What's in A Name? Titles for Books
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I’ve been asked a few times over the years about how to title a book or what I should name a book. Here are some things that work for me.
Know How It Works - If you are traditionally published, the publisher has the final say on the title. I have always had to provide the working titles of the books in the initial proposal, and I’ve been fortunate that they have agreed with my choices.
Books can have the same title. You may want to Google your title ideas to see what other books have the same name. If they are in different genres, you may not want folks to confuse them.
Themes - I primarily write cozy mysteries. We like puns and things that are related.
The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries all have rhyming titles with a hint about the crime. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers, Film Crews and Rendezvous, Christmas Lights and Cat Fights, Deadlines and Valentines, Teddy Bears and Ghostly Lairs, Hazardous Links and Hijinks
The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries are have nursery rhymes that have gone bad in some way. Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones, Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir, A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket, Life is But a Scream, Down Came the Rain and Washed the Body Out, One Two Buckle My Blue Suede Shoes
The Pearly Girls Mysteries all have a musical theme that ties into the history of the property in the series. Murder Strikes a Chord, Murder Plays Second Fiddle, Murder Whets Its Whistle
Double (or Triple Meanings) - The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, The Pearly Girls Mysteries, and all of my short stories hold a hint about the story and the crime. Here are some examples from my short stories.
“Washed up”
“Spring Cleaning”
“Par for the Course”
“Art Attack”
“Derailed”
“Out of Commission”
“Dead over Heels”
“Game Over”
