Into the Fire

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Passionate: right or wrong. Writes love stories with a passion. Raw Romantic Redemptive

Speaking of . . . Titles

                                              Titlelogo

Some authors are happy to hand over titling duties of their novels to editors. Others of us don't want anyone messing with our titles. 

Some readers pick up a book at the store if the title teases them or read further along in the blurb if they're drawn to a title for their e-book selections. 

Titles and covers must speak to the story that awaits on the pages inside the book. If I can't figure out why a novel wears the title, I will search every area of thought to discover the insight. If it's too obscure for me to ascertain the connection, I'm disappointed in either the title or the story. That same connection must exist between the cover and the story or, again, I'm frustrated. 

Series covers with the same well-designed themes (i.e. Sibella Giorello's The Raleigh Harmon Mysteries; Karin Kaufman's The Juniper Grove Mysteries) work very well because of established recognition. On my covers of stand-alone novels (except for my first Hope of Glory) I've tried to keep the black color dominant and one other inconspicuous symbolic "emblem" on every cover. (Anyone know what and where it is on each book?)  

Arriving at the "perfect title" for each novel isn't guaranteed to please readers, but I know I have to like it. I changed one of the titles for a WIP after I was well into the story. The title no longer fit. The new one does.

I like all kinds of titles if they work. One word titles often jab right at the heart of the story, but phrased titles can too. It all depends on how it appeals to me and if it ultimately meshes with the story.

Do you have a preference?

 

Father, there are never enough big good meaningful words to thank you for all you do for me. You're too big. You render me speechless because thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

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8 responses to “Speaking of . . . Titles”

  1. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    You told me about the emblem you add to your covers. I never would have noticed it, but I like it.
    I don’t like the way some historical fiction novels are given titles like “When Calls the Heart” rather than “When the Heart Calls”.
    And I don’t care for “Love Finds You in …”. I prefer “Finding Love in…”
    I like it when the title really makes sense with the story. And I thought the chess theme was clever in the Steven James novels.
    Here are 5 of my favorite titles:
    “Pieces of Granite” by Brenda Anderson – The title has a nice “ring” to it, and it makes so much sense with the story.
    “Try Dying” by James Scott Bell – very clever and it makes sense with the story
    “Not in the Heart” by Chris Fabry – made so much sense at the very end
    “Miranda Warning” by Heather Day Gilbert – very clever and makes sense
    Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish – makes sense
    Of your titles, “Seeing” is my favorite.

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  2. Nicole Petrino-Salter Avatar
    Nicole Petrino-Salter

    Yes, Try Dying, Not in the Heart, and Miranda Warning were all quite clever.
    Brenda Anderson chose some good, story-related titles for her series.
    Seeing . . . huh. Interesting. 😉

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  3. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    Yeah, Seeing. It makes sense with the story, which wasn’t finished at the time. Makes me wonder if that’s the title you changed… 🙂 Either way, I really want to know how it ends!

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  4. Brenda S. Anderson Avatar
    Brenda S. Anderson

    I don’t have a preference, although a unique title might grab my interest. Just looking at my nearest bookshelf, some titles that jump out at me are “Shattered Image” and “The Color of Truth” by Stacy Monson, “The Dead Don’t Dance” by Charles Martin, “The Opposite of Art” by Athol Dickson”, “Words” by Ginny Yttrup. I’m also partial to my title “Chain of Mercy”. 🙂
    Debra – I’m flattered you like the title “Pieces of Granite”! Ironically, I’ve toyed with changing the title (and the book cover) because it was a placeholder when I wrote the book, and I thought my publishers would change it to something cooler, which they didn’t. You’ve got me rethinking that idea…

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  5. Debra Avatar
    Debra

    I don’t know how you could top “Pieces of Granite”. It’s perfect:)

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  6. BK Jackson Avatar
    BK Jackson

    Titles are interesting and tricky things. On the one hand, I use them to weed out lots of books I know I won’t be interested in (anything with ‘love’ in the title for example). On the other, whether I read and like a book isn’t really phased by title–unless I felt the author deceived me, but usually I read back cover copy too (although that can deceive as well–another tangent for another time).
    And I’ve been thinking over favorite reads to see if I was first influenced to read them by title. Answer is no. Back when I read my all time favorite, “Forlorn River” by Zane Grey, the title was intriguing, but it was the manufacture of these hard cover books (red and tan spined) that grabbed my attention, not the title. I really enjoyed Nancy E Turner’s “These is My Words” but it wasn’t the title that grabbed me, though it is attention getting. And now, reading & enjoying the JA Jance novels, she has short catchy titles (like Rattlesnake Crossing) but I don’t necessarily key into the titles. In fact, of the 5-6 books I’ve read, I couldn’t repeat to you most of the titles.
    I’m wondering if for me the titles are more or less important according to genre? I’m thinking of thriller/suspense stuff. Take a title like Vince Flynn’s “Kill Shot”. Now that’s direct and to the point and you know what you’re getting, you don’t have to guess.

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  7. Nicole Petrino-Salter Avatar
    Nicole Petrino-Salter

    It is, Deb. In the beginning it had a different title which began making sense but turned out to be too “dark”.

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  8. Nicole Petrino-Salter Avatar
    Nicole Petrino-Salter

    Yeah, Vince Flynn had some great titles. (Did you read Term Limits, his first novel? Double entendre, as they say. So clever.)

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