Post #223 August 3 2020 “Titles and Toilet Paper” Since the coronavirus pandemic began this spring, toilet paper has been on the minds of many of us. Think of the product titles—Charmin, Cottonelle, Angel Soft—and what the titles convey to a buyer. Softness, tenderness, ease of use, warmth. Book titles have some of the same attributes…not that books should be confused with toilet paper. Titling a book is an art but it’s something that can be learned. For my money, any book title should be able to achieve three primary ends (pun intended): 1. Capture the essence of the story 2. Intrigue the buyer 3. Appeal to some unspoken or interior need of the buyer Let’s use titles of three of my books published online to see how well I met these needs. The books in question are Final Victory, The Farpool and Monument. Let’s examine each one in turn Final Victory. Well, this has a martial tone to it, implying military things and battles and soldiers. That does capture the essence of this story, which is about a Japanese attempt to steal an atom bomb and threaten San Francisco toward the end of World War II, to get better terms for ending the war. Would this intrigue you as a buyer? Possibly. I like titles that are short, pithy and a bit unexpected, even a play on words. The word ‘victory’ implies a successful conclusion to a military campaign and the word ‘final’ is self-explanatory, implying an ending to such a campaign. The title gives the sense of some kind of ultimate resolution to a conflict. What might this title appeal to in a buyer? Perhaps a need for a satisfactory resolution to some problem or conflict. Perhaps a need to confront someone or some thing that prevents you from achieving a goal. In fact, in historical terms, the term ‘final victory’ was a part of the Japanese military calculations to draw the U.S. and allies into some kind of endgame battle that would result in a Japanese victory. The Farpool. This title does a better job, I feel, of intriguing a buyer. Just what is a farpool? It’s a play on words, for in this science fiction story, the farpool is a whirlpool in the ocean that is linked to a wormhole, enabling travel across vast interstellar distances. Think of a whirlpool that sends you far away. I always liked this play on words. The title directly captures the story for this device is central to the plot. As for buyer appeal, I hope that a prospective book buyer would find this title appealing to some desire to see exotic new places, distant places, different places. The word ‘far’ certainly implies distance, great lengths of time and space, things a long way from us. Monument. This is my latest sf novel about a future architect who can build and alter entire worlds, but whose own ego causes problems that threaten the future of mankind. In and of itself, it seems a fairly innocuous title. Think of what the word means: a structure erected as a memorial or as something of significance and special interest. The word (to me) captures the story since it deals with an ego-driven architect whose greatest desire is some kind of legacy project that will proclaim his genius down through the ages. Think of the pharaohs and the pyramids. I think this title captures the essence of the story well. Does it intrigue a buyer? Perhaps the title could be faulted on this attribute for the word itself seems fairly bland and innocuous. Maybe I could have played with the title a bit, using something Monument of Dreams or Fallen Monument or Broken Monument or something like that. But I like the direct power of a single-word title, if the word is well chosen. What would this title appeal to? Perhaps it might appeal to a buyer’s unstated need to make a difference in life. A need to do something or create something lasting…that’s a very deeply-seated human need. A need to let the world know I was here and I counted for something. Or not. I think you can get carried away with pseudo pop marketing psychology in all this. Choosing a good book title is important, for it and the cover are usually what attracts a reader in the first place. Give it some thought. Try out different words and combinations. Somewhere out there is the right title for your book. You’ll know it when it comes rolling off your lips. The next post to The Word Shed comes on August 10. See you then. Phil B.