In Search of Titles

by Gary Fearon, Southern Writers Creative Director

Choosing the right title for a book can be as agonizing for an author as how to start the first paragraph. With an infinite pool of possibilities, how can you narrow it down to the most fitting, most irresistible title?

As always, it helps to take a cue from the pros.  In reviewing book releases from 2013, titles can be sorted into four categories:

• Simple Nouns
• Descriptive Nouns
• Situations
• Statements

Excellent examples of each can be found in our own Southern Writers Bookstore, where you'll find every author who appears in the magazine.  Let's look at a few:

SIMPLE NOUNS
A single evocative noun or nouns, conjuring curiosity.
Partholon by D. Krauss
Dollface by Renee Rosen
The Scroll by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh
Wink by Eric Trant
Moonrise by Cassandra King
Shattered by Rita Schulte
Sick & Tired by Kimberly Rae
Unseen by Karin Slaughter


DESCRIPTIVE NOUNS
Getting more specific, narrowing in on a particular subject.
Song of the Meadowlark by Sherry Wilson Johnson
Starry Night by Debbie Macomber
The Wishing Well Curse by Lynn Donovan
Shug's Place by Bob Strother
The Tempest Murders by p.m. terrell
Millie's Treasure by Kathleen Y'Barbo
The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson
Two Little Girls in a Wading Pool by Sara M. Robinson
Relative Danger by June Shaw
Tinseltown Riff by Shelly Frome
Glimpses of Glory by Peggy A. Keady
The Parchman Preacher by Michael Thompson


SITUATIONS
Identifying the central premise in the story.
Murder on the Orient Espresso by Sandra Balzo
Breach of Power by Chuck Barrett
Falling for the Lawman by Ruth Logan Herne
Taming the Sheriff by Cynthia Hickey
Being Santa Claus by Sal Lizard
Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard
Quest for the Nail Prints by Don Furr
Last Chance for Justice by Kathy Macias
Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman
Death of a Dowager by Joanna Campbell Slan


STATEMENTS 
A complete sentence alluding to the idea behind the book.
Mama Was the Queen of Christmas by Linda J. Gilden
Mama Was Trashed by Deborah Sharp
The River Is Home by Patrick D. Smith
Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams by W. Terry Whalin
Murder Has Consequences by Giacomo Giammatteo
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash
Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner
March with Me by Rosalie T. Turner
Give the Lady a Ride by Linda Yezak

So which seems to be the most common choice?  Scanning the latest releases of the 511 different authors who've appeared in Southern Writers magazine, the percentage of those title categories breaks down into the following pie chart:

At 44%, nearly half of the titles are descriptive nouns, identifying the subject of the book up front.  That's not to suggest that one choice is better than another, but it may be a trend to consider if your current work-in-progress has a unique character, setting, or issue you can capitalize on when naming your noble novel.

Fortunate is the author who finds just the right title and never has to look back.  But you can make Christmas shopping something you won't have to second-guess by visiting the aforementioned Southern Writers Bookstore, powered by Amazon. Not only will you find the right titles for everyone on your list, you'll discover a few you can't live without either.  Happy holidays!

Carved in Stone

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


While visiting favorite relatives in North Carolina this weekend, I joined them for an excursion to historic downtown Hendersonville, where their fine arts festival, Art on Main, was in full swing. We strolled the streets, encountering metal workers, portrait painters, authors, blacksmiths, and apple-flavored ice cream, though my favorite discovery was an enormous general store called Mast, a multi-story warehouse of curiosities which was like a Farmer's Almanac come to life.  Their candy department alone was a treasure trove of forgotten and obscure confections.

Taking a break from all our walking, we soon camped out on park benches next to a city building.  As I toothfully worked on my first-ever Big Hunk (a taffy-like creation of honey-flavored nougat) I couldn't help but notice a concrete memorial right in front of me, honoring Vietnam veterans. It caught my eye because of its unique shape (that of the Vietnam coast itself) and also because at the very bottom was carved "Designed by Jerry Gordon, 1947-1995".

I thought it was ironic that someone who took the time to design this tribute has himself been immortalized, to the point where his name will also be seen in this spot for generations to come.

It brought to mind that you and I will someday leave behind a legacy of our own. The question is, what will that legacy be? As writers, we may hope it will be in the form of a bestseller that's still available fifty years from now.

(clockwise from top: Poe, Hemingway, Twain and Seuss respected in their respective stomping grounds)

The great authors who came before us are not only remembered via the printed page, but were found worthy of their own memorials. The homes of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are popular Gracelands in their own right. Walt Whitman and Kurt Vonnegut have libraries named after them. A wax figure of Mark Twain can be posed with in more than one American city, as well as in Canada.

These beloved writers became beloved by leaving a legacy of literature that captured the times as well as  the hearts of their readers. The book you're working on right now may well become the masterpiece that defines 2013 to a generation to come.  A lofty suggestion, perhaps, but it's unlikely that Nathaniel Hawthorne ever imagined that his likeness would grace the place he used to embrace.

 

Our literary efforts may or may not earn us a concrete memorial or a statue in our local park, but it's something to strive for.  Next time you're thinking that writing is a monumental task, celebrate the fact that it actually could be.

Personally, I'd be happy if they'd just name a candy bar after me.  I like to think they already have.