…Cuz it’s all about bringing the suckers readers and viewers in, right?
Right:
by Rita Karnopp
One of my favorite things to do is give my book a title. Most times I’ll give it a ‘working title’ because I know the ‘true title’ will reveal itself while writing the book.
Titles should be inspiring – even catchy. While doing research for my book Whispering Sun, I ran across the sentence,The white man didn’t like the bitter taste of the white berry off the red willow, but the native found the medicinal properties worthy of putting it into other foods to mask the taste. It’s a rather plain and factual sentence – right?
That sentence jumped out and grabbed me! My wheels started churning … my white berry could be my white heroine and the red willow would be the Indian nation. Thus became one of my favorite books, The White Berry on the Red Willow. I can’t tell you the number of people who’ve said, “That’s a great title.”
Ekuskini, son of the Blackfeet chief, revels in the demise of the non-Indian. Then he meets Alcina and finds himself searching the old ones for the answers. Together Alcina and Ekuskini realize they must learn from the past and use it to make things better for the future of all people.
A great title is everything and should be the advertisement of what’s inside. Your title needs to stand-out in the slush pile and also shout ‘read me!’ We’ll even go one further and repeat the over-used cliché – “You can judge a book by its cover.”
Create strong titles that are distinctive and memorable. They must reflect what’s inside – or you’ll hear about it. Titles should draw attention and make the shopper reach out and wonder, ‘what’s this one about?’
