I think novel names are either intuitive (spring into your mind in a eureka moment!) or depressingly hard to come up with…

Thinking through some names that I love I think that best ones somehow sum up exactly what the book is about with just a few words.

Take A Game of Thrones for example – I mean wow! That tells you just what you’re getting into! It’s a genius name!

But then on the other hand there are abstract names like Twilight which works just as well but, to be honest, doesn’t say much about the story…

But does it really matter? If a book is popular it’s going to be whether it’s called ‘Flutter’ or something that gives more away like ‘Dancing with the Fallen Fairies’ ( Both could be the same book!)

What’s in a name? Would you choose a book because of a name or is it the cover what draws you? Or do you disregard all of these things and judge it based on the blurb and reviews?

Does the title of your book have to imply the genre?

If so then….

– Beautiful Creatures sounds like a book about pretty animals

– I Am Number Four sounds like someone waiting in line for an argos purchase

– The Giver….well it depends how filthy your mind is here…

– Fifty Shades of Grey…if you pick this up expecting a colour chart then you’re going to be in for quite a shock

However, I think people know something about a book before they pick it up because of what I believe to be the biggest promiting factor; word of mouth.
So is a book name important?

Yes, but…it needs to be combined with sveral other factors to be effective: cover, blurb, and most important of all content – the book has to be a great read and then, whether it’s called Poo Bucket or A Game of Thrones, it’s going to do well!

12 thoughts on “Naming Your Novel (What Really works? And Does it Even Matter?)”

  1. I used to agonise over titles–one of my early ideas for a novel has a notebook that goes with it, and one page is full of my writing down anything that I could possibly use; mostly ridiculous crap like ‘Emerald Shadows of Death’.
    … sorry if you were planning on writing a book called ‘Emerald Shadows of Death’…
    And then, after so much agonising, I finally hit upon the idea to name my books… after something that was in the book! Genius, isn’t it!? Haven’t had a problem naming a book since. 😉

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    1. Haha yes I’ve tried this approach of writing as many things as I can possibly think down! I also quite like the approach of using a structure as in:
      A something of something
      The something of the something
      Someone and the something of the something

      Etc!
      Definately a great idea to name the novel after something in the book. I also try to keep in mind styles that hint toward the genre 🙂

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  2. With so many titles already taken and so many references to things on the Internet, I found it frustrating to find a title or series name that didn’t already exist. Some book titles are so bizarre, they give you no indication as to what the book is about. After awhile, I got the impression that these days, the title is nothing more than a marketing ploy to catch a reader’s attention. That if someone comes up with something unique that catches people’s attention, and the book is successful, that whoever came up with the title was a genius – when in fact it was the contents of the book that made the book successful, not the title.

    I’ve heard of books with poor sales doing extremely well after being re-titled with a new cover. It would seem that the only thing that matters is what gets people to read the first page of text. Once an author has a following, I would image that any title that remotely makes sense will suffice.

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    1. Yeah I totally agree. I think number one priority is having a fantastic book but a title that is really intriguing is definately gonna have more chance of getting someone to pick it up or click on it online.
      Also, they so don’t judge a book by its cover but I can’t deny if a cover catches my eye I’m more likely to give it a chance!

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  3. I have a hard enough time naming my blog posts… Don’t think I’d do too well trying to name a book XD

    But, I must admit, I’m probably guilty of judging books by their covers and their titles. Generally when browsing library shelves, though, all you can see are the titles on the spines, so they’re arguably more important than the cover. It’s a lot of pressure to put on such a small selection of words!

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  4. I definitely think boo names are important, but they don’t make or break the book for me. Although it is hard to get into a book if I keep wanting to roll my eyes every time I see the title. And I’m definitely one of those people who struggle to come up with titles. I could easily give you 100 story ideas, and none of them would have a title. I’ve been reworking my fantasy series’ title for years and I think I’ve *finally* come up with one that will be permanent. Unless a future publisher makes me change it. Le sigh.

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    1. Yeah I think it’s strange when people name drop the book name. I noticed it in Beautiful Creatures actually and I did think that name was a bit unusual and then it was forced into the text a bit.
      It’s definately hard to know whether you have a good titles sometimes as well! But I’ve tried asking people what they think and what genre comes to mind with my titles and they always guess right so that’s got to a good thing!

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      1. That is great! Especially with middle grade fantasy (what I write), it needs to be a title that catches a kid’s attention, but also gives a little explanation as to what it’s about. I leave the really bizarre and artsy titles to other genres.

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  6. Titles are very important for me! I can not even write the story until I have a title! For me, the title shapes the entire book! I also don’t write in chapters, my idea of an outline (I am a pantser *laughs*) is to write mini-titles for the “chapters/scenes” and that shapes my entire story!

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