What's the most marketable title?
I am writing a novel about someone being chased by the Russian Mafia. A hitman is sent to save her and that's where the books takes off. I have way too many titles floating in my brain - three to be exact. They are "Slap-Dash", "Tooth and Nail", and "Hang Fire". What is the most marketable title? Why do you think so?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/4007. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
4 answers
You are accessing this answer with a direct link, so it's being shown above all other answers regardless of its score. You can return to the normal view.
Hit Man
Just kidding. Maybe "Guardian Angel" since the hitman is not exactly a saint.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4008. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 comment threads
You are asking the wrong people. Ask a sample of people whom you have imagined would enjoy the book best. For eg. If you are targeting people who likes Tom Clancy type novels, find a few of them and ask them what grabs their attention the most.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4062. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 comment threads
I rather like "Hang Fire." Sounds mysterious and dangerous, it isn't quite grammatically correct as a phrase but it could be in the right context so it's got some tension pushing me towards exploring it, and it's visually evocative.
I also encourage you to find a phrase or proverb in Russian which makes sense when translated to English and see if that works.
0 comment threads
I would definitely avoid Tooth and Nail - it's already heavily overused.
I confess, all three titles sounded very generic and indistinct to me. They tell me this is an action-packed thriller, but nothing more specific than that. I'd recommend you consider what you find to be the most interesting, important, and/or unusual elements of your book, and try to construct a title referring to one or two of those (even if the reference oblique, it's still individual!). Of the three, Hang Fire stands out most for me, but I would really consider it worthwhile to look for something a little less generic - a title that applies to your book, that wouldn't apply as easily to scads of others.
Without knowing more about your book - central themes, conflicts, characters, motivations, location - I'd have a tough time recommending anything suitably tailored to your particular work. Here's an article on title-choosing you might find helpful.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads