Sylvia Day Posted August 30, 2004 Report Share Posted August 30, 2004 Okay, I'm digging the name The Sex Diet and it got me thinking about book titles. Debbie Macomber said, "I noticed titles played an important role. The next one I did, I played on the title. I took two words that I knew were popular--playboy and widow. I named my book The Playboy and the Widow. That was the first time I made the Waldenbooks Romance Best-Seller list." There are books I purchased just because of the title and others where I finished the book and said, "What a great book! Why has it got such a blah title?" For instance, my first ever Suzanne Enoch book was London's Perfect Scoundrel. I bought it for the title and ended up finding a new favorite author. Some of my faves are A Well-Pleasured Lady, The Prince of Pleasure, The Perfect Mistress, Wicked Widow, and The Last Bachelor. I have a ton more, but you get the idea. What are your favorite romance titles :?: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidonie Fairbanks Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Oh yeah, I too picked up a copy of LPS because of the name--sadly, it was a library copy! I always do a thorough scan of bookshelves, but certain words do pop out at me that make me want to look at the blurb: Scandal Tempt/Tempted/Temptation Scoundrel Lady Gentleman Bride Devil Seduce/Seduction Pleasure (LOL) Heiress Proper Wicked Sin/Sinful Love Desire Duke(Duchess),Earl(Countess),etc Midnight/Night Beauty/Belle Mistress Highlander Indiscretion Engagement Proposition I'm certain that there's a heck of a lot more, but those are the main words that instantly grab my attention. Some of my favorite titles are Love and the Single Heiress, To Marry A Duke, An Affair Most Wicked, Devil Takes A Bride, A Rose At Midnight, Untie My Heart, Black Silk, Duchess In Love, Your Wicked Ways, Rules of (Enticement,Seduction,etc) Note though, that while the titles grabbed me, some of the books were not my favorite. I also think that along with the title and the cover, and author's actual name is an important factor in my buying. My attention tends to skip if the author has a bland first and/or last name, or a very common one. I like Kathryn Smith's novels, but her name doesn't sound "romancy" enough to grab my attention if I hadn't already been a fan of hers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cece Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 What are your favorite romance titles :?: Ohhhhhh she's gonna make me think :oops: I just don't read that much romance. So I can't say much from that angle. But I stumbled across Mary Kay Andrews by accident and I'm totally hooked. Her first "southern lit" book was Savannah Blues. Then Little Bitty Lies and now Hissy Fit. I think they're just great titles and great covers. The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Guide, and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons I just love but I've never read either. But they make me smile when I see them. Good Grief is also another great title/cover. Obviously I love catchy titles. I dont think a title will deter me from my regular auto-buys though. One of my least favorite covers is From the Corner of his Eye by Koontz but it's one of my fave books. On the flip side I LOVED the cover of Odd Thomas (sitting in my TBR pile). I never really considered WHY I picked up a book or waht words might induce me to pick up a book. Maybe becuase I have so many autobuys I stick with. My all time, without a doubt, favorite book that I still have my orig pb that I bought of is Jude Deveraux's Wishes which is one of the earliest paranormal romances I can remember. A Knight in Shining Armour would definitely be another. I still have my first ed hc. Julie Garwood's Heartbreaker is a great title and her first rom/suspense and it has a fantastic cover. The Forest Lord by Susan Krinard was my first SK book and I fell in love--then went on to read her wolf series wihch i also loved. Patti Berg has also had some great titles that turned out to be fun reads but I can't remember any right now :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvia Day Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 One of my least favorite covers is From the Corner of his Eye by Koontz but it's one of my fave books. Hey, I love his Christopher Snow books. Do you happen to know if there are more than two? I've been waiting for another one for years! I want to know what's up with Orson and that funky machine with the astronaut!! :study: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cece Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Hey, I love his Christopher Snow books. Ohhhh I loved those too!! I THINK there were only 2 books--never heard about plans for more. And I read in Pub Lunch recently he signed a deal to do some books spun off Frankenstein? :? or something along those lines. Seems like he just signed a deal six months ago <sigh> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordansummers Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I agree with Sidonie. You throw just about any of those words in a title and I'll grab the book and read the backcover blurb. Nicole Jordan has wonderful titles. (The Prince of Pleasure, The Lover, etc.) So does Judith Ivory, Susan Johnson, and Thea Devine. Some of my favorite titles are 'Dead Witch Walking', 'Master of Desire', 'Mine to Take', 'The Forever Kiss', 'Master of Temptation', 'Master of Seduction', 'Dance with the Devil', 'Wicked', anything with 'Pirate in the title or 'Dark' when it's accompanied by Christine Feehan's name. I actually think titles are important to catch a reader's eye. Almost as important as opening lines. I personally tend to read the backcover blurb and any inside blurb to determine whether I'll buy a book. If those two things are good, along with the opening line, I'm hooked. Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha White Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 You guys are all right to me! LOL I love titles that imply darka nd seductive, or a wacky sense of humor. Dance withe the Devil, Bad Girl, Behind Closed Doors, Out of the Dark. Chic Lit titles are getting better and better. Good Grief and Eating Bob Bons...Good In Bed (which I ended up hating the book). My own titles tend to not be to original. I'll have to pay more attention now. 8) Sasha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larissa Ione Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 I'm with Sasha--I like titles that are dark and seductive, or bold, or wacky. But titles actually don't affect me all that much--unless they contain words I avoid like the plague. Words like "baby," and "boss," and "marriage." Or "mix-up." Ugh. So really, when I look at titles, I'm looking more to AVOID certain elements than I am to find them. Does that make sense? That said, I SUCK at titles. Suck. Bad! :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordansummers Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 I suck at titles too Larissa. I only like the titles of three of my books. I'm much better at opening lines than I am at creating a catchy title. I will pick up a book based on the title, so I know they're important. (The same reason you avoid certain titles.) I learned about titles the hard way. My Atlantean's Quest Series took a while to catch fire, because the titles implied a different type of story than I'd written. Also the names of the characters, which I thought were appropriate for the story background, made people think I'd written something mythological. (I hadn't.) All these things factored into my sales. If I had it all to do over again, I would have stuck with my original title, which was 'Wild Thing'. It wasn't great, but I believe it would have captured more initial sales. Unfortunately, a lot of times the publishing companies don't let you keep your original title. (For me, that's probably a good thing.) LOL! Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasha White Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 Avoiding certain things in titles makes complete sense. I'm not fond of Words I can't pronounce. :? :flower: Sasha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvia Day Posted September 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 Avoiding certain things in titles makes complete sense. I'm not fond of Words I can't pronounce. Â :? LOL You crack me up, Sasha!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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