Letters and Imagination: Mastering the Art of Writing

The Title

The title of a book is the first thing readers see. It's like the cover of a book's content. A well-crafted title can capture a reader's attention and pique their interest in the book. A good title also can provide insight into the book's theme, subject matter, or central idea. It gives readers a glimpse of what to expect from the book despite its short length.

On this app where there are so many fanfiction books, the title of your book must be memorable and make your book stand out from the rest. Therefore, it is wise to opt for a title with 4 words or less. Short titles are easier to remember. They can quickly imprint themselves in a reader's mind, making it more likely for the book to be recalled and recommended. Short titles also are often more straightforward and less prone to ambiguity. They provide a clear and brief indication of the book's subject or theme. This can save readers time when browsing for books to read. Long titles can be a turn-off for readers. They can be difficult to remember and may not fit well on book covers.

After publishing a book changing the title must be avoided. Title changes, especially after a book has been published for a while, can cause confusion and upset readers. It's best to settle on a title early in the process. A book is identified by its title. If you aren't set on a title, don't publish the book.

A word found in thousands of book titles is 'the'. Some titles really need the 'the' e.g. The Prince sounds better than Prince. However, most titles would be better off with no 'the' e.g.:

The Empty Lies -----> Empty Lies

The Fight for the Crown ----> Fighting for the Crown

The Desire and Temptations ----> Desire and Temptations

Ditching the 'the' can give your title uniqueness that will make it stand out. Think about whether your book's title truly needs the 'the' rather than just shoving a 'the' into it. Avoid the overused 'the'; be original.

Smart use of punctuation marks can also make your title unique. For example: Why! Using an exclamation point makes this title a lament (a passionate expression of grief or sorrow). Why? is a mysterious and intriguing title because of the question mark. But do note there are punctuation that should be kept far away from book titles such as the period, semicolon, dash, hyphen, brackets, braces (curly brackets), and parentheses (additional information in brackets). Don't underestimate the power of punctuation when it has been wisely used in a book title.

Be careful with choosing complicated, uncommon or foreign words for your book's title. Readers are unlikely to open a book that has a title they don't understand and makes them feel dumb. They might think the whole book is filled with words that will make them scratch their head and be unable to follow the story. To avoid this, explain your title in the description so readers can scroll down and immediately learn what the title means and what they can expect in the book. If you're unsure about whether the meaning of the word(s) in your title is known by most people or not, then ask anyone around you if they know what the word(s) means to give you an indication if most readers will know or not.

Ideally, choose your title early in the writing process, as it can help guide your writing and provide focus. However, it is perfectly fine to start writing whilst you don't have a title for your book yet. There is no need to pressure yourself to create a title as soon as you start writing. Authors should spend significant time and thought on choosing a title. It is extremely important because first impressions are powerful. Take your time on creating the title.

If you are in a situation where you can't think of a title or dislike all of the titles your mind has come up with you can write a brief summary for your book. Sometimes, condensing the essence of your story into a few sentences can reveal keywords or themes that could inspire a title. Then consider the main themes, messages, or emotions in your book. Try to collect these into words or phrases that could form the basis of your title. If your book features unique or memorable character names or settings, consider incorporating them into the title. E.g.: One of my books' titles is Eistallen which is the name of the kingdom where the story takes place. Honestly, inspiration strikes when you least expect it so go sleep on it. Let your ideas percolate in your mind and revisit the title quest after a good night's sleep.

Once you have a title that you're happy with, please don't overdo its design. Complicated, busy titles blind readers and cause them to scroll past your book. It might be difficult for those who love to be creative and decorative with text but restrain yourself when it comes to your book's title. Ironically titles with clean, simple designs are the ones that grab readers' attention. Consider this example:

༺☆♥︎M͜͡y͜͡ F͜͡i͜͡r͜͡s͜͡t͜͡ L͜͡o͜͡v͜͡e͜͡ ♥︎☆༻ vs 𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

The first example title says that a child wrote the book even if that is not the case while the second example title looks professional and neat. Less is more when it comes to the title. All titles truly need is a font face/theme/type and to be written in Title Case - a style of capitalization often used for titles of books. In Title Case, the first and last words of the title, as well as all major words (such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs), begin with a capital letter. Minor words, like articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions (in, on, of, to), are typically not capitalized unless they are the first or last word in the title. E.g., Letter and Imagination: Mastering the Art of Writing.

Your title does not only have to contain the name of your book; it can display additional, useful information. You can add 'Completed', 'Ongoing' or 'Coming soon' to let readers know what stage your book is in before they even have to open it. You can let your readers know what type of fanfiction it is e.g., Taekook ff, Namjoon ff, Yoongi X Harry ff. Doing this is smart because it will attract readers who are looking for a specific book and prevent them from making incorrect assumptions. But avoid adding too much additional information - only add what is truly useful to readers. For example:

Incorrect:

𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 Jikook ff (Completed)(24 chapters)(my newest book)

Correct:

𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 Jikook ff (Completed)

I advise putting additional information in brackets or a different font type as shown above to separate it from the name of your book.

In summary, a book's title is a critical element that goes beyond just identifying the work; it is a tool for drawing readers in, conveying meaning, and leaving a lasting impression. Make it short, simple, and unique.