Finding the right title

Lavery Maiss AurasA British sitcom had a running joke about a man who wrote a memoir:
Man: “I’ve written a book.”
2nd character: “Oh? What’s it called?”
Man: “My Life in Kenya.”
2nd character: “What’s it about?”

In a way, that’s a successful conversation. Even if the subject matter should be obvious from the title, at least the potential reader wanted to know what the book is about. Anything is good if it generates a spark of curiosity long enough for the person to turn the book over to read the back cover, or to click on the More link to read the description.

Writer’s Digest has 7 tips for coming up with the perfect book title.

His Forgotten Fiancée is another title that sums up the book nicely. I wish I could take credit for it, but my kind editor was responsible. The story started, for me, with a man waking up in a strange room with no memory of who he was or how he got there. A woman came into the room and told him they were engaged. Figuring out how he would react was what started me writing this story.

Do you choose a book based on its title? Or do you go for a nice cover instead?

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