I have three websites (see bottom of post). One is my author website, updated and maintained by a professional web designer. Two I created myself, one for my book series and one for my series of short stories. I can't easily check the viewing stats of my author site, but I check the others daily.
I promote my book site all the time, in as many ways as I can think of. I do very little for my story site, but there are links to it on my other two sites and the address is also on all my blog posts. I have no idea if the traffic to either of my websites is from my marketing it, others talking about it or from people randomly coming across it while surfing. (As far as I can tell, checking the available feature to see where your views are coming from is useless.)
Since I don't actively make people aware of my story site, I am amazed that the views for it are nearly always twice what the views are on my book site. I have a ridiculous theory about it. My book series is called Daylight's End. Not a terribly cheery or uplifting title - it indicates the end of daylight and coming darkness - but it does have the word daylight in it.
My short story series is called Trust In Darkness, which to me is very...well, dark. Kind of gothic and creepy. The idea of trusting in darkness makes me think of moving toward the side of evil, turning away from the light. (That's not the basis for the stories - the premise is that not all things we perceive as dangerous really are. Sometimes the opposite.)
So I have this idea that if people are coming across the name Trust In Darkness, they are more curious to check out the site than if they come across the less morbid sounding Daylight's End. Maybe I'm taking a negative view or maybe it's true that human nature is drawn to things that look or sound potentially gruesome. If my idea is valid, it may be something to keep in mind when choosing titles or ways of marketing your writing.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
Showing posts with label Titles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Titles. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Friday, June 3, 2011
Titles
Titles are great things. Except when they're not. They are always important. A title is the ultimate hook. Which means they should be good.
I have a problem with titles. Mine and other writers'. I don't like long titles, but I prefer them to uninspired short titles. One- or two-word titles can be fun or useless, especially if you don't know what kind of story or book the title is telling about.
My favorite author of all time, Dick Francis, has great short titles: Proof, Slay Ride, Comeback, High Stakes. Stephen King has some great one word titles: Desperation, Insomnia, It. However, SK also has uninspired titles. His first big hit was called Carrie. And he's had a few more titled with the name of the main character.
The problem with titles, as with many things, is that different readers are intrigued by different things. "The Blue Room" doesn't interest me at all. For someone for whom the color blue is significant, that might be a title that draws their attention. "The Scarecrow" should make anyone wonder what the story was about, simply because scarecrows are just creepy. "Sunset" to a horror or dark fiction fan, would mean the coming of scary darkness. To someone of a more inspirational mindset, it might suggest peacefulness, relaxing at the end of the day, the promise of tomorrow.
The title, "Me and Bobby" doesn't interest me. "Me and Bobby Under The Ground" might get my attention. "Taxi". So what? "Invisible Taxi". Hmmm. "The Baby". Boring. "The-Thousand-Year-Old Baby", Not boring. "Our Cab Driver" vs. "Our Cab Driver Is Dead" And so on.
I read somewhere that a good title should come from the story; should tell something about the story. Therefore, an interesting story should inspire a good title, something that would draw potential readers. That sounds a lot easier than it is, but if I - and other writers - can remember that one bit of advice, the chance of choosing a nondescript title will be much smaller.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
I have a problem with titles. Mine and other writers'. I don't like long titles, but I prefer them to uninspired short titles. One- or two-word titles can be fun or useless, especially if you don't know what kind of story or book the title is telling about.
My favorite author of all time, Dick Francis, has great short titles: Proof, Slay Ride, Comeback, High Stakes. Stephen King has some great one word titles: Desperation, Insomnia, It. However, SK also has uninspired titles. His first big hit was called Carrie. And he's had a few more titled with the name of the main character.
The problem with titles, as with many things, is that different readers are intrigued by different things. "The Blue Room" doesn't interest me at all. For someone for whom the color blue is significant, that might be a title that draws their attention. "The Scarecrow" should make anyone wonder what the story was about, simply because scarecrows are just creepy. "Sunset" to a horror or dark fiction fan, would mean the coming of scary darkness. To someone of a more inspirational mindset, it might suggest peacefulness, relaxing at the end of the day, the promise of tomorrow.
The title, "Me and Bobby" doesn't interest me. "Me and Bobby Under The Ground" might get my attention. "Taxi". So what? "Invisible Taxi". Hmmm. "The Baby". Boring. "The-Thousand-Year-Old Baby", Not boring. "Our Cab Driver" vs. "Our Cab Driver Is Dead" And so on.
I read somewhere that a good title should come from the story; should tell something about the story. Therefore, an interesting story should inspire a good title, something that would draw potential readers. That sounds a lot easier than it is, but if I - and other writers - can remember that one bit of advice, the chance of choosing a nondescript title will be much smaller.
www.jennifermballard.com
www.daylightsend.weebly.com
www.trustindarkness.weebly.com
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