Your Title: Google It First

"Before you decide on a title for your book, Google the options."  

If only I could remember who gave me this piece of advice, but I can’t. What I do remember are the discussions that followed. Basically there were two reasons to Google a potential title.

Obviously, you want to avoid a title that has been used especially if it has been used often. Like me, you’ve probably Googled a title when you're searching for a book. One of my most recent searches was for A Perfect Day, a picture book by Lane Smith. When I popped over to the library catalog and entered the title, I got 520 results. Ugh. I hate it when it gives me everything vaguely related to my search. I’m not sure why but it also searches the book descriptions. But there were also identical titles this time around. I found a movie, an album, an electronic copy of a novel and 3 picture books with the exact same title as well as one picture book with a title that starts with "A Perfect Day..."

The picture book I’m looking for is about a group of animals who are having a perfect day until a bear comes along. The e-book was a psychological thriller. Not horrifying but not  ideal for picture book fans. 

This leads us to the second reason I was given that you should Google your title.  You want to keep young readers from finding a book that is very different and possibly inappropriate.  And that is definitely something to consider.  Most of us have clicked on a title only to discover that . . . Ooooo, that's not what I wanted.

But I've also discovered a third reason to Google your title. You also want to avoid competing media that is similar to your own. 

Recently, a librarian at our local branch recommended The Lemon Tree , a nonfiction account of a Jewish Israeli woman who grew up in the home that a Palestinian family was driven out of as Israel was being formed. The two met when he came to see the house and a sometimes uneasy friendship developed.  The librarian also told me that a movie had been made of the story. She even showed me the DVD.

It turns out that the title of the DVD isn’t exactly the same – it is Lemon Tree vs The Lemon Tree. But seriously? That’s just too close. I say that because my book club read the book. One of the women then watched the movie and discovered that NO it isn’t the same story although the parallels are obvious. The movie is about a Palestinian woman who goes to court to protect her ancestral lemon orchard when an Israeli minister wants to clear the trees.  The two pieces are about the same global area, the same two groups of people and even the same time period.

Two titles that are very close about similar stories. Don’t put your would-be readers in a position where they might pick the wrong piece.

Come up with a title or three and then Google them. Try not to pick something that has been used time and time again. Whether the piece is very different or very similar, it will create needless confusion. Have mercy on your fans!

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards' writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins August 14th. 

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4 comments competing titles, google, research, titles

Catch Blog Readers With a Title and Hook

You know how you can make one of those ridiculous professional mistakes, and you’re all set to kick yourself in the pants, but then you figure out something terribly important from the mistake? Yeah, that happened to me the other day.

It all started a year ago, when I’d accidentally disabled the publicizing feature on my personal blog.

But then last week, I realized the mistake and got to work, getting all my promotional tools up and running again. That’s when the terribly-important figuring out began. (I mean, besides the terribly important thing I figured out about checking the status of your publicizing tools on various social media.)

First, I noticed my blog post titles. When I double-checked my blog feed on the afore-mentioned various social media, and saw my blog title pop up, I had this moment where I thought, “Would I stop to read this blog post based on that boring title?”

Well. It was a humbling moment, friends. I’m a creative writer, for crying out loud. I should be coming up with extra-oomph-y titles, right? But I’d been taking the lazy route, falling back on same-old, same-old title patterns.

To be honest, I suspect my faithful blog readers would probably read my posts no matter what I titled them. And yours probably will, too. But do you really want to get in the bad habit of penning ho-hum titles? That’s a writing skill you need to hone whether you write fiction, non-fiction, poetry or blog posts.

And for bloggers like me, there’s another reason strong titles are important. I’m in the business of bringing new readers to my blog. Maybe you’d like to build your subscribers, too. But how can we expect to pull in new readers with ordinary titles? After all, we’re competing with a ton of information (not to mention a ton of cute cats) out there amongst the social media. We’re going to need a title that will grab a reader’s attention—and fast!

Then there’s the first line of the post, the line that also comes up in the blog post feed. I was not too impressed with my first sentence hook. If I were actually fishing with that hook, I’d starve to death.

In the end, I realized that if one is going to go to all the trouble to publicize one's blog posts, it’s terribly important to put one's best foot forward. A strong title can get the casual reader to stop scrolling. A first line with a hook can get that reader to a blog. And if the rest of the post offers something of value to that reader, one is very likely to land a subscriber.

Which is way better than getting a kick in the pants.


~Cathy C. Hall

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9 comments blog advice, Cathy C. Hall, hook your readers, titles

Get Your Article Query Noticed

Remember preparing for the dreaded job interview? The first impression. It seems everyone from your Great Aunt Martha to the dry cleaner had advice—and most of it included the handshake. Firm. Confident. Not sweaty. Because if the interview was the first impression, the handshake was the beginning of the first impression. A lot of pressure for a handshake but…

As a freelance writer you can work for an editor for years without every meeting them in person(or these days without even talking to them on the telephone). Instead of job interviews we have queries—one written page to say “Hire me!” In place of the handshake we have the article title.

Be honest. How much time and thought do you put into your article titles? Sure, you craft a great idea and format, find sources, toot your horn with clips and experience, compliment the magazine and/or editor. I used to slap in any title that popped into my head as I was typing up the query. Then I realized that in a flood of queries, titles are easy for editors to remember. Titles can say I’m professional, I pay attention to details, I know your magazine. A lot of pressure for a title but…

This is where research comes in handy. You did research the market, didn’t you? Try to use a similar format to past articles—every magazine has their favorite title type.

Article Quote – Use a source quote or an especially good phrase from your article, usually the first paragraph. For instance, if you were writing an article on job interviews and used the first paragraph of this article your title could be “A Lot of Pressure for a Handshake”.

Number – Many magazines like “number” titles: “Five Ways to Organize Your Life”, “Six Fun Car Games”, “Three Things to Do with Avocados”.

Funny – Especially if your article has a tinge of humor to it carry that theme through to your title. An essay on capturing a bat in my house was titled “Living in a Bat House” as opposed to the more straight forward, but less fun “The Day I Captured a Bat in My House”.

Alliteration – Don’t carry alliteration for more than three words and don’t feel all the words in the title have to match: “Delectable Desserts”, “Help with Heart Health”, “Doggie Disasters in Your Garden”.

Familiarity – Take a well known book, song, or saying and give it a twist to create a memorable title. “Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue” became “Three Cheers for the Red Freshman”. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” became “Invasion of the Bulb Snatchers”. Just make sure it isn’t an overused title twist. For instance, I imagine at one time editors were drowning in titles that were twists on Nike’s “Just Do It” and the Mastercard “Priceless” line is finding its way into many article titles.

One last note: You’re probably noticing that my blog title is, well, lackluster. That’s because I’ve received advice to be straightforward with blog post titles since it makes search engines easier to find your article.

One last, last note: Even if you come up with a great title don’t get too attached to it. Editors often change it anyway to match the issue’s theme, the space available, or a thousand other reasons. But your title did its job—it helped get you the assignment.

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2 comments magazine articles, queries, titles