posted
For what it's worth, I never read a novel because of it's title. Whenever I pick up a book by an author I've never read before, it is ALWAYS because I've come to learn of the author by word of mouth: either the novel's been reviewed, or has won an award, or comes recommended by a friend, or the writer's name suddenly becomes familiar to me through a combination of sources.
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited April 16, 2007).]
posted
Thinking by polling is uncreative and it will show.
Asking people what they think they will like will not get the same results as if they were actually picking books off a shelf.
Your title is not the hook. It should describe the story of the book. And whatever you come up with now will only be a 'working title' There is a very good chance the publisher will ask you to change the title to something that would match current marketing trends at the time of publicaion. There are even books who change their title after a number of printings to keep current with marketing trends.
posted
I like Zero Memory better than the other one (forgot what it was, now I'm on the posting page), but Zero Memory (or is it Memory Zero?) doesn't seem that provocative to me. Does it somehow reflect your story? I'm a crappy title namer, but I'm looking at my mini-library and the authors seem to have chosen provocative titles that also reflect their content: "Atlas Shrugged", "Things Fall Apart", "Tyranny of the Moment", etc. Provocative is subjective, but from my perspective, I think you could do better than the titles you've offered so far. One thing to note: I think a lot of authors end up renaming their books before publication anyway. You could pick one now and a better title will inspire you as you finish.
[This message has been edited by Sunshine (edited April 16, 2007).]
posted
Memory Zero works better for me than Zero is Fallen, but neither one would make me pick up an unknown work.
I prefer a title that: 1) Creates an immediate image or connection with the potential reader. 2) Is non-specific enough to have multiple interpretations, most (if not all) of which have to do with the story. It is perfectly ok (even desirable) for the reader's interpretation of the title to evolve with the story.
This may be a lot to ask of a title, but for me the title is an important part of the whole work. It's almost like the opening credits in a movie - the style used should have something to do with the movie itself to help set expectations. I am easily distracted, and will find myself wondering when I am going to find out what the title has to do with the story while I am reading it.
posted
My two cents on this is that I like "North Pole, South Pole, Title Poll" better than any of the "Zero" thoughts. ("Zero," in this kind of context, always makes me think of the late Zero Mostel, actually.)
Posts: 8809 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
Topic Closed
Printer-friendly view of this topic
