Have you ever chosen a book based on its title?

I’ve always wanted to title a book with some literary or religious allusion, like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley or The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Or even a musical or cultural reference like Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin.

Titles, by the way, are not copyrighted, so I could have titled my book To Kill a Mockingbird. I also like titles that are a pull quote about a major theme from the book.

 

So, my original title for The Last Crossing was All the Live-long Day, lyrics taken from the American folk song, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad. I chose this title because Timmy, the young ghost in The Last Crossing, loved trains.

 

But All the Live-long Day didn’t conjure a mysterious atmosphere. Rather, it recalled my stint in a cooperative nursery group with preschoolers scurrying around with runny noses and happy smiles.

While I was drafting my manuscript, I kept that first title, abbreviating my files to ALLD. But I knew I needed to retitle the book, so I did some research on what makes a good title.

There are many resources that discuss effective titles. One that I can’t find right now, suggested that three word titles are the most successful. Wish I could find that link for you, but no luck. I know that my most successful book so far has three words in the title: The Cavanaugh House. Maybe there’s something to that.

I finally settled on The Last Crossing after I scribbled out a word cloud based on my story. The words cross, crossing, and crossed jumped out at me. Characters in the book get cross with one another. Catholic characters cross themselves by making the sign of the cross. One character has a bridge to cross or not cross. Timmy has crossed over, which for him, was the last crossing.

Here are just a few of the resources I found that offer advice on how to title your book:

“On Changing Book Titles And Covers: My Own Experience And How You Can Do It Too” by Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn

“How to Title a Book: Making Titles that Sell” by Dave Chesson, Kindlepreneur.

“Scribe Guide to Writing a Perfect Book Title” by Tucker Max, Scribe

 

Here are some titles that have a particular charm:

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson

Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. (children’s book)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Electric Kool-aid Test by Tom Wolfe

 

What are some of your favorite book titles?

Have you ever selected a book based on its title?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about titles.

 

The Last Crossing is available at Amazon.com.