March 15, 2024

Recently, I asked my amazing Reader Team to help me create a title for the third book in my Wives of Old Cape May series. It was a fun exercise that taught me a lot about what makes a good title and what readers look for in a title.

To give you a heads-up without giving you a spoiler alert, this third book in my series is about a 19th-century, 48-year-old mother of four who bears a child with Down syndrome. The story develops from her reaction to this shocking event and how she handles it. The title I eventually choose will need to tell enough about the story to pique the reader’s interest without giving away the whole book.

So, why is a title important? Here are a few reasons:

1) A good title sets the tone for the book and gives an idea of its genre. For example, the title of a thriller will have a different feel from the title of a romance.

2) A good title is the first impression a reader has of a book. Although we tell ourselves that we should not judge a book by its title, truth be told we do.

3) A good title reflects the book’s essence. For example, in my first two novels of the series—The Captain and Mrs. Vye and The Rabbi and Mrs. Goldstein—the titles reflect that there is some sort of relationship between the two main characters of each story. The reader wants to know what kind of relationship.

4) A good title piques the reader’s curiosity, causing her to want to read the book. In other words, a good title raises a question in the reader’s mind, a question the reader wants answered.

5) A good title is memorable. The reader will not easily forget it.

How about you? Do you judge a book by its title? How important a role does the title play in your choice of a book?

My Featured Book for This Week:

The Captain and Mrs. Vye
by MaryAnn Diorio

A middle-aged, childless widow discovers that her late husband has left her destitute.


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My Fiction Pick for This Week:

After the Frost
by Milla Holt

He’s a widower who has lost the perfect wife. So, why is he drawn to a woman who’s not the marrying kind?

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Copyright 2024 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.