Good Titles for Books and How to Come Up with Them

Just how do you come up with good titles for books?

Recently one of my children’s publishers flew me back to their offices for two days of meetings to discuss the next set of potential books I would be signing the contract to write for them.

My husband, Jeff, and I always like to travel together, so he hopped on the plane with me and across the country we went.

It was an exhilarating experience to meet with people I’d only known previously as a voice on the phone or a name cc’d in an important e-mail, but it was also a time of solid learning for me as a writer.

One of the items to accomplish on our agenda was a brainstorming session for potential titles for the books.

Various people popped in and out during our meetings including folks from marketing, the creative director of the concept behind the books, and the director of book development.

My editor ran the show.

By the time we entered into title tryouts, we were all having a grand time tossing ideas back and forth.

Even Jeff was providing invaluable suggestions and insight from his vantage point of nearly 30 years as a fourth grade teacher.

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How to Come Up With Good Titles for Books

To start our brainstorming session, I was informed that some of the publisher’s titles used alliteration. (Think “Penelope’s Purple Purse.”)

Other titles of theirs used a combination of a noun followed by a prepositional phrase. (Think “Tiger in the Night.”)

For titles in the upcoming set of books I was projected to write, they wanted to use a different set of parameters.

Any catchy concept was up for grabs.

Talk about fun!

We tried out this.

We tried out that.

And then we all got on a roll.

It was as if those brilliant minds sitting around the table, many of them successfully published authors in their own right, were ignited by nitromethane, the explosive fuel that blasts dragsters into action and sends them racing down the track like rockets.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an amazingly catchy and fun title burst out of someone’s mouth.

I think it was the director of book development, but we all jumped on it so fast that it was hard to remember who said what.

And that’s how a title was born.

We picked that title for the first book.

We quickly chose a similar title for a second book.

And I was sent home with an assignment…to research the topic for a third book and come up with a title that would match the other two.

Do you want to have fun picking a working title for the children’s manuscript you’re working on?

Hold a title brainstorming session and stretch your brain for ideas.

For even added fun, host title tryouts for your manuscript at your critique group and watch the sparks of imagination fly.

For a free worksheet with a list of prompts to use, visit my site Writing According to Humphrey and Friends at www.WritingAccordingToHumphrey.wordpress.com.

Click on the tab at the top for “Writer’s Notebook Worksheets.”

Then scroll down to “Charts and Worksheets to Get Organized for Success.”

Click on the link to “Title Tryouts” and download a pdf file you can print out and add to your writer’s notebook.

Use it to brainstorm ideas for a fantastic title.

One final word about titles.

The title you choose is called a working title.

It’s the title you type at the top of your manuscript.

A committee will select the actual title of your published book.

But who knows?

Your working title might be so awesome, they just might choose yours.

About Nancy I. Sanders
Nancy I. Sanders loves to help writers experience success along their writing journey. Get her two how-to books for children’s writers and get in the know! For more information about her books, visit http://yesyoucanlearn.wordpress.com.

 

 

 

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