Never, ever my personal opinion title a book intentionally playing off a famous title unless you are writing a parody or response. A good example of this is the problogger ebook 31 days to build a better blog. In an attempt to unblock my title impasse, i decided to. One of whartons bestknown novels, it came out in 1905. If a title is drab and unexciting, some readers may expect the book to be the same and lose interest. Its difficult because titles are essentially short hooks that advertise your book using the fewest words possible. I know all about the structural parallels with homers odyssey but to me they are superfluous to enjoying the work. The 3 ingredients in our best selling ebook titles. Every book has at least one or two unforgettable lines but these ones are the best of them all. Coming up with a good book title or book title ideas can be maddening.
If youre an author, there couldnt be a more useless piece of advice. On goodreads, the social media site for readers, 1,052 people voted on the book titles they thought were the most eyecatching or unique. I have never had much trouble with titles, although for a fourbook series i had trouble coming up with four one word titles that conveyed the excitement and cars and mystery. These famous book quotes can come from childrens books, fiction or nonfiction literary works. Free to use any of my suggestions, but if you use any please support this book by voting on all the.
A few things to remember when selecting a good title and subtitle for your nonfiction book. Do not copy an existing title, but good titles spark ideas for other good titles. Browse book titles online or in bookstores and libraries. Popular best titles ever books meet your next favorite book. How to write the perfect book title ultimate guide scribe writing. Try a digital, sovietinspired typeface like bf anorak to achieve a similar look to this cover, designed by jason ramirez for a traditional yet beautiful serif font, try classical garamond or adobe garamond pro. If you want somebody to be able to tell from just the title of your story that the story is scary, then making the title of your story sound scary is important, but if you use your imagination you could use just about any titles for your scary short stories. How to write good book titles authority selfpublishing. You can find a list in either a paperback baby book, a good one is the complete baby names. Not only do readers judge a book by its cover, but they pay particular attention to the title.
Contrasting largescale text against a pale background can be really highimpact, as. I agree with the middle three picks but think that freakonomics and moby dick are both very good titles. The best books with the worst titles marginal revolution. Its a particularly wellknown one, and its opening words have often been used as famous book titles to. In his notebooks, the everinventive raymond chandler kept a list of possible titles for books, all of which we think deserve to be written. A good friend is like a wonderful book, the inside is even better than the cover.
I typed in a few thoughts for my fifth book and found that i have a 40% chance of writing a bestseller. Youve got to admire a book that puts a spoiler like that right on the cover. There is so much potential in this book to take movie goers on a rollercoaster ride through insanity and the lifestyles of the alisters. Book title a good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a. Ive never actually liked the title ulysses, as used by james joyce. 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. 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 two out of three aint bad. Romance book title generator the ultimate bank of 10,000. Top 10 movies that havent been made but should be listverse. 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. Neel is a sanford graduate and an anesthesiologist in a local hospital. Check to be sure that your chosen title isnt already used because that can. How to research great book titles for your next book.
Alibris has been selling books, movies and music since 1997. These are totally wasted words because no one would ever search for the words book two or book three. Here are some ideas on how to write a good title that sells. 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. Dont worry about credit im just here to help writers out. Book title ideas are crucial to your books success. Not so bad really, especially if used in combination with another good keyword. It affects the way i think of the book as im writing it. For the most part, a title will be relatively unspectacular. Regina bretts book, god never blinks, provides practical insights that can change the world. Ive taken the top 100 titles and organized them by what makes them unique many would fit in multiple categories. Also there is story and chapter titles free for anyone too.
Im thinking of writing story just for fun and i know this may seem creepy but im really into suspense and horror books. How to title your book an old from 2010 that i only just found. Words never used in the titles of remotely good films. Okay, so you have a book series, but does book two or book 2 need to occupy valuable space in your title. The wreck on highway 109 by author ruth gillis included in a collection of rhymed and unrhymed poetry in various forms with themes of nostalgia, love, humor, grief and bereavement, christian inspiration, spring, autumn, halloween, christmas, and miscellaneous topics, written and ed by ruth gillis. Just remember, these generators are best used to help brainstorm book title ideas. Alibris is your source for new and used books, textbooks, music and movies. So the titles will generally relate to my first book type of titles and books with fun, but often fairly simple stories. What are some good and not used book titles answers. How to create brilliant book titles with examples bookfox. Agent rachelle gardner wrote a very useful post about how to come up with a good name for your book. Sb9 when is a sailboat the standon vessel in relations to a recreational power boat. Of course, any book by ellis would make a great movie and in fact, three have already.
And if its really good, it might stick around all the way to the end. Ok i write songs, but im no good at singing go figure, right. You can pick between fantasy, crime, mystery, romance, or scifi. Reviews can consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature.
If anyone has any ideas of a song title that they really like that would be great. 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. When coming up with ideas for titles for scary short stories, use your imagination. According to research conducted by author, blogger, and speaker michael hyatt, consumers check out a book in the. The title of your book isby farthe most important book marketing decision youll make. I would love to get nearly all of these books for the titles alone. 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 facelift and cat. Deepak chopra, author, the ultimate happiness prescription regina brett is a gifted observer of the experiences that shape who we are, and her lessons unfold with buoyancy, humor and a courageous honesty. A good indian wife starts out in san francisco with suneel or neel as he goes by in his american life.
Identify what appeals to you about the title, and brainstorm ideas for your book with similar characteristics. Drama these book titles are the most dependent on context. 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. 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.
While a cover has to grab your eye, its the title that has to make you pick up the book. And i just cant seem to find anything to write about and so i was hoping that you guys could give me some good titles and i could write the story to it. Alibris buy new and used books, textbooks, music and movies. This is list every possible way we know of to find a good book title, complete with examples remember, these techniques are not just for your main title, they will be the basis for your subtitles as well. Book title generator the ultimate bank of 10,000 titles. Learn the exact stepbystep methods 100 of our students have used the last 60 days to publish their books and how you. If a title is interesting, most readers are quick to become intrigued, eager to delve in. Working titles are often changed in the end anyway, but id still like to have a good one. Thats how i usually work get a title then put a story with it but i. These famous book titles from classics, and other wellknown works. Play it as it lays by joan didion features the best opening line since moby dick.
The old adage is to never judge a book by its cover. Bestknown as the creator of the original private eye, philip marlowe, raymond chandler was born in chicago in 1888 and died in 1959. Clearly defining what the book is all about either from the title or introduction can determine if someone will buy them or not. Most of these are for nonfiction titles, though some can be used for novel titles. Here are 52 of the most brilliant book quotes of all time. Friendship titles and sayings for scrapbook pages and cards. Nonfiction titles tend to be more serious and less fantastical than their fictional counterparts. Neel wants his future wife to be very american with blonde hair and on the same level of intellect as himself. Your book title can make or break the success of your book.
1189 1374 205 443 541 1441 1536 583 671 1423 800 1430 763 871 1412 1251 356 935 1283 1468 327 1058 1394 177 958 779 184 855 1067 804 653 1455 1196 94 809 308 586 339 727