Tips for Titles
This week J.B. Rivard shares practical, no-nonsense advice on turning ordinary book titles into ones that stop scrolling thumbs in their tracks. From clever wordplay to spotting the emotional heartbeat of a story, he shows how small tweaks can transform a title from “meh” to must-click. Because let’s face it, your book deserves more!
Ask a reader why they chose an article or book and they’ll often say “It had a catchy title.” Here are some tips for creating a catchy title for your writing:
1. Consider the story’s arc.
Often the arc of the story exhibits a title-worthy quality. The title of Dickens’novel of dualities, A Tale of Two Cities, is an example. An American Tragedy, Dreiser’s dark novel, is another. The main characters in my latest novel Dead Heat to Destiny converge at the time of its conclusion, prompting the ‘dead heat’ of the title.
2. Employ alliteration.
Pride and Prejudice tops the list, followed by The Great Gatsby and East of Eden. But perhaps the most famous novel featuring alliteration in its title is Gone With the Wind. The title chosen by the editor of Sea Classics magazine for my World War II article “Sacrifice Off Samar” is also catchy.
3. Accent opposites.
The title of Bel Kaufman’s novel Up the Down Staircase employs opposites. The title for my nonfiction book Low on Gas – High on Sky also relies on opposites.
4. Consider alternate definitions.
All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren’s novel, is not about a king but about a popular, but cynical, politician. An alternative for death was chosen by Raymond Chandler for the title of his famous novel The Big Sleep. Instead of calling a crime story A Lifeless Body, try alternate definitions that retain the meaning, such as A Still Stiff.
5. Try useless, unlikely, or impossible.
Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain suggests an impossibility, as does City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. William Masland’s nonfiction title Through the Back Doors of the World in a Ship That Had Wings emphasizes ‘doors’ that don’t exist and an unlikely ‘ship with wings.’
6. Shift the heavy lifting to the subtitle.
If your main title fails to tell enough about your story, use the subtitle for that purpose. Thackery’s main title, Vanity Fair is not specific; its subtitle, A Novel Without a Hero, is. Dead Heat to Destiny is a good main title, but its subtitle Three Lives and a Spy suggests a story of several people in a war environment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.B. Rivard is a Navy vet, artist, and engineer. He retired from a National Laboratory where he was a nuclear reactor specialist. He also worked as a reporter for Port Aransas’ South Jetty newspaper and as a correspondent for WorkBoat magazine. Rivard is the author of six books and many articles. His most recent novel is Dead Heat to Destiny: Three Lives and a Spy, which follows the four across three continents in an emotional yet realistic tale of duty, love, and courage.
His website is www.illusionsofmagic.com. He lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, Anya Carlson.
DEAD HEAT TO DESTINY
Three young citizens of Belgium, Germany and the U.S., are catapulted into the European maelstrom of the First World War. On the Isthmus of Panama, a defeated rebel becomes a spy for Imperial Germany. This novel compellingly follows four people across three continents in an intensely emotional yet stunningly realistic tale of belief, duty, love, and courage.
It’s the early 20th century. Belgian beauty Adrienne Boch pursues her dream, a career in the booming world of fashion. Cousin Gregor Steiner attends the officer academy of the Imperial German Navy. Will Marra, an American studying in Paris, meets and falls in love with Adrienne.
World War One begins. German troops invade Belgium, causing Adrienne’s family to flee to Paris. Gregor, haunted by the sight of hundreds of sailors dying during the sinking of a German warship, is selected to captain a U-boat. Adrienne establishes a boutique fashion house in Paris as the German Army advances toward the French capitol. Will returns to the U.S.A. and joins the U.S. Army to learn to fly.
Anticipating its entry into the European conflict, the U.S. arms the Panama Canal. In Central America, Germany secretly recruits a spy.
Adrienne, fearing for Gregor and warming to Will, corresponds with both. Unexpectedly, she receives an offer to lead the fashion department of a luxury store of San Francisco.
Global tension escalates, Will, Adrienne, Gregor, and the spy must fight for their beliefs. In the riveting conclusion—with life and love in the balance—these four lives converge in an unanticipated, epic clash.
