A lot of Sense and some Sensibility Too! How to choose the title of your novel

There are many informative articles and blog posts on the subject of naming novels, but I must confess I hadn't read any before choosing Angel heart, the title of my debut historical romance. It came to me one day, in the early stages of researching the story. I liked it because it was short. I found it catchy and easy to remember, and I liked the fact it related both to the name of my heroin and to the plot, so I stuck with it and never considered changing it.

It was the same for my second historical romance, The Lion's Embrace, which once again just popped into my mind. It immediately felt right because it related to the main character - the hero this time - and the North African setting. As for the two romances I recently completed, Dancing for the Devil, and The Lady of Bellefontaine, and which will both be published by Áccent Press in the next few months, I found the titles before I even worked all out the details of the plot!

Now I have researched the topic I realise I got it all wrong and I should have taken more time and experimented with different ideas - even if I still love all my titles and would probably keep them anyway.

First and foremost, I should have 'Googled' them to make sure they didn't already exist or weren't too similar to others out there. The most important function of a title is indeed to identify your novel among the hundreds of thousands of books on the market, and a good title should be unique and make your book stand out. This makes so much sense I can't believe I didn't think of it.

Secondly, I should have waited until the end of the writing process before deciding on the name. This is because the original title you may have fallen in love with when you started writing your story may not reflect the plot, characters or style of the final manuscript and may therefore mislead or confuse potential readers. This is something else I didn't do, but then again I feel it would be too much like leaving the choice of a baby's name until after the birth, and I'm not sure I could wait that long.  

Of course, there are other factors to consider when choosing a title. Should you go for an obvious title that reflects the genre, style and content of the novel so that readers know exactly what they are buying, or choose a more intriguing title, one with different layers of meaning?

Many romance novels are often easily identifiable from their title. Anything with the words 'heart', 'passion', 'temptation', 'wedding' and of course 'love' and 'heart' (I am guilty here!) could point to a romance. Add an aristocratic title - 'Viscount', 'Marquess' or 'Duke' - and you fall into the sub genre of historical romances. Further references to a geographical or historical setting will immediately appeal to a specific market. For example any mention of the Highlands or Highlanders evokes Scottish lairds, clan wars or Jacobite plots, and of course men in kilts... 

Some romances have very long titles which look like mini-blurbs and give away most of the plot. There can be no doubt in the reader's mind about who the hero and heroin are, and what the conflict is going to be. 

Even without being too obvious some book titles give you an instant feel for the mood of the novel. I doubt anyone picking up Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables or Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath would expect a cheerful read with a happy ending, even if they knew nothing of the story.

But what about the element of surprise? Is it a good idea to have a title so obscure readers have absolutely no idea about the story and they feel compelled to pick up the book and look at the blurb? Or is there a danger that they might feel let down, or even a little cheated, if the novel turns out to be somewhat less original and enchanting than the title suggested?

There are of course many great novels with great titles around. Successful French novelist Katherine Pancol has a few of those, such as The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Cruel Men aren't so Easy to Find, or again The Squirrels in Central Park are Sad on Mondays (my own translation since the book is not yet available in English). And what about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger, One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Madam, Will you Talk by Mary Stewart?  I wish I could come up with one of those. 

So what can you do if you are stuck and can't think of a title for your story? Using the name of the main character, or of the place or period where the novel is set is a good idea. So is referring to key words, concepts or images recurrent in the story and contrasting them (War and Peace is a classic example). Play on words or the use of alliteration will help make your title memorable (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility), and so will rhyme (The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss). 

     

If you are planning a series, it makes sense to have catchy titles that follow on from one another or have the same style. Sue Grafton takes letters from the alphabet - A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, C is for Corpse. Sophie Kinsella uses the same word in her Shopaholic series, and so does Kathy Reichs for her thrillers, Bones Are Forever, Devil Bones, Break No Bones. I very much like the titles fellow MuseitUp Publishing author Anne Stenhouse chose for her historical romances, Mariah's Marriage, Bella's Betrothal and her forthcoming novel Daisy's Dilemna. This is definitely something I wish I had considered for my own romantic novels, since Angel Heart, The Lion's Embrace and Dancing for the Devil are part of a trilogy. 

So what about you? How do you choose the title of your novels?  And which titles do you wish you had thought of first?