BOOK TITLES: WHAT MAKES THEM GREAT
By Don Donaldson
It’s a constant surprise to me that I’m able to write books that are liked by people who aren’t my mother. But I often can’t figure out what the title of a book should be. Oh, I know when a title is great and so do you… It’s like the dealer at a flea market who once said to me when I picked up an expensive item to look at more closely… “You have good taste.” Then, while I was secretly preening at his compliment, he added, “Of course, it’s not that hard to spot quality.” It’s the same with book titles. Here’s a test: What do you think of this title? THEY DON’T BUILD STATUES TO BUSINESSMEN.
To me, it’s awful. I’d think so even if I’d been the one to come up with it. Actually, it was the famous writer, Jacqueline Susann, who crafted that one for a book that eventually became a mega best seller as VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Does anyone out there like the first title better? Okay…. So there’s always someone who enjoys being a contrarian. But all the rest of you I’m sure gave the right answer.
Let’s try another. How about ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL? That’s actually not horrible. But it doesn’t sound like the sweeping saga the author wrote. I certainly think the title it was eventually given, WAR AND PEACE, is soooo much better.
I once had an agent who told me that they had a consultant who was a “genius” at titling books. I guess he was too busy to take a look at the book the agency titled for me. (I’ll never tell which one it was, but will say that when BelleBooks reissues it later this year, it will have a new title.)
So, it’s easy to know a great title when you see it, but boy is it hard to come up with one. I usually sit for hours playing with words and rearranging them
in what I hope are creative ways. No matter what title I eventually settle on for a book, I have this nagging suspicion that even if I really like the one I pick, there was a much much better one I could have used. I just couldn’t find it. My WAR AND PIECE was out there, just beyond reach.
Okay, a final test, and maybe you already know this one. Which of these titles is better? TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY, or the one that has become an icon: GONE WITH THE WIND. See, even our contrarian from above picked the right answer.
Well, I’ve used up my allotted space here so all I can do now is be GWTW.
-Don
This month get Don Donaldson’s THE MEMORY THIEF for only $1.99 at Amazon Kindle!
