Publishing a Book: The Importance of a Good Title

Sometimes an author nails the title for his book and there is no need for adjustment. Often times, however, an author has penned a fantastic story but an intriguing title eludes him. So his manuscript begins production at Tate Publishing with whatever he could come up with, sometimes even TBD.

Toward the end of each month, we editors get together and bring the descriptions and current titles of our books, and as a group we brainstorm to create better ones. We call these meetings “Title Storms.”

This creative act has a long historical precedent. Here are some famous titles that went through a Title Storm of sorts: Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage was originally titled Private Fleming, His Various Battles. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was originally titled Hurrah for the Red White and Blue. Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms was originally titled As Others Are.

I’m always impressed at the wordplay my staff produces during these creative meetings. Here are a few of this month’s transformations, for example:

Original title: I'm Only Wanda, but Jesus is God
New title: From Germany to Guam: A Missionary's Life

Original title: Dear Diary
New title: Blurred Vision: One Woman’s Memoir Looking Beyond Abuse and Alcoholism

Original title: Blessed
New title: The Interim: Finding God’s Blessing in Pain’s Midst

Note that these books were also in dire need of subtitles that explained their themes more clearly for the potential reader. Now these titles will go out for author approval. Some of them will be tweaked more depending on the author’s feedback. But make no mistake about it—they are now much more prepared to sell.

Avoiding clichés (or turning one on its head) is one important tip for making a good title. Here are some more questions to ask yourself when thinking about your title:

“Does it sound fresh and new? Does it, like a metaphor, bring together two things that haven’t been together before? …the primary function of a title is not to convey meaning as much as to sound enticing and if possible exude resonance. …A good title is like coming to a house you’ve never been in before and having the owner open the door and say ‘Welcome.’”
-Sol Stein