One More Word about TITLES

I don't think Book Titles have always been so important to choosing just the right book. Think about all those very old books you read. Zippy titles? Funny? A play on words? Maybe not.

But I know a whole lot of authors who can't begin to write without a really, really great title to their manuscript. Working title? Nah. They cling to that title.




Because my Critique Group has been pondering what makes a great title this week, I shared this link to an interesting piece from a Publishers Weekly blog, re: titles:

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=10938

Good pointers.

And this:

http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

We had a few laughs plugging titles into this. Harry Potter not a bestseller? Hmmm.

Be sure to fill in all the drop-downs to get your title scored. 
Take it with a grain of salt, of course.

Here's a previous post, with links, to my Title Thoughts...
 http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2008/05/title-picking.html 

I laughed out loud when I read that. 2008. 
I was just starting the manuscript that I'm now editing.
And the title has changed twice since then.
To me, obviously, titles are elusive.

Despite that, I sometimes obsess over them.
(Here I am again, 2 years later, still titling a blogpost Title Picking.)
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2010/02/title-picking.html

As we say down south, Whoo Boy.
Or Hoo Boy. (Wonder how that would go over as a title?)

Pulling hair out over titles might be worth it. When you find the perfect title, it sings! 
And kids will remember your book. So choose wisely.