Publishers have a method for titling books and it's all dependent on genre. As a true crime aficionado, I've read so many books with "fatal" in the title that when I come across one on Amazon, I'm not sure if I've already read it. Political thrillers have buzzwords such as "power" and "orders" "Code" is also a big one. And "The President's..."
It makes sense. The vast majority of readers stick with one genre. The admonition to "read widely" ~ the one that's sprung on would-be authors all the time ~ doesn't necessarily mean to read in a variety of categories, but to simply to read a bunch of different authors.
In the women's fiction genre, which I do not read, a popular buzzword is "women", which is stupid. Are all these books about a group of women? Or one woman? I would never pick up a book with "women" in the title. Louisa May Alcott, sure, but she titled her book long before algorithms were invented. "Beach House" is another biggie. Who are these entitled women who take week-long "girls' retreats" to somebody's beach house? Is it Oprah and her gal pals? From what I understand, all the main characters in popular women's novels find themselves divorced from uber-rich men, and have to (gasp!) suddenly find a job. That's almost "heartbreaking".
But I digress. I am notoriously bad at titling my books. I inevitably end up with something generic or cliched, mostly I guess because I finally give up trying to find something catchy and fresh and genre-specific.
A lot of book titling advice exists out there. A common one is "be unique". That's not easy. Obviously, an author isn't going to name her book "The Hunt For Red October", but most titles that one can devise have already been used or are extremely similar. I called my first novel Once In A Blue Moon, and I don't remember why, but I think the moon figured prominently in the manuscript (it was a long time ago). Know how many books titled Once In A Blue Moon are out there? A lot. In my case it doesn't matter, because no one's bought my book anyway. But no, I didn't research before naming it. I'd already decided that would be the title and that was that.
Common advice includes considering the setting, the time period, the theme. These are all good, but probably things an author has already considered.
I'm as far from an expert on titling as one can be, but here are a few ideas that might work for you:
A Twist On A Common Phrase
Grab a phrase everyone is familiar with and tweak it. This has the advantage of sticking in a reader's mind, but still adds a touch of creativity. I titled one of my novels The Apple, because the theme is that the main character becomes a criminal just like her father. As I was writing it, I kept thinking, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". Naturally, no one got it, but it made perfect sense to me.
Alliteration
Yea, I'm kind of big on that, probably because I'm a songwriter. Isolate a key word that defines your novel, then find an evocative pairing. Not that these are great, but I used both Shadow Song and Bad Blood for two of my novellas. One book's inciting incident occurs in the shadows, while the other's antagonist is the main character's brother (thus,"blood").
Research Song Titles That Match Your Theme
For the record, neither song titles nor book titles can be copyrighted, but instead of using the exact title of a song, consider it a starting point. The Lovin' Spoonful had a hit with a song called, "Darling Be Home Soon". I think I was researching "home" song titles when I ran across it, and I ended up titling my novella, Find My Way Home. (Also the book takes place in roughly the same era in which the the song was released, but that's just a little personal tidbit.)
Do The Same With Famous Quotes
There are tons of famous quotes out there, which leads me to believe that they're not all "famous", but these are a good way to find inspiration.
A Play On Words
My novella's title, Second Chance, sounds rather cliche, but the town my character ends up in after wandering aimlessly across country is called Chance. Her band has just broken up, and she's looking for a new start. Second Chance made perfect sense. (No one has bothered buying it, but I doubt that's because of its title.)
Incorporate Your Main Character's Name (depending on genre, of course)
The one and only time I ever titled a book before I even started writing it happened because I had a 30-day trial membership to Canva and my final day was approaching. I wanted to create one more cover before time ran out. That book turned out to be New Kaitlyn. This works for the women's fiction genre, but obviously won't for, say, sci fi.
Think About The Antagonist Instead of The Protagonist
This one is a little bit out there, but it might produce some original ideas. As I was writing my second novel, I kept trying to intuit the bad guy's motive for what he does, and there really isn't one ~ he's just crazy. My main character, in fighting back, thinks she killed him, and she flees to a small town and winds up as an all-night disc jockey under an assumed name. Halfway through writing it, "Radio Crazy" popped into my head and I liked it. (As unique as that title is, there is actually another book out there with the exact same name. Unbelievable.)
Don't Ask AI
Okay, this is kind of a personal beef, but I have asked AI a couple of times and its suggestions are as bland as dust. That's how I ended up with The Diner Girl. I was desperate enough to accept one of AI's suggestions. Actually, go ahead and ask it. You're not going to get brilliant ideas, but you may be able to incorporate one of them into a title that's actually good.
While I haven't finished my latest manuscript, I am thinking of titles, and it's as grueling a process as it's always been. I've jotted down a few possibilities, but I don't particularly like any of them. I even started writing the blurb, hoping to glean some ideas from that. The first three words I wrote were, "Drea comes home", and I thought, hey! But no, I'm not going to title it Drea Comes Home. I could just as well call it "The Three Bears".
Thus, titles are the bane of my writing existence. I may have to check out that song title idea again.
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