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Author Topic: What's in a title?
SteveRogers
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I was browsing the other side of the forum for any new release info which periodically pops up in the topics over there, and I ran across this.

The idea is an interesting one. The topic suggests an alternative title to the upcoming Shadows Alive release, and this made me look at a variety of other novels in a different light.

What role does the title of a novel play in its lasting appeal or its popularity? I recall debates over the effectiveness of the title Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Are there other novels which would be altered significantly if the title were to be changed?

This dichotomy can even be imposed sometimes by publishers. One example which might be well known to the members of this forum is Orson Scott Card's novel Saints which was originally released under the title Women of Destiny.

So, what would happen if a novel like, for instance, **sorta spoilers, I guess** It by Stephen King was given the unfortunate title Galactic Battles Between The Spider and the Turtle? **end of guessed sorta spoilers**

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Sean Monahan
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Tolkien's preference for the title of the third volume of LotR was "The War of the Ring", as it gave away less of the story, but he was overruled by his publisher.
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SteveRogers
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That's pretty much what I meant.
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Corwin
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quote:
What role does the title of a novel play in its lasting appeal or its popularity?
I'm guessing the only problem is whether the novel gets known to a large enough audience for the title not to matter. With a book by a known author the title is gonna matter even less as the fans will buy even "Galactic Battles Between The Spider and the Turtle" if it's written by King.
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Bella Bee
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I remember the author of 'Twilight' saying that the title that she chose for the book was 'Forks'. But for some inexplicable reason her editor changed it.

(My other favourite what-if - which isn't a title - is that the author of 'Gone with the Wind' planned to name the main character 'Pansy O'Hara'. I'm sure that would have been a great success.)

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SteveRogers
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quote:
Originally posted by Corwin:
quote:
What role does the title of a novel play in its lasting appeal or its popularity?
I'm guessing the only problem is whether the novel gets known to a large enough audience for the title not to matter. With a book by a known author the title is gonna matter even less as the fans will buy even "Galactic Battles Between The Spider and the Turtle" if it's written by King.
Maybe that wasn't the best example. But what about in the case of an author's breakout work. Do you think would all be here on an Orson Scott Card forum if Ender's Game had been given the title Buggers! or something like that? I would've been hard pressed to take that title seriously when I picked up the book in a bookstore.
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TomDavidson
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Prentice Alvin was the first Card book I ever read, followed by Speaker for the Dead. [Smile]
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SteveRogers
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Well, in the case of the Alvin Maker series, there can also be issues with the cover artwork of a novel. Frankly, the cover art for Prentice Alvin and Heartfire aren't the kind of thing many people would want to be seen reading in public.
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BBegley
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Catherine Asaro is the all time champion of covers I'm not only embarrassed to be seen with, but that also bring me shame at the counter when I'm purchasing them. It's a shame I like the books so much (except the last one, Diamond Star).

Very good book with shameful cover
Ascendant Sun

Not very good book with even more shameful cover
Diamond Star

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iglee
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I don't know about what's in a title, but Juliet's inquiry "What's in a name?" seems to have started a whole tradition. A whole lot of authors have since used quotes from The Bard to make titles for stories. Check out this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_of_works_based_on_Shakespearean_phrases

I don't know if the said authors were trying to impress us with their literary acumen or if Shaky's words are so invocative that they simply must be used. I lean toward the latter. At any rate, here is a link to a great song about it. It's not quite as fun as Keenan Wynn's and James Whitmore's rendition but . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmZfnax1yw

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