Picking a good book titles that have been used

Scott fitzgerald, who reportedly took forever to think of a good title. They create titles that follow a pattern unique to their particular series of stories. Jul, 2008 still, i have filled my bookshelves with wonderful books largely by picking according to title. It can also create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of bookrelated merchandise and paraphernalia. Coming up with a good book title or book title ideas can be maddening.

How to title a book 2020 nyts bestselling book title. I spent so much time agonizing over just the right title for my most recent book, but in the back of my mind im thinking, wont they just change it anyway. Sep 05, 2014 but the little string of words on the outside of your book isnt the only phrase with that power. Ive been so close to picking up map a few times, but. Educated is a memoir of nonfiction but names and identifying details have been changed. Since many selfpublishing authors are starting out on a very small budget however, homemade, diy book covers are still a popular choice. How to write a book title thats not taken placeit blog. I dont have a fancy database or anything but just a list of authortitle in a. Any items they receive that they cant sell go directly to a recycling plant. The lambs book of life is spoken of in the bible as being a book in heaven that records the names of people who have been spiritually saved. Below we have taken the top 25 books from each category and listed the title.

This can be a good choice if the setting is a key part of your work, or if its an unusual setting that attracts attention. First, make sure you know the genre of your book, and identify what kind of feeling or tone you want to convey with the title. Now, i guess i would have to say that i need a lot more sleep than i used to and one of the best times to get some reading in is now a challenge just when i get to bed that night. Well also look at elements shared by good book titles.

I also traveled, loved watching movies, and spending time with friends but a good book was always close at hand. Whichbook enables millions of combinations of factors and then suggests books which most closely match your needs. Drama these book titles are the most dependent on context. After these books were successful of course the titles seem great. Its difficult because titles are essentially short hooks that advertise your book using the fewest. In that same wildly unsubstantiated study, some pretty amazing book titles have caught my attention. It could be a chapter title or a compelling summaryphrase found in the text. Once your book is done and youre ready to publish and promote your book, try out placeits book mockups and see how promoting with the right images will increase your sales. Book title generator make hundreds of book titles with. When you have a small list of titles you like, get some data. Mar 03, 2010 lately ive been coaching several of my clients through the process of coming up with a good title for their book, so i thought id share my tips with you. With our new tool, the book title ideas checker our tool works based on the open library database youll be able to see if the title is already in use, and change it in time before spending money on a book cover, publicity or in sending it out for publishing. Writing the book might seem like the most difficult partand then you have to actually title the darn thing when it comes to writing a book, coming up with reasonable book title ideas is surprisingly one of the hardest parts to complete.

Just like how browsing a swipe file helps you come up with ideas, this list of books might help kick your brain in the right direction while trying to come up with a book title. Nonfiction books will typically seek to explain to a reader the benefit they will gain by reading the book, as well as clearly stating the topic they cover. Most of these are for nonfiction titles, though some can be used for novel titles. Would friends have been the same hit had nbc executives approved its original title. K rowlings first book in the harry potter series had a different title in england than it did when it was released in the u. Your books chapter titles present chances to play the game again, with linguistic lures that can keep your audience turning pages way past bedtime. Jan 19, 2009 i love to read and average about a book per week. Caslon refers to a family of fonts first designed in 1722 by william caslon i, an english type engraver. So, lets talk about the three elements that every book title should have. Choosing the title of your book is probably the most important decision you will make. Other genres, such as mystery, occasionally have an explanatory subtitle, such as venetian blood. Book title generators are great tools because they can give you a.

This is ironic as the music industry is now plagued by piracy like the pirates of the past were plagued by festering sores, rat infestations, scurvy, and bizarre superstitions. You should be left with at least 35 pretty good ideas. How to choose a bestselling book title for fiction or nonfiction. But youve been racking your brain for hours to think of good titles and youve come up with maybe. Titles cant be ed, so theres no law against naming your book misery or the da vinci code. Difficult women, the garden of small beginnings, the oneeyed man. Alliterations repetitions in letter sounds sound good. How to write the perfect book title ultimate guide scribe writing. A great title can contribute tremendously to a book s success. A few thoughts on writing better book titles april davila. How to write good book titles authority selfpublishing. Identify a unique point of perspective in your book, then restate your title in a way that makes this point of. Dont get caught out be careful not to choose a title that might be offensive in.

Each title also has interesting tags, which makes searching for similar stories even easier. Google your chosen title to see which keywords it has in common with those of previously published works and change it if its not unique. Plus at the end, i have a little fun covering some of the morehorrendous, terrible, absolutely ridiculous book titles out there. Washingtonbased has a commitment to helping the environment, partnering with libraries and other vendors to ensure that used books wind up in good hands rather than in the trash. While youve probably heard a lot about how the first page of your story is the most important when it comes to first impressionsits not. We polled our book designers, and one of the top choices for the body of a book is the friendly and warm caslon. So the titles will generally relate to my first book type of titles and books with fun, but often fairly simple stories. Lots of books that have made the top 200 seem like blatant spam by selfpublished authors whose work probably wasnt good enough for a real publisher to accept. The best free book title generators for choosing your bestselling title.

Aug 30, 2011 hello, years ago, long before the internet was popular and almost before it was invented, i had an old computer a sinclair ql. When developing charactersno matter what sort of characters youre pursuingheed common sense and consider each of these tips before cho. When it comes time to decide on potential ideas to pick a title for a new book, there are a number of quick checks that you can do. Dec 04, 2012 when you have a small list of titles you like, get some data. Nov 17, 2017 a 300 page book will get extremely thick if designed too small, while a larger book needs to be a good length to not feel flimsy and more like a magazine or booklet. The 7 rules of picking names for fictional characters. Feb 18, 2019 another common subtitle for a novel is simply a novel, sometimes used with books that have a title that could be mistaken for a nonfiction book.

How do writers choose or think of titles for their books. Only thing was, as soon as the thousands of copies of hardcovers were printed and shipped to stores, i heard from a reader who pointed out the simple fact that. Here are seven great rules for choosing character names offered up by popular mystery writer elizabeth sims the rita farmer mysteries. Heres a great test as to whether or not you have a good book title. I wasnt too sure what the patterns were for finger picking now i know. This is important, as ive seen humorous books with deadserious titles. If you are still not able to check out titles after 7 days, please contact support. Their prices are extremely low, and they also offer three book. Well, honestly i didnt come close to that last year but most years i read 5070 books.

In his notebooks, the everinventive raymond chandler kept a list of possible titles for books, all of which we think deserve to be written. Whatever the individuals reason, it can be enjoyable and fun. The fonts we use today tend to have been created in the 14th17th centuries, or at least based on that classical style. Whichbook a new way of choosing what book to read next. The best books with the worst titles marginal revolution. As for whether or not its a good idea to go with a title thats already been usedand in the same genre, no lessthats a question best suited for your editor.

The scribe guide to writing a perfect book title the. A great title is key in getting potential readers to connect with your book. Even people who get paid to come up with book titles editors, publishers, etc. According to research conducted by author, blogger, and speaker michael hyatt, consumers check out a book. The content of the book isnt important, this is about titles.

How to come up with the perfect title for your novel ny. Book title generator the best free tools to choose a. Book title a good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a lifeless shelfdweller. I have no idea if any of these titles have already been used. My own experience and how you can do it too april 28, 2015 by joanna penn 194 comments ive just been through a massive rebranding process. But if you want to use a book title, you should first check on amazon to see if anyone else has used that title. How to create brilliant book titles with examples bookfox. First impressions of the book have been really good. Its getting increasingly more difficult to come up with a title that hasnt been done before, but you must. When writing my novel the actress, i needed a name for a japaneseamerican criminal defense attorney, and the name gary kwan burst upon me. Many times a good title is simply waiting to be discovered in the text of a book the author wrote. The old adage is to never judge a book by its cover.

Harry potter titles are pretty good examples of that the halfblood prince makes enough sense as a title once harry gets the potions book which seems to have little relevance to the plot, but then you reach the end and spoiler snape kills dumbledore, then revealing he is the halfblood prince well, suddenly the fact the book s title. When im searching for a book to read, the title has a ton to do with which book i pick up first. But, i still think its so important to pick the right title to represent your book. If the title has been used in a similar book, you may want to change it to avoid confusion by readers. A case in point is the girl on the train, by paula hawkins published by riverhead books in january 2015, which ended up as a new york times bestseller, and girl on a train, by a. The publisher is usually responsible for the final decision on title, and in the query stage, its not.

Some book titles are changed when the book is publishedoffered in another country. Dick wasnt always a slang word the way we use it today used to be a shorter version of the name richard and nothing else, and neither was boner a word. Tim ferris, eric reis and others have graciously popularized the methods they used for applying ab testing methods like pickfu for picking book titles. Book club editions also may have four or five numbers printed in a contrasting box on the back of the book. Go through the notes in this article to make sure you weed out any book titles that wont get you the best results and sales. Aaron, audrey, benjamin, erin, faye, gene, vanessa, judy, peter, sadie, shannon, shawn, susan, robert, and robin are pseudonyms. Picking is a great hobby or even a vocation for some, a lucrative business for others. It traces the citys wastemanagement efforts from a time when filth overwhelmed the streets to todays far more vigorous practices, which have made the city cleaner than its been in decades.

According to chandler scholar frank macshane chandlers interest in titles even led him to invent a writer, aaron klopstein, who committed suicide by amazonian blowgun. In fact, it has been said that most titles on bestseller lists are no more than three words long. Make sure your book title isnt already taken with placeits book title checker, well cross check with the open library database and let you know if its already in use. And you really dont want to use a title if its been previously used for a. A great title can contribute tremendously to a books success. As for whether or not its a good idea to go with a title that s already been usedand in the same genre, no lessthats a question best suited for your editor.

For a little more fun and recap on how to come up with a book title, youll want to check this video out. Here are some ideas on how to write a good title that sells. You could probably open a dictionary, point to a random word, and have a passable title for a book i just tested this claim and got arrows, hash, and photoautotroph, but. Jami gold has a great post this week on changing a major aspect of a. Coming up with great movie title ideas by nailing the storys essence. However, if you have other title ideas that arent already in use, id recommend considering a changeif only to alleviate confusion in the marketplace down the road. Some of the best book titles today emerged only after much teeth gnashing. Your book title should, in theory, catch the attention of dozens of readers browsing in a bookstore.

So heres what i recommend when you need a title, for either fiction or nonfiction. The best place to start is to do check on amazon search to see if there are any books with the same title. Last week we talked about the importance of having an aesthetically appealing book cover, and how a homemade cover can be a death sentence for your book luckily, titles are harder to screw up. Picking a title for your book is one of the biggest and most important decisions youll have to make in regards to your book. How to find out if your screenplay title idea is any good.

Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading 77 picking exercises for modern guitar guitar technique book 1. Why are we bad at picking good leaders a better way to. For example, a paper about maos great leap forward in communist china in the late 1950s may have a title that has a hook catchy phrase, one or two key terms, and the source or location 1950s communist china. Ive been told not to judge a book by its cover, but when the cover has a title like reusing old graves, its hard not to. Ive been keeping track of every book ive read since 1991 i wish i had started that when i learned how to read. You have a book or a great idea for a book and you want a title that will immediately grab the attention of your ideal readers and make them want to click on it. If you are planning to have a website for your book, you need to consider that not all. Your title can address the books themes or inspiration rather than the exact content.

In this comprehensive guide to picking the perfect book title, i will walk you. Harry potter and the philosophers stone vs harry potter and the sorcerers stone i have a feeling the american scholastic. Whether intentionally funny or just completely oblivious, here are some of the worst book titles youve ever seen some of the people who wrote these funny book titles might have been absentminded and out of touch, but it could also have to do with changing. Most of the titles do have darker words and thus a darker feel to them, but some could work just as well as a title for any other genre. If you choose words that have been used too frequently for other books, it will make your new book difficult to find, which is not what good book titles should do. Book title generator the ultimate bank of 10,000 titles. You probably know that the first book has been a bestseller for almost a. Book title ideas are crucial to your books success. One of the unique talents of this machine was the ability to load a different font fount, as sir clive called them into memory. It may seem like a fairly insignificant choice, your title is only a handful of words long, while your story itself contains thousands. Dark materials, so many books have used this technique that might also work for you. Here are some examples of book titles that were changed before publication. Not only do readers judge a book by its cover, but they pay particular attention to the title.

The entire notion of superheroes have a reputation to hold up, and part of that is to have a really coolsounding name. Ive researched, tested, and listed all the best book title generators by genre below. This allows focus on the pattern and not the notes. But thankfully, we no longer have to go it alone because there is an incredible tool called a book title generator that has helped me with just that. There have been too many titles checked out and returned by your account within a short period of time. Generate a random story title thats relevant to your genre. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.

Second only to your books cover, good titles for books can be a difference maker. Can you use the same book title thats been used before. If youre an author, there couldnt be a more useless piece of advice. How to title a book 2020 nyts bestselling book title creation. If you are not in the book you will suffer eternal. Tucker has sold over 5 million books as a 4x nyt bestselling author and is the cofounder of scribe. Youre too close to the project and will make an extremely biased decision. Not in two years of working with keywords have i been able to discover the keywords that my potential readers use, and ive tried so many methods. You can pick between fantasy, crime, mystery, romance, or scifi. Selecting and protecting the title of your book how to use.

Jun, 2012 picking fonts for your selfpublished book the book designer it might surprise you to find out that by far the best fonts for use in books are the oldest or, if not the oldest, the fonts based on the oldest designs for fonts, those that originated in the very beginning of book printing in the late 15th century. It can also create opportunities for multiple passive income streams from licensing the sale of book related merchandise and paraphernalia. It needs to have a nice flow and look good in print. Taming amazon choosing keywords on amazon showing 143 of 43. On the other hand, if your favorite title happens to have been used on a book no one remembers, feel free to use it. Your book title can make or break the success of your book. How to create a book title that sells your book for you. Picking a great title one that will catch people interest and get them to click on your book is an important part of your book marketing strategy. Vidas thoughts on titles, she said that these days she tries to chose a title that evokes an image.

In an attempt to find an amazing and differencemaking title, authors and publisher ignore the obvious one, which is right in front of them. Not just a contemporary account, picking up charts new york citys fourhundredyear struggle with trash. But on the other hand, using words that are not what people would normally search for, such as invented words, give you little chance of being discovered through search by potential book buyers. How to write a good book title the balance careers. According to chandler scholar frank macshane chandlers interest in titles even led him to invent a writer, aaron klopstein, who committed suicide by amazonian blowgun, but not before publishing two volumes of poetry the hydraulic. In a way, the title should make a statement, so the buyers would take the time picking your book off the shelf. Swank is also a term for stolen goods, the type of stuff pirates used to search long and hard for. Eric reis and others have graciously popularized the methods they used.

But i wouldnt pick a title thats so instantly recognizable. The book uses the same gcd note structure throughout the book. A number of famous writers have come up with a way to make their titles do extra work for them. Click to open up to 4 sliders and move the to set your choices. Some of the people who wrote these funny book titles might have been absentminded and out of touch, but it could also have to do with changing word use in the english language. But if you were planning to title your thriller the da vinci codea specific title associated with a bestselling seriesyoud better make other arrangements. It would have been difficult if instead of all being called something very nearly like the economics of the soviet union or the soviet economic system they had instead been called a cry for exchange or something. Often, book club editions will have an string of numbers on the last page of the book near the margin, running vertically, just before the endpaper. Tim ferris, eric reis and others have graciously popularized the methods they used for applying ab testing methods like pick fu for picking book titles. If you want to see if a title has been trademarked, you can use tess, the online search at the u. How to research great book titles for your next book. For example, nineteen eightyfour is a more compelling title than airstrip one or oceania, which are the actual names of the dystopia described in the book.