People a course in miracles bookstore a title for their precious manuscript in a number of ways. The most common approaches include:
(a) Thinking of the title first – i.e. before the book has even been written. This can mean that the entire book content is then structured around the book title, and the title itself provides a focus for the author as they plan and write their book.
(b) Thinking of the title last. Once the manuscript is finished and you are sitting there with the book ready to send off to publishers, this is often the point at which writers come up with that all important book title.
(c) Thinking of the book title part way through the book writing process. This is probably the most common way that book titles are born. As writers work their way through producing their manuscript, they suddenly stumble upon a phrase or come up with an image or symbol that would work well in the title, and so the title of the book is suddenly realised.
However, for some writers, identifying a title for their book can be extremely challenging and also quite daunting. Having a decent book title is crucial to its success. It needs to be a catchy title, something that is going to entice readers to pick the book off of the shelf and purchase it. At the same time, the title needs to reflect the key theme of the book in someway. One of the most important things about choosing a book title is ensuring that, once you have found it, you love it. So don’t worry if you think the title is a little bizarre or a little unconventional. If it ticks those three boxes of (1) you loving it, (2) it fits the key theme of the book and (3) it is catchy to readers, then you should feel more than happy to go with it!
If you need a few tips on choosing a title that works for you, a few important hints are listed below:
– Create a massive list of possible titles – anything you can think of! Get the words and phases written down – this will help you come up with that perfect title out of all of your ideas
– Have a look at what titles other people have used for books they have written within the same genre as your book. Which of these titles do you like? Which don’t you like? Is there a pattern emerging here? How can you use this pattern to help inform your book title choice.