of Secrets. The blurb kicks off with “Harry Potter is a wizard”. There is no ambiguity there. The title works well.
Bridget Jones – Mad about the Boy. As the fourth or is it the fifth book in the Bridget Jones series, the title, including the main protagonist’s name, Bridget Jones, does an excellent job of signposting the reader as to what the book is going to be about. The subtitle, ‘Mad about the boy’, alludes to the fact that Bridget Jones is either mad about her son or is madly in lust with a boy. Whichever way you interpret it, I cannot criticise Helen Fielding at all. I have loved all of the Bridget Jones books, and I just wish that the filmmakers had done a better job with the film released this past year. I felt it truly left some amazing bits out and was overly sentimental.
Anyway, moving on…. And finally, The Bones of You by Debbie Howells. What does that title tell you? Would you know what the book is about without reading the blurb? I would suggest not. Being honest, though, I am not sure the blurb really told me anymore. If I had not been exploring books written in the first person, I would not have purchased this one. The reason this one has sold is marketing. I think this is not a great example of a title. For us independent self-publishers who don’t have a huge marketing beast in our closet, in order to garner interest in our books, our titles need to sing. And they need to sing in tune and be accompanied by a jaw-dropping blurb.
So Finally – How to title your novel?
So, how to title your novel? Well, firstly do not do what I have done and come up with a title and then write your book around it, that is far more complex and unnecessary. My advice is take you work in progress as it emerges and see what themes jump out. Maybe it will be the name of a protagonist, maybe a location, maybe a weapon of choice.
Whatever it is, use your friends, family and reader arcs to brainstorm your title. Ask them what they think the book would be about if it were a standalone title without a subtitle or a title with a poor blurb. And, yes, the blurb. Ultimately, for most of us, our title will need to be accompanied by a jaw-dropping blurb in order to snag a potential buyer/reader. Think creatively, think originally and be authentic. Do Google your potential title, as you may also find several other books have the same title, which means potentially yours will be lost. Have a look at this page of Goodreads for examples of this.
I am interested in knowing your thoughts. This is such a huge subject for a blog. I have barely scratched the surface, so I look forward to your feedback. Keep on writing.