It’s doubtful that a great novel has ever been killed by a bad title, but a good title can still help you get noticed. On the creative side, the right title can help you visualize your finished work and stick to your premise and theme. In a post on the Killzone blog, Elaine Viets suggests ways to brainstorm various ideas for your novel’s title.
Viets suggests keeping your title short and to the point. Genre novels often excel at this, as mystery novels have short, punchy titles that reference death, fantasies reference magic and swords, etc.
But where to find them? As in most things, Shakespeare is a great source for story titles. The Bible and hymns are also fertile ground. Apparently, novels with Girl, Daughter, and Wife are pretty hot right now, but we never advise you to chase trends.
As a last resort, you can try a book title generator, but please don’t tell us if you do.
