Friday, March 6, 2009

A Lizard Ate My Broccoli


Does Your Book Have a Compelling Title? Did the title of my blog make you want to read on?

Your book may be wonderful, however what if no one ever looks at it? That’s why it's necessary to choose a title that is a hook. It must be catchy and grab the attention of your potential readers. Don’t lose sight of the fact that your book is going to be on the shelf with thousands of other books. Anything you can do to help it stand out from the others will be influential in creating sales.

Make your title short and to the point. One of my favorite movie titles is one of the hardest to remember. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” While this is an extreme example, it is a reminder that bigger is not always better. It’s not always an easy task to whittle your title down to a few catchy words.

Use the internet to help you. In today’s online world, it’s important to use key words that people are searching for. A check of the popular search engines can help you here. An internet search will also let you see how many other people have already used your title.

Of course, a catchy title is useless if it does not fit the book. The title should be intriguing enough to make people want to open the book and should not disappoint. There’s no point in just being clever if the title doesn’t fit.

Don’t do what I just did. My title has nothing to do with my blog. But it did make you look!

P.S. Does the title The Belly Button Fairy make you curious?

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

2 comments:

Mary Cunningham said...

Yep! Made me look! I love the cover, Bobbie. Maybe your best yet. All the best with the new book.

They sold like hotcakes in South Carolina!

Mary
http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com

Morgan Mandel said...

I agree. A catchy title is important. Also important is a great cover. Sometimes you don't see the cover, but the title can make you want to look for the book.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com