Do Titles Mean Anything Anymore?

Posted by Postado por Dulce on às 19:05 | |

Do Titles Mean Anything Anymore?

Do Titles Mean Anything Anymore?

Posted: 09 Dec 2010 02:43 PM PST

I planned to write about what I've learned this past year since today is my birthday and I typically do that around this time. I had it all figured out; I was going to sum up the trials, tribulations, joys and success of the previous year and what I looked forward to in the coming year.

That all changed when I read an article by Slate magazine. You see, the editors of Slate shared with us their favorite books of the year. I was intrigued when I saw the title listed on MSN.com so I clicked on it and began reading. What I discovered was surprising and maybe even a little shocking.

We, as writers, have always known or been told that the title of a book is the first draw for a reader and therefore should grab their attention. We have read countless numbers of articles discussing the needed strength in our book titles and the fact that we need to be careful with them. After reading these articles we spend hours playing with words and titles and ideas for titles until we can't see straight. Of course, we all know that the chances are high the title will be changed should we make it to publishing. Nonetheless, we put great effort into developing the titles for our works.

With that in mind, I give you a list of examples from the Slate editor's favorite books selection:

The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
C by Tom McCarthy
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason
The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie
Room by Emma Donoghue

Before I continue; I haven't read any of these books nor is this a review of them. This article is simply focusing on the titles. To be honest, these could all be really good books and enjoyable to read; however, in my opinion, these titles are lacking. The only one I looked at twice was "The Lost Books of the Odyssey." That one did catch my attention. As for the others, I was (and am) wondering why they would title a book like that. Does it make me interested in reading it? Not really, but I would love to ask the author or publisher -"why did you decide to call it that?" Maybe that is what they were going for.

Yes, there is a slight negative angle on this article but I wanted to shine a light on this for one very important reason. The rules of publishing change almost daily. We cannot chance them down and hope to stay within them due to their flexibility. Where does that leave us?

I have a few suggestions regarding the development of titles for our manuscripts:
  • If the title sounds good to you and you like it then go with it.
  • Listen to your gut.
  • Don't analyze your title to much and wonder if it is catchy or marketable.
  • Develop titles that mean something to you. Just like naming a child or a pet the title should be something that reminds you of the work you've done and what the story is about.
These are just a few as I'm sure you could add to this list (I would really enjoy reading them too). I am, by no means, bashing the above listed books; however, I am using them as examples to think about. Would you or are you drawn to any of the books above because of their titles?

I do believe that titles are important and we should develop solid, attention grabbing titles for our books. I also believe that if we listen to our muse, characters and the suggestions above we can succeed in doing that without a great deal of stress and heartache.

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