The books were called HARRY POTTER and the blah blah blah. Note: Character, book title. Simple. With the first in that series, people caught on to the the first part and considered that the title. The first Harry Potter book was referred to as, well, Harry Potter. That's how it was sold and known. It also didn't have a long and convoluted start to the regular phrase. It wasn't called: Harry Potter, the Adventures of a Boy Wizard - The first damn book, Harry Potter, the Adventures of a Boy Wizard - the next damn book. Compare: Harry Potter to: Andrew Milton and the Color Realms The second is toooooo busy. Shorten it, if you want to have a regular title to start all your books. And if it ISN'T successful, the book will simply be known as Andrew Milton. 'Andrew Milton - Champion of Light' (And noticed I dropped both the THE again. You don't need them!)
the Light is refering to the mystical 'Light' which is an element of the story, therefore it should be of 'the' Light. maybe i should just go with 'The Adventures of Andrew Milton'
Shorten shorten shorten. Why do you need 'The Adventures Of'? People in book stores (Physical, and online) glance at titles. If it's too long to catch in a glance, they won't bother reading the rest.
I'm a fan of short titles too, but it's not necessary or appropriate for every book. Books with both long and short titles have been successful. Long titles work when they're catchy and easy to remember; they should be phrases that are easily grasped. Look at The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, or Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
I agree. Long or short titles could go either way. Both could be good for a story. But what do you mean by "long or short titles"? How would you define long or short for a title? Mileage may vary. Someone might think a certain title is long, while another person would think it is short. How many syllables define long and short for a title?
Frankly you seem so attached to your Adventures and Andrew Milton that I'm not sure why you're asking on the forum in the first place. I think it's fair to say that the majority of the people on this thread dislike "Andrew Milton and the Colour Realms" and yet you argue that the title is fine - either take the advice, or ignore it, but if you're just gonna ignore it then I don't know why you asked in the first place? My two cents - the name "Andrew Milton" is extremely ordinary. It is boring, and does not put any kind of image or interest in my head. I cannot even begin to speculate what it's about. It sounds like a very typical English name, a boring name. "The Colour Realms" sound like a children's book, some place with multi-coloured dragons or animals or sparkling lights. Depending on your target audience, that may or may not be a good thing. I find the name also boring - what colours, and why should I care? It carries no connotations beyond that of, well, colours and lots of light - it is lacking weight and atmosphere and a sense of intrigue that would make me pick up the book. Now put them together: Andrew Milton and the Colour Realms - and you have an uneventful, ordinary title that conjures non-specific and otherwise bland images/ideas. It is long, and very typical - I would venture a guess that your title will get lost very easily amongst the numerous books on the shelves already with similar names. From this name, I also get the idea that this book is targeting children between the ages of 7-12 - if that is your audience, perhaps you're doing something right and you should ignore me. If that is not, however, I urge you to take the advice that's already been given here - eg. drop the whole thing! Btw, just a note, "Blue's War" does not give anything away - you may think so because you know the story. Bear in mind your reader does not. It sounds rather ambiguous to me, like Blue could be a person or a place, or even a concept. Truth be told that's probably the most original one you have there, and if it encompasses the plot of your book, I don't see why you don't wanna use it? And definitely not- Andrew Milton and the Colour Realms: the first of my typical adventures. Just think - you wanna sell this baby. Do you reeeeally think anyone's gonna wanna google up that title!? Put in some more unique words that will make your book pop on google searches rather than drown in a sea of similar titles, or worse, be disregarded because a different title would've popped up before the user has finished typing the name of your book and gets hooked by something else long before he gets onto Amazon to even read the synopsis, let alone get round to buying it.
The difference with the titles you're suggesting are that they're actually interesting - I'd be intrigued to know how on earth a man could mistake his wife for a hat, for a start!
I'm a new poster so take this for just what it is, a newbie opinion, but what I bolded above from Mckk were my thoughts exactly. The title in the entirety that you are attached to is not in and of itself bad if targeting a younger audience. I know many children that gravitate toward those types specifically. The character name is dull in comparison to the fantastical tone that is suggested by "the Colour Realms," but perhaps that is your theme - ordinary boy meets extraordinary life - a la Harry Potter. If not, you should look into some etymology sites to find a more appropriate character name. "Blue's War" sounds and feels more mature for a broader audience and, knowing nothing of the story, I find it both vague and interesting. Many suppositions can be made but it is most definitely not obvious. It is my favorite of the choices you presented. Best of luck!
I am unaware of a guide that says to use short titles. Either way, short or long, make every word count.
A guide is a suggestion to help direct writers and is not a rule. I am aware of many guides and this is one of them. If you weren't aware perhaps you just never heard it. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
I like Blue's war myself... You kind of have an elongated title there.. I personally like titles that are short simple and thematically appropriate.
From me. I wrote it above. This is a place for sharing information. If that information is not useful to you, then don't use it.
You don't say. How curious I'd never heard it before. You're right, this is a place for sharing information. So when I see information I feel I'd like to add to or that's incomplete or even erroneous in some way, I'm going to add my information. If you want to add to or contradict my information, you're also free to do so. If you have nothing to add, but will feel better if you call your opinion a "guide," that's fine too; just don't expect me to take that seriously.
That is curious, since clearly you've been educated to the point where you've been made aware of everything. We can't all be so lucky. Perhaps it's true that if you hadn't heard of it then it mustn't exist. It may not be in any 'how to' guide out there, but I hope that my 20 years in the industry talking to many publishers, agents and film-makers may be of some use to the people asking for opinions. So, when my publisher suggested that short titles are better than long, and as a guide I should make sure it is easy to read and recognise, I paid attention. I was just trying to help by sharing my experience; not trying to strong-arm anyone into believing that my way is the only way. Of coarse it isn't. I apologise for my insane hubris. Lastly, I honestly have no interest if you take it seriously. In fact, I wasn't even offering you advice, but the OP, and they are free to ignore it as they wish. But sarcastically replying that just because you hadn't heard of it that my personal understanding of an industry guide has no merit... well... I'll let other readers decide if it is useful to them. But thanks for your input.
hey there are some tips for good title, you can use it.. Must be no more than 100 characters including spaces. English characters only. be informative, concise and professional. Do not use all words, upper case, Do not use all words, lowercase. Do not use subjective words like brilliant, amazing, or best.
Hi, How about something simple. Andrew Milton, Light Defender. Note that I'm not sure about the punctuation, and if printed wrong it could get confusing for the reader who might imagine that Andrew is the author. However it lends itself to becoming a series title of Andrew Milton books and is a little more catchy. Cheers, Greg,
I asked you the origin of the 'guide', and you said "me," and now you're calling it an industry guide. I was genuinely asking where I would find such a guide so that I could see the reasoning behind it and whether it had any basis in reality, or maybe there's some statistic about short titled books selling better. But all I'm getting is defensive, impolite responses, so I guess never mind.
Sigh. You asked where you would have heard it. I said from me. Simply because I wrote it here, and in this world people share information, so if you hadn't heard of it yet, then you have now. Ok? And you were not 'genuinely asking' anything.
Some of the books in my genre (science fiction) use chapter titles and some don't. What is your opinion? My chapter titles feel somewhat half-hearted and cheesy. Am I better off without them?
