I agree with the advice for a stand-in title. My second novel was called "my second novel" until about 60k words in, when I typed up a piece of dialogue and realised that it summed up my novel quite well, hence I adapted it to fit the title. Worry about the content of the story first, I'd say.
Mind you, I whizzed down the list, and without a doubt one potential title stood out for me. I don't know how appropriate it will be to your story, once you have it written, but : The Realm of a Mad God has the WHAT??? factor that would make me enquire further into what the book was about. Some of the others seem a tad melodramatic ...Glory's Lament, Eden's Tears, etc...indeed, the kinds of titles I would probably think up myself. Titles are NOT my strongest talent when it comes to writing!
Realm of a mad god jumped out at me too, but for a different reason. There is a small and simple but popular game called Realm of the mad god.. I do like Barren Heavens though.
I agree with minstrel, but I just thought I'd mention my favourite of your title suggestions: 2 (personally I would have gone for "and" rather than "&", but that's your decision) 3 (which is exactly the kind of title I would have come up with) 7 (my favourite) Don't worry about a title yet as you would have to redecide your original one before publishing anyway, or if you don't you might end up with an extreme case of what's referred to as an artifact title: the title might not refer to anything still present in the story, let alone any potential sequels.
Titles aren't covered under copyright, so if your title fits your story well, keep it (unless it's trademarked, like Star Wars, or a very obvious attempt to capitalize on another novel's fame. like Dune anything). Furthermore, don't settle on a title anyway until your novel is finished and submit-ready. By then, you'll know your novel well enough that a perfect title might leap from the pages and start clawing through your scalp. Until then, any title should be considered a working title, subject to change.
Call it anything you care to. No one buys a book based on the cover. Would you be turned on by War and Peace, Letting Go, Be With Me, or Bullseye? The last three are currently on the NYT best seller list. Traditionally, the publisher supplies the title and the rear cover blurb because they know the market and what readers respond to.
I do it. A lot. And people I know, too. Plus, I've read science saying covers and titles do matter, and common sense and the entire history of fancy cover-making and ridiculous book titling also say it's true. You can't deny "Puffy's Ultimate Destruction" doesn't give you a different idea as to its contents than "Airplanes and Their Effect on 20th Century History". That's what language exists for: telling things apart and figuring out what things are. I, on principle, don't but any books, films or games whose titles have misspellings in them or that follow the structure Noun+ampersand+Noun because they tend to be of inferior quality, with unoriginal plots and amateurish writing.
Write it first, worry about title later. Believe me the journey of the novel can blow whatever title you come up with now, out of the water. One of my books has had seven title changes. I've spent more time fussing about what to call it, then writing it.
They most certainly do, at least in deeply consumerist markets like Murica. In a recent thread here in the forum a member posted an article that had do with the difficulties French writers feel trying to break into the American market. One of the things the French pundits interviewed made mention of was the lack-luster presentation of books under the French publication paradigm. There are pictures of said books in the article, if you chose to read it, that show what to an American eye looks for all the world like shelves of galleys, not finished product. They make mention that they know that they "haven't the knack of popularization", I believe was the quote. So, they are all too aware that one of the hurtles they must leap in order to break through over here is paying attention to a consumer that purchases differently than the one to which they are accustomed.
If that's true, then why do publishers try to give books attractive covers? They spend money doing that, and according to you, that's money wasted.
I said. I said "Call it what you like." I was talking about the subject of this thread. I gave examples of titles out there now as examples. I was talking about the title on that cover. (though in reality I meant to type title, not cover) But that aside, while I'll agree a catchy cover might make you look closer, the cover is chosen by the publisher, and in no way represents the level of or the style of writing. So anyone who walks into a bookstore, looks at a cover, and plunks down cash to buy because they like the picture, has obviously confused the place with an art store.
That was my impression as well. The thoughts are there. How about some rearranging? Glory of a Mad God Magnificent Silence Wrath of Echoes
If I were you I would keep away from the name Tiberious when writing a Sci-Fi'ish story. I'm sure you already know that Tiberious is Captain Kirk's middle name, and might be a turnoff for some readers.
OOooh - how about The Magnificent Silence of a Mad God ???? The other posters are right, though. While thinking up titles can be fun, and one may stick ...you should really get the thing written first. Only then will you know exactly what weight your story carries.
I know of an author whose working title was "Time Fuckers: Fuckers of Time" for three years before he had to send it in to an agent. Your title should be at about the bottom of your priorities right now.
I know this doesnt answer your question but i have to point out that having Tiberius and Ryker in his name probably isn't a good idea as those are both star trek names. Its like me having a character named Han Orion Kenobi. Maybe not everyone will, but some will recognize it and resent it. As for the title, I like Realm of the mad God based on your description.
I liked 3, 7 and 10. The others - far too generic and a little cliche. But why not just use the title you originally wanted? Titles are not copyrighted, and the truth is if your title is similar to a respected published book, there's a chance that someone's typo on an Amazon or Google search might end up with your book rather than the one they were looking for, increasing your exposure Anyway, there're always duplicate titles. While you wouldn't want one that's too iconic like calling your book Star Wars, in general, it's fine. Just use the one you wanted. But the truth is, your title might change anyway as your book changes through the writing and rewrites, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Like others said - just use a working title and get writing.
Hi All, Its mind boggling to freeze on a title for my Novel. My Novel revolves around few friends taking on a pilgrimage to a shrine to find solace to all problems they face in life. They started it whole heartedly and now they been doing this for almost 10 years together. It just happens for them every year with or with out obstacles. Now I'm wondering if I can use the word "Habitue" in the title. How can I use this word effectively. Is it correct to say Habitue Pilgrims or how can this word be used. Any suggestions??? Thanks in advance for all your help and suggestions. Daniel
I think you can use Habitue Pilgrims, I don't see a problem with that. What about just calling it Habitue or Habitues? Then you are giving away a little less about what the story is about and could create more of a mystic around your story?
if you are using 'habitue' to mean 'a frequent visitor' first of all, it is a french word and must have the accent aigu over the 'e' or it makes no sense as a word... secondly, 'habitué' pilgrims' won't make any sense, since the word is a noun, not an adjective... the adjective form would be 'habitual'... people who go to the shrine often, or who live there, would be 'habitués' of the shrine... and titling the book 'habitué' or 'habitués' alone is too vague to work well, imo... why do you want to use that word?... is it one you just learned and think it's so neat you want to use it?... or do you have any logical/practical reason for wanting to?
I think "The Pilgrimmage" sounds quite good. I second mamammia, moreover, you cannot mix languages, and "The customary Pilgrims" makes no sense.
Thank you so much for your reply... I'm wondering if the title Habitue Pilgrims would be grammatically correct. Is it syntactically correct??? Please give me an explanation if possible.
