Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hiya, everyone - just joined the group yesterday and thought I would jump in and pick a few like minds :)

I'm presently outlining a series and am having a neurotic writer moment over the title I have in mind. I know, it's not the most important thing but I'm second guessing myself and it's creeping into the rest of my creative process.

I'm presently going with "The Last Damsel". It's a dark fantasy/adventure with fairytale themes and motifs.

I'm hoping simple and straight forward will pique interest without muddling the general idea. Also it seems easy enough to remember but it might just be forgettable.

What do you guys think? Too lame? Should I be upset "The Fault in Our Stars" is taken lol

I think unless you go for a strange long title, then a short title is easier to remember.

On a purely practical point, a short title is simpler to use if you intend trying to promote it on Twitter.

It's also that being too flowery or coy with the premise makes me wonder if I won't entice people so much as sound like I'm using cheap buzz words :/

The Last Damsel - it's not a bad title at all, if you check out the search engine on Amazon, the word Damsel appears regularly, which is always helpful in people coming across your book.

I wasn't even considering that :D

The odd thing with my two novels is that one has a simple title, three common words, and the other has a four-word title using a couple of words not so common in everyday English. The second one sells much better. I think it's because the second one, though a little more complicated, conveys more of a sense of mystery, and piques the curiosity a little more.

I like it. It's short and snappy and yes, it would pique my interest. I read somewhere that short titles are more popular. I can't say that I put a whole lot of stock in that as my longest title far outsells my shortest, but there is something to be said for being easy to remember.

That was my thinking/hope - upfront and easy to recall.

It's about a girl who's forced to play the Damsel (she can't remember her name since she "got the part") and is really not thrilled...I thought it might imply she wants to be the last, somebody wants to make her the last, what did the Damsel before do...just my thoughts when coming up with it :p

VM, I'd kiss you for being so sweet - still outlining the series atm but I'll probably periodically pick brains for feedback, subject you all to creative process panic attacks and beg for pointers lol

Seriously, though, everyone is making me feel a lot better so far and I'm glad I found this group!

I self-published a book several years ago and had a title selected. I let several people read it while I was still in the editing stages and two people suggested that I do a title change. They both said the exact same word for the title. Once I thought about it, I realized how obvious the title should've been! Sometimes we actually get so wrapped up in our own story that we can't see what's right in front of us!

That being said, I like your title! Without actually having read your book I think it's really cool.

Thank you! The fact people here are saying they like it or it makes them wonder a little is doing so much for my confidence that it has a general sorta appeal :)

I think for titles that you can go to either end of the scale really.
For instance, take Haruki Murakami. He has one book titled "Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" & another simply titled "1Q84."

Yours is good though, short, snappy and three syllables :D
I like it

I've read so many articles about titles - short is better because people pay less attention to long titles. Long is better because it makes the book stand out when people do searches (but a lot of writing advice tends to be frustrating like that). But there have been books with ridiculously long titles that sold well, and books with only one word titles sell well.

I like your title. It's interesting and conveys quite a bit for being only three words (there's a certain feel of mystery to it). So I definitely think you're on the right track :D

Oh good! I'll take short, snappy mystery title :D

I really like the sound of The Last Damsel. It prompts all sorts of questions: why is she the last? Is she a typical defenceless damsel, or is she a tougher, more resourceful one? Couple it with a good cover and I'd definitely be intrigued.

Oh, yeah, I'm 200% guaranteed to read a blurb if the book has both a catchy title and snazzy cover!

Truly - you just asked questions I hope people will when I'm done and done but I would have settled for "What's this?" lol. Even that fleck of curiosity will make me look harder at a book.