Naming Your eBook
One very challenging piece of self publishing is choosing a name. Everyone says that you want it to be relevant to the book, something that gives you a clue about what happens in the book, and you want it to be memorable.
I tried to do that with Mythical Investigations. See, I wanted to tell the reader two things right away: this book has mystery and magical creatures. I couldn’t figure out a way to fit space into it. The original book cover is an artist’s rendition of a Kapatonian, so I thought that might help. I’ll be completely honest; I don’t think the title really works. If I could do it again, I would stick with the original title of the manuscript: The Grootslang.
Originally, I didn’t want to use it because I thought it might be confusing to have the title be about the Grootslang and the cover be an alien. I also did not think I would get much search traction from the Grootslang because it’s a really specific niche. I don’t think it’ll be the next dragon or octopus or whatever.
The serials have been challenging to market. I think there are a lot of moving parts so unless you are willing to jump in with an open mind and say “okay, there’s space, there are vampires, there are gnomes, there are aliens, and there’s a mystery afoot” then this probably isn’t the book for you. But I think the really key advertising points are that it’s a mystery set in space.
So, choosing a name has just been really hard.
I know some people try to utilize SEO to name their books. I don’t think this always works. I even saw someone choose a name with a hashtag and when I googled it trying to find their book, I kept getting other posts from the hashtag. So, I’m not sure it works but I think it could.
I think it is a little easier if you’re writing a story about witches, it’s probably wise to use that. Books with “witch” in the title will make it really easy to find. This might also apply to kids’ books about robots. I think a title will go hand in hand with your covers too.
Think about Twilight. Whether you hate it or love it, it had amazing marketing. The black cover with the hands holding a bright red apple. Immediately your kind goes to danger, darkness, maybe Snow White (a girl in danger). The use of a black backdrop and red is a hint at the vampires and they just look really nice. I especially love the first cover, but they were all great.
I also loved her book, The Host. I think the name is perfect because she’s literally a host for this alien. It also has a great cover with the eye, because in the book that’s the way you can tell if someone is a host.
Whether you liked those books or not, they sold well because they were marketed well.
If you see a book that has the title, “Her Last Goodbye” and it’s a picture of a teenager in a foggy field, there’s a pretty good chance it’s a crime thriller. In fact, titles like that are almost always crime or romance.
“Thinking of You” – Romance
“The One That Got Away” – Crime/Thriller
“The Notebook” – Romance
If you’re writing a book about Dorothy and it’s a romance, you might name it “Red Shoes” but if you look at the book “Red” by Ted Dekker, it sends a completely different message.
Fantasy books might have the most freedom. Even still, if you’re writing about dragons and you chose “Eragon” today, it might be harder to market. A book titled “Dragons Breath” might do better simply because readers don’t have to do as much investigation to find out what’s inside.
I think more important than any name is the overall picture of the book. If you look at a book, you want it to have the right feel. From the title, to the font used for the title, to the cover photo. Your book is doing something right if the reader can tell what genre it is just by looking at it.
If you’re not sure if your book achieves that, you should ask around in the writer’s community. People love to give their opinions. But ultimately, you’ll get to decide if your book looks the way you want.
Good luck out there!
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