Today on
A to Z it's all about the title.
So, you've finished writing that fabulous novel and now you need to settle into a title for it. You wonder if there are any no-no's, or tips. I'll try to offer a couple of each.
I like the punch of a one-word title. BUT, and there is a big but...
a one-word title may not be specific enough, in the sense that when someone Googles it, the Net comes up with many titles that include that word. For example, I titled my first YA
Refugees. When I type it into Amazon, I get The Refugees by Arthur Conan Doyle, The State of the World's Refugees, by the UN Commissioner and Human Cargo and a Journey Among Refugees by C. Moorehead. (Even though my novel is awesome!)
It's also a mistake to make the title long, because it's a mouthful and hard to remember. On the flip side,
a medium-length title is great--say, three or four words.
One that startles you and makes you think. Perhaps one that combines unusual concepts like Veronica Rossi's
Under the Never Sky. It makes your synapses fire up. What IS a "never" sky? How can you even have a "never" sky???
Another great tip is to use a key line from your novel's text. For instance, in Sarah Dessen's novel about Remy, a girl falling in love with a musician like her dad who abandoned her, Dessen chose the title of a song that Remy's dad wrote for Remy that now haunts her:
This Lullaby.
What is your best title? Why do you think it works?
