Entitlement

How often have you heard someone say, you should never judge a book by its cover?

Let me ask you, what do you think of that advice?

When I go looking for a new book to read I can’t help looking at the cover.  After all, it is designed to grab my attention.  Over the years I’ve been more often pleased than disappointed by choosing a book by the cover, and one other thing.  The title.

Coming up with a good title for your work may not take as long as writing 20 chapters, but in some ways it is as important.  As we fight for space on a bookstore shelf, or real estate on a web page, sometimes the title is the final decider.  Don’t think it makes a difference?  Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” was originally called “Fiesta“.   Any guesses where the story would have gone had the title not been changed?  How about Margaret Mitchell’s  “Gone With the Wind” which was originally called “Pansy“.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking a one-word title can’t work, but putting serious effort into it can pay off in the long run.  What you choose to call your work is more than just a label.  It is a short description, a teaser, a word or phrase to pluck at the imagination.   Think of it in the terms of naming your child.  The child will live with that name for his or her whole life.

Like the cover of your book, its title goes a long ways toward introducing you, and your writing, to the waiting public.

Tagged as: Book, Choose, Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta, Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, Name, Novel, Pansy, The Sun Also Rises, Title, Writing