#12 in an occasional series on writing non-fiction (with a little fiction thrown in)
Eagle-eyed followers of this blog will notice that #13 came out last week and #12 follows it. The simple reason is that I didn’t have a cover image to hand. Does it show?
So, book titles. You probably set out writing your book with a title in mind, and you may even stick with it. Titles for fiction can be tricky things; Sudden Impulse could be anything from crime to chic-lit, and so need some cleverly crafted blurb to explain what the novel is about. I agonised over Glint of Light on Broken Glass and was still not sure even after it was published. Sometimes a title will deliver exactly what it says on the cover: consider Around the World in Eighty Days, Raise the Titanic or Murder on the Orient Express.
Non-fiction authors have an easier ride to some extent. For example Pit Ponies in North-East England leaves little ambiguity and advertises its content pretty firmly. But is it the best title you can come up with?
You may need to distinguish your book from the ostensibly similar work Pit Ponies: an Illustrated History. Check what’s out there and don’t duplicate a title unless you can’t avoid it.
Then, will that phrase ‘North-East’ restrict your market, or will it create local appeal?
Do you want to be even more specific by adding ‘1890 to 1945’ so people are not misled?
You may want to be more dramatic; Pit Ponies in Peace and War.
Perhaps you can harness (pun) a quote from a song, poem or eyewitness; T’were Only a Little Pony.
There could be a political or ethical line to take; The Poor Old Pit Pony.
Or you could be poetic; Coal Dust on their Hooves.
Look for catchy, sexy, words that grab attention. If your book about pit ponies was primarily about their employment in the Second World War, consider Ponies that Beat Hitler.
Beware of being too obscure as potential readers will pass it by, and bookshops may stock it on the wrong shelf. You can’t rely on grabbing attention of the general reader with a quirky title.
If the field is particularly crowded, you may need a stark title and a subtitle. For example, Max Hasting’s Catastrophe, Europe Goes to War 1914. The internet is very friendly to this approach as subtitles will be picked up by search engines.
A sobering final point is that your publisher knows the market better than you do and it’s their money on the line. There is a fair chance that no matter how much you love your title, they will change it.
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