Kick Ass Titles: Proven Formulas For Naming Your Book: Book #2 In The Killing It On Kindle Series

CREATE BOOK TITLES THAT JUMP OFF THE SHELF

Learn proven techniques for developing blockbuster titles from a book marketing expert. Explore the nine types of fiction titles, find ingenious places to look for ideas and discover 12 formulas derived from observing patterns in best selling titles. Includes 10 brainstorming techniques and inexpensive ways to test your book titles. For Fiction AND Nonfiction.

HOW TO CREATE IRRESISTIBLE TITLES

Creativity doesn't obey rules or laws. For example, it's generally accepted that fiction titles should be short. So what are we to make of books like The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistlestop Café or Wicked: The Life & Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West?

If you think a book should have alliteration I'll show you successful ones that don't. If you think fiction shouldn't have subtitles I'll show you best sellers that do. If you think titles should be crystal clear I'll show you murky best sellers.

So the first rule of Title Club is no talking about Title Club rules!

Instead of rules let's talk about types. As in, what type of title best fits your manuscript? By approaching it that way you can ignore "rules" that stifle creativity and develop titles that give people itchy click fingers.

NINE TYPES OF FICTION TITLES

I’ll show you every conceivable type of fiction title. For example:

Type #1: Titles Taken From Poems
The Fault In Our Stars
For Whom The Bell Tolls
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

Type #2: Titles With The Novel's Aesthetic Or Plot
The Devil Wears Prada
Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil
Valley of the Dolls

Type #3: Titles With Character Names
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
The Bourne Identity

Type #4 - #9: See them on pages 40-47.

10 GREAT PLACES TO LOOK FOR BOOK TITLE IDEAS

Here's one source for getting great titles: Your manuscript. I always have my clients fill out a questionnaire that includes questions like:

Is there an emotion in the book that can be turned into a title?
Example: Days of Rage.

Is there a line in a dialogue that would make a great title?
Example: “Gone with the wind.”

Get inspired with the other 13 prompts in my questionnaire. They’re on pages 25-28 along with nine other ingenious places to look for title ideas.

HOW TO USE FORMULAS TO DEVELOP A WINNING TITLE

A lot of people think formulas are to creativity what painting by numbers is to art. Yet, in an odd way formulas can be a lifeline to the very thing they supposedly choke off--originality.

In that spirit I give you 11 formulas derived from observing patterns in best selling titles:

Formula #1: Number + Noun + Of + Noun
100 + Years + Of + Solitude
Seven + Pillars + Of + Wisdom
Seven + Types + Of + Ambiguity

Formula #2: Somebody's Something
Take the name of a character, add an apostrophe and follow it up with a person, place or thing valuable to them:
Sophie's Choice
Flaubert's Parrot
Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Formula #3 through #11: On P. 4-16.

WORD IDEA GENERATORS
They’re terrific at giving you usage examples, popular adjectives, and invented words. You’ll get links to the good ones.

11 BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES

Brainstorming Idea #1: Combine Two Ideas That Don't Go Together
King Arthur: 2215
Pride Prejudice And Zombies
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance

Brainstorming Idea #2 - 11: They’re in pages 30- 45.

HOW TO TEST YOUR BOOK TITLES

I'll give you lots of options but also reveal the little-known testing service that will poll 50 people starting as low as $20!