MSI Press Blog

    This week, we   look at look at one of the most difficult tasks an author has, yet one that they belief is easy. Probably most authors know what they want to call their book before they even write it. Often, when an author approaches us with a book title, we feel compelled to discuss other options with the author. Here are some of the reasons (problems). Title Duplicative The title already exists. This is quite problematic when one of the books is better known. The new book will likely be overlooked. It is just a copy cat. It is very problematic when there are multiple books by the same title. One proposed title that had this problem was the book now called One Simple Text... The original proposal was for From Tragedy to Triumph . Take a gander for that title in Amazon -- many titles. How would the first-time author's book stand out among them? It likely would not. And if someone were looking for the author's book, that person would have to parse through a number of...

Sometimes a book title flies into an author's mind, and from there begins the writing of a story or  a book. More often, though, an author agonizes over the title of a book, and that agony can slow down or even preclude the writing of the book. Does not having a title mean not having a book? No. Just put nearly anything as a working title (only because you will need to file your documents under some title), and write the book. Focus on the theme of the book and the goal that you want to reach. Why are you writing the book? Let the words for that play out in your story. What is the story about? Develop it. Who are the characters? Develop them. What is the takeaway you want for readers? Make sure that is clear. Along the way, the title will likely become obvious. If it does not, stay with your working title. Make it short (less than 8 words). Make it clearly connected with the theme/message of your book. Make it your 8-second elevator speech about the book. Then, send ...