Let's talk titles!

[Paul Whybrow]

You know that adage "don't judge a book by its cover"? Heh, yeeeaaaahhhh ... I do that all the time. The cover and the title are really important to me in finding a new book by an author I don't already know. There are just too many good books out there to deal with those that don't have effort put into a good cover and title.

I know what you mean. A friend of mine once commented when we were in a book store, that he wanted to read almost every book he saw as he found the cover art so attractive. I'm quite artistic by training and inclination, with some talent, so I took to designing my book covers with enthusiasm - prior to publishing them on Smashwords and Amazon. I quickly learned that what works for a physical book doesn't necessarily apply to ebooks, where the cover is shrunk down to tile size and viewed on tablets and smart phones. This meant that something artistic in full size looked like a splodgy mess when reduced. It helped to have a readily discernible image, be it a gun, cat or planet, as well as using bright colours. Cheerful red, yellow and orange looked better than moody blue, green or darker colours, and they were downloaded more.
I experimented with colours, images and titles, as well as adding subtitles to the cover. I was rather surprised that titles that were questions did better than plain descriptions. Thus What Would I Do Without You?, Is It Her? and What Do You Like? were more popular than Due Date, Hearts On Tour and Soul Swapping. It's as if readers are stimulated by the challenge of finding out the answer to the question that the writer has posed them.
I think that titles that are commands or suggestions work well too, though I haven't written any yet - just think of Steal This Book, Don't Look Now, Hold My Hand I'm Dying and It Could Happen To You.
Curiously, there are few adult books with an exclamation mark in the title, though lots for children.

 

[Karen Gray]

Probably because they make you subconsciously pause to answer the question.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

That's it! The title can be as much the elevator pitch or hook as any concise synopsis. For instance, What Would You Do? is more tempting than The Parable Of The Good Samaritan.

 

[Karen Gray]

That's true. But then I like short statements too Just enough information that you then question the title. 3 out of my 5 are short statements For King and Country, Chains of Blood and Steel and The Highland Queen. The 2 slightly longer ones still work because they are action statements Battle of the Bannockburn and Beat the Drums of War.