Tips for naming your novel?

Writers' Corner
1

For anyone who has experience with titling their books, how did you do it? Any methods? Or methods to stay away from? :cool: :rolleyes:

2
  • Simple - limited number of words
  • Meaningful - directly related to your main point/purpose (If it’s really all about one character, name it after the character. If it’s about love or loss or friendship, bring that out in the title. If you can combine multiple meaningful factors into one short title, that’s ideal)
  • Beautiful - nothing ugly unless it expresses something about the book.

A few books I think are really well titled:
The Kite Runner - Hosseini
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] Poppins - [name_m]Travers[/name_m]
[name_f]Do[/name_f] Androids [name_u]Dream[/name_u] of Electric Sheep - [name_m]Dick[/name_m]

And a few I think are horribly titled:
[name_u]Jude[/name_u] the Obscure - [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] [name_m]Hardy[/name_m]
[name_f]Secret[/name_f] Adversary - [name_f]Agatha[/name_f] [name_u]Christie[/name_u]
The [name_f]Lovely[/name_f] Bones - Sebold

3

Yeah, this is pretty much it.

I came up with the title for ‘The Self Invention’ when I first thought of the bare bones of the story. It’s changed so much since then that - though the title still works - I’ve been debating altering it for something else. No idea what though.

4

I’ve used a proverb, the name of a character, and I’ve got some lines from [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] or other works that I think would make interesting titles. ([name_m]Edgar[/name_m] [name_m]Allen[/name_m] [name_u]Poe[/name_u]–I Fell in [name_u]Love[/name_u] with Melancholy, might make a good romance title.)

5

Hmm, I use lines from poetry or songs a lot. I have to admit I’m a sucker for really long titles, but I try and restrain myself. The Waters and the [name_m]Wild[/name_m], [name_u]March[/name_u] of the Retreating World, and The Woods Are [name_f]Lovely[/name_f], Dark and Deep are the three longest that I’ve used. I shortened the third to Dark and Deep for awhile, but then a friend said it sounded pornographic and I could never look at it the same. I personally rarely care for one word titles. When I’m book shopping for books not on my list, it’s the ones with really elaborate titles that catch my eye. The Girl with Glass Feet, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Witches On The Road Tonight, The [name_m]Forest[/name_m] of Hands and Teeth, The Book of Lost Things, Miss [name_m]Peregrine[/name_m]'s Home for Peculiar Children, The Glass Books of the [name_u]Dream[/name_u] Eaters; those are all books I bought because of the titles. I didn’t enjoy them all, but I still love the titles.

Then again, I also bought Wicked, Swan Song, Fablehaven, and Ice because of the titles. A powerful word or two makes just as much of a statement as four or eight.

Here’s an article on naming books. It has some good tips. Titles are definitely dependent on genre, so narrow that down and you’ve got a start.