How to craft your memoir’s best title, Part 2

 

“A clever title is great if it is clear,” writes Judy Cullins, 

“but a clear title is always preferable. The best? A clear and clever title.”

 

Cullins continues: 

“A shorter title is better than a longer one. 

Your reader will spend only four seconds on the cover. 

While some long titles have succeeded, 

usually the shorter, the better.”

 

Does your memoir have a title yet? If not, I hope last week’s post and today’s will inspire you to work on it.

 

Remember: It’s good to give your memoir a working title until you can pin down the just-right title.

 

Why? Because:

 

The process of writing

often takes the story

places the author never expected.

 

The process of writing

can take the author’s story

in a different direction

than she planned.

 

The facts—dates, places, people’s names, for example—

don’t change, but you can see the deeper story

and its meaning and significance in new ways.

 

With that in mind, choose a working title, knowing you might change it later, depending on what you discover as you continue to write. In fact, you might not pin down your permanent title until you’ve finished writing your memoir, but your working title can help you reach your final title.

 

Daniel Scocco offers seven interesting methods of crafting your title:

 

He suggests listing nouns, verbs, and adjectives that describe your story and “combine them into different phrases.”

 

Daniel also suggests describing an important turning point or the climax of your story, noticing key words. “Mix and match these words,” he says, “to see what works for you.” I like that: “Mix and match.”

 

Read the rest of Daniel’s seven tips in his post, “Picking Your Perfect Title.” They are intriguing.

 

Choose a title that’s easy to pronounce and easy to remember.  Jerry Waxler points out that a good title helps a reader recommend a book to a friend. I hadn’t thought of that before, but his point caught my attention. He says, “…the title should roll off the reader’s tongue when friends ask for a recommendation.” Good stuff, Jerry!

 

You might consider giving your memoir a one-word title.

 

A title with a visual component works well in catching potential readers’ attention.

 

Analyze other memoirs’ titles. Study advertisements. Examine article titles in newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Ask yourself “What makes them work?”

 

Or, how about a Shakespeare quote? Or a phrase from an old hymn that’s in the public domain? (Avoid using copyrighted materials. Check out the laws thoroughly if you’re tempted to use anything copyrighted. Click here to read Virginia Lloyd’s "How to Get Permission to Use Song Lyrics in Your Book.")

 

In her excellent book, The Writer’s Portable Mentor, Priscilla Long tells us to craft titles that “give readers an extremely accurate idea of what’s behind the door they are about to walk through…. [S]hun lyrical flourishes, obscure metaphors, and anecdotes with delayed points.”

 

She urges writers to avoid being fancy. Instead, she says, we should be direct, accurate, plain and simple.

 

So, now, put on your thinking cap 

and craft a working title, 

or maybe even your final title. 

And come back next week for more tips.

 

 

Does your memoir have a title yet?

 

Have you chosen a title for your memoir? You can give it a working title even if you haven’t finished polishing your manuscript.

 

Most of us spend a long time pinning down exactly the right title so start now on yours, knowing you might change it later.

 

Ask yourself the following when searching for your title:

 

• What is my memoir’s theme or recurring themes—my memoir’s message?
• What is my story’s key turning point?
• Can I link my title to a popular book title? (The last time I checked, book titles cannot be copyrighted but, nevertheless, craft your own similar title.)
• Is there a famous quote or Bible verse that summarizes my memoir’s message?
• Who is my audience (who is most likely to buy my book)? Use key words to catch potential readers’ attention.

 

Kathy Pooler offers good advice in her blog post “Choosing the right title for your memoir” In it, she leads us through steps she took in crafting her memoir’s title.

 

She asked herself:

 

• Is the title catchy?
• Does the title strike at the heart of my story?
• Does my title reveal my promise to the reader?
• Does the title create interest for the reader?

 

Jerry Waxler, in his blog post, “How to Pick the Best Title for Your Memoir,” says we need to “consider all the work a title has to do. A great title helps potential readers buy the book, love it to the last page and then recommend it to friends.”

 

Jerry says, “the title is the first line of marketing.” A title can make or break a sale.

 

Think about how you decide which books to buy: The first thing you notice is the title, right?

 

If the title doesn’t appeal to you, you put the book back on the shelf. You want a book that makes you curious, attracts you, draws you in, and makes it impossible to put it back on the shelf.

 

If the title does grab your attention, then, if you’re like me, you read the back cover for more info, and you open the book and read endorsements. But remember, it was the title that inspired you to do so. That’s why your title is so important.

 

Above, Kathy asks, “Does my title reveal my promise to the reader?” and Jerry says it this way: “Reading a book is like entering a contract with the author, and the terms of that contract are summarized in the . . . title. Every time a reader sits down to read, the title goes through their mind, evoking an image that pulls them back into the story.”

 

My first memoir had several working titles. I played around with Confessions of a Baby Boomer: Letters from Africa because the organization I worked with was interested in using the book to recruit Baby Boomers, empty-nesters, and mid-lifers. The words Baby Boomer are key words that could catch the attention of our targeted audience.

 

But that title didn’t feel just right. Next, I tried out Quaint I Ain’t: Grandma’s Letters from Africa, because, from the book’s preface: “I discovered I was not the traditional, quaint little grandmother I always envisioned. No, I had stumbled into adventures most grandmas couldn’t imagine—a hippo charged me, a baboon pooped in my breakfast, a Maasai elder spit at me, and I drank tea from a pot cleaned with cow’s urine.” 

But that title didn’t feel right, either—to me or to those who knew me. “Ain’t” is a word I’ve never used, and some acquaintances were shocked that I would use it.

 

In the end, I chose Grandma’s Letters from Africa for two reasons: (1) The memoir was a collection of letters I wrote to my granddaughter, and (2) I hoped potential readers would connect my title with Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen’s Letters from Africa. My husband and I lived near Karen’s home and coffee farm, both of which were central in the famous movie, Out of Africa. (Sigh….)

 

Come back next week when we’ll explore more about choosing your memoir’s title. In the meantime, choose a working title, knowing you can and probably will change it later. Your working title will help you discover your final title.

 

Tuesday Tidbit: If you’re giving your family an early edition of your memoir for Christmas, it needs a title

If you’ve written a few vignettes for your memoir, consider giving your family an early edition for Christmas. (See Thursday’s post, You might already have the perfect Christmas gift for your family.)

Think of it as a preview, a pledge of more to come, a promise that you’ll hand them your finished memoir in the future.

You have about ten weeks to get it ready! You can do this!

In addition to editing and polishing your stories (very important!), begin working on the documents you’ll place at the beginning of your book.

For today, let’s work on just one: the title page, the first page your readers will see. Your title will appear on the front cover of your memoir and also on your title page. Give yourself a by-line. Your title page might look something like this:

From Desert to Mountaintop: A Journey to Joy

by Jane Jones

And remember, you can always finalize your title later when you’ve finished the whole memoir. Consider this first title just a working title. Feel free to use it for your preview edition this Christmas.

Check out these links to my earlier blog posts about titles. They’re packed with good info for you.

Does your memoir have a title yet?

Craft your memoir’s best title, Part 2

Your memoir’s title, Part 3: The art part

Your memoir needs an outstanding subtitle

There you have it—your Tuesday Tidbit.

“A title that tolls off the reader’s tongue”

Choose a title that’s easy to pronounce and easy to remember.  Jerry Waxler points out that a good title helps a reader recommend a book to a friend.  I hadn’t thought of that before, but his point caught my attention. He says, “…the title should roll off the reader’s tongue when friends ask for a recommendation.” Good stuff, Jerry!

Denis Ledoux says a memoir’s title is “about the reader not about the writer.”

Choose a title that reaches out to readers and hooks them because, Denis points out, “Many things are competing for the reader’s attention [so] a title needs to be a player in the competition.”

Think about what your potential readers need. In his post, How to Choose a Title for a Memoir, Denis asks:

• “What is your ideal reader struggling with? Where is his pain? Place a word or two that describes that pain into the title….
• What outcome will the reader achieve when she reads this book?...
• How can you involve the reader’s curiosity?”

Analyze other memoirs’ titles. Study advertisements. Examine article titles in newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Ask yourself “What makes them work?”

And then have fun crafting a few possible titles for your memoir.

Have you crafted the perfect title for your memoir?

Traditional publishing companies usually choose titles for their books, but most of us here at SM 101 won’t be working with traditional publishing companies. Instead, we will self-publish our memoirs—and that means we choose our titles.

Because a book’s title is so important, expect to work hard on crafting the very best title for your memoir.

Let’s step back a minute: How do you decide whether to buy a certain book? The first thing you notice is the title, right?

If the title doesn’t appeal to you, you put the book back on the shelf. You want a book that makes you curious, draws you in, and makes it impossible to put the book back on the shelf.

If the title does grab your attention, if you’re like me you’ll read the back cover for more info, and you open the book and read endorsements that might be at the beginning of the book. But remember, it was the title that inspired you to do so. That’s why your title is so important.

So how do you piece together The Perfect Title?

Rachelle Gardner suggests you “identify what kind of feeling or tone you want to convey in the title” and ask yourself, “Does the tone of the title match the tone of the book?”

What is tone?

YourDictionary.com says, “The tone in a story can be joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic, and optimistic…. Tone in writing is really not any different than the tone of your voice. You know that sometimes it is not ‘what you say,’ but ‘how you say it.’…The definition of ‘tone’ is the way the author expresses his attitude through his writing.” (Don't miss all the good stuff in Examples of Tone in a Story.) 

Daniel Scocco offers additional tips—seven methods of crafting your title.

He suggests listing nouns, verbs, and adjectives that describe your story and “combine them into different phrases.”

Daniel also suggests describing an important turning point or climax of your story, noticing key words. “Mix and match these words,” he says, “to see what works for you.” I like that: “Mix and match.”

Read the rest of Daniel’s seven tips in his post, “Picking Your Perfect Title.” They are intriguing.

With Rachelle and Daniel’s tips in mind, begin jotting down ideas—lots of ideas. Use a thesaurus to look up key words and find alternative, more interesting words.

Then take a break from your title ideas. Over the next days and weeks, you’ll be surprised at new ideas that will spring into your mind at the strangest times of the day and night. Add those possible titles to your list and again distance yourself from them.

Come back later and take a fresh look. You’ll spot some titles that you can eliminate. Polish the other possible titles and again set them aside for a while.

Next time we’ll have more advice 

on crafting a compelling title for your memoir.

For now, have fun playing around with title ideas.

Craft your memoir’s best title, Part 2

“A clever title is great if it is clear,” writes Judy Cullins, “but a clear title is always preferable. The best? A clear and clever title.”

Does your memoir have a title yet? If not, I hope last Thursday’s post and today’s will inspire you to work on it. Remember: It’s good to give your memoir a working title until you can pin down the just-right title.

Why? Because:

The process of writing

often takes the story

places the author never expected.

The process of writing

can take the author’s story

in a different direction

than she planned.

Denis Ledoux explains it this way: “Over the time that you linger with your story, it will frequently begin to change—not the facts and the dates, but the interpretation and the metaphors and images you use, the vignettes you choose to include or omit.  You will see your stories in ways that you may not have seen it before….”

With that in mind, choose a working title, knowing you might change it later, depending on what you discover as you continue to write. In fact, you might not pin down your permanent title until you’ve finished writing your memoir, but your working title can help you reach your final title.

Daniel Scocco offers seven interesting methods of crafting your title:

He suggests listing nouns, verbs, and adjectives that describe your story and “combine them into different phrases.”

Daniel also suggests describing an important turning point or the climax of your story, noticing key words. “Mix and match these words,” he says, “to see what works for you.” I like that: “Mix and match.”

Read the rest of Daniel’s seven tips in his post, “Picking Your Perfect Title.” They are intriguing.

Choose a title that’s easy to pronounce and easy to remember. Jerry Waxler points out that a good title helps a reader recommend a book to a friend.  I hadn’t thought of that before, but his point caught my attention. He says, “…the title should roll off the reader’s tongue when friends ask for a recommendation.” Good stuff, Jerry!

You might consider giving your memoir a one-word title.

A title with a visual component works well in catching potential readers’ attention.

Analyze other memoirs’ titles. 

Study advertisements. 

Examine article titles in newspapers, 

magazines, and blogs. 

Ask yourself 

“What makes them work?”

Or, how about a Shakespeare quote? Or a phrase from an old hymn that’s in the public domain? (Avoid using copyrighted materials. Check out the laws thoroughly if you’re tempted to use anything copyrighted. Click here to read Virginia Lloyd’s How to Get Permission to Use Song Lyrics in Your Book.)

In her excellent book, The Writer’s Portable Mentor, Priscilla Long tells us to craft titles that “give readers an extremely accurate idea of what’s behind the door they are about to walk through…. [S]hun lyrical flourishes, obscure metaphors, and anecdotes with delayed points.”

She urges writers to avoid being fancy. Instead, she says, we should be direct, accurate, plain and simple.

So, now, put on your thinking cap and craft a working title, or maybe even your final title. And come back next Thursday for more tips on putting together a title for your memoir.

Does your memoir have a title yet?

Have you chosen a title for your memoir? You can give it a working title even if you haven’t finished polishing your stories.

Most of us spend a long time pinning down exactly the right title so start now on yours, knowing you might change it later.

Some of you don’t plan to publish your memoirs for a broader audience—you’ll print a few copies for family members. In that case, choose a fun title that they’ll enjoy. You’ll find good tips below.

If you want to publish your memoir for a broader audience, ask yourself the following when searching for your title:

• What is my memoir’s theme or recurring themes—my memoir’s message?
• What is my story’s major turning point?
• Can I link my title to a popular book title? (The last time I checked, book titles cannot be copyrighted but, nevertheless, craft your own similar title.)
• Is there a famous quote or Bible verse that summarizes my memoir’s message?
• Who is my audience (who is most likely to buy my book)? Use key words to catch potential readers’ attention. 

Kathy Pooler offers good advice in her blog post “Does Your Memoir Title Pack a Punch?” In it, she leads us through steps she took in crafting her memoir’s title.

In choosing it, she asked herself:

• Is the title catchy?
• Does the title strike at the heart of my story?
• Does my title reveal my promise to the reader?
• Does the title create interest for the reader?

Jerry Waxler, in his blog post, “How to Pick the Best Title for Your Memoir,” says we need to “consider all the work a title has to do. A great title helps potential readers buy the book, love it to the last page and then recommend it to friends.”

Jerry says, “the title is the first line of marketing.” A title can make or break a sale.

Think about how you decide which books to buy: The first thing you notice is the title, right?

If the title doesn’t appeal to you, you put the book back on the shelf. You want a book that makes you curious, attracts you, draws you in, and makes it impossible to put the book back on the shelf.

If the title does grab your attention, then, if you’re like me, you read the back cover for more info, and you open the book and read endorsements that might be at the beginning of the book. But remember, it was the title that inspired you to do so. That’s why your title is so important.

Above, Kathy asks, “Does my title reveal my promise to the reader?” and Jerry says it this way: “Reading a book is like entering a contract with the author, and the terms of that contract are summarized in the … title. Every time a reader sits down to read, the title goes through their mind, evoking an image that pulls them back into the story.”

My first memoir had several working titles. I played around with Confessions of a Baby Boomer: Letters from Africa because the organization I worked with in Africa was interested in using the book to recruit Baby Boomers, empty-nesters, and mid-lifers. The words Baby Boomer are key words that could catch the attention of our targeted audience.

But that title didn’t feel just right. Next I tried out Quaint I Ain’t: Grandma’s Letters from Africa, because, from the book’s preface: 

“I discovered I was not the traditional, 

quaint little grandmother 

I always envisioned. 

No, I had stumbled into adventures 

most grandmas couldn’t imagine—

a hippo charged me, 

a baboon pooped in my breakfast, 

a Maasai elder spit at me, 

and I drank tea from a pot cleaned with cow’s urine.” 

But that didn’t feel right, either—to me or to those who knew me. “Ain’t” is a word I’ve never used, and some acquaintances were shocked that I would use it.

In the end chose Grandma’s Letters from Africa for two reasons: (1) The memoir was a collection of letters I wrote to my granddaughter, and (2) I hoped potential readers would connect my title with Karen Blixen’s (Isak Dinesen's) Letters from Africa. My husband and I lived near Karen’s home and coffee farm, both of which were central in the famous movie, Out of Africa. (Sigh….)

Next week we’ll continue looking at memoir titles, but in the meantime, choose a working title, knowing you might change it later. Your working title will help you discover your final title.

If you already have a working title or published title, share it with us and tell us how you chose it. Leave your comments below or on Facebook.

Come back next Thursday for more about choosing your memoir’s title.

NAMW’s free memoir teleconference, plus other great resources for you

Today I’m excited to share these helpful, inspirational resources with you:

The National Association of Memoir Writers is showcasing talented authors and teachers who are experts in Creative Nonfiction and memoir for a FREE, one-day Teleconference on Truth or Lie—On the Cusp of Memoir and Fiction, scheduled for Friday, October 21, 2011. Everyone who signs up will receive an email with a link to listen to replays. Click on this link for more information: http://www.namw.org/teleseminars/national-association-of-memoir-writers-announces-guest-speakers-for-fall-2011-day-long-memoir-writing-teleconference

At The Heart and Craft of Life Writing, Sharon Lippincott offers a long list of free writing resources. Her freebies include blank timelines. (See my two earlier blog posts about using timelines.*) Sharon offers a blank printable timeline (for filling in by hand) and a blank on-screen timeline (for filling on using your computer). Here’s the link: http://sharonlippincott.com/freebies.htm

Use this index to find articles about memoirs and memoir writing throughout Jerry Waxler’s Memory Writers Network blog: http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/index-to-the-essays-about-memoir-writing-on-this-blog

The Writing Academy is a community of Christian writers who share a passion for telling the story of God's good news for a hurting world. The Academy offers a ministry of encouragement to Christian writers including a unique at-home study program in writing. Look into it at this link: http://1stwrites.blogspot.com/2011/09/writing-resources-christian-writing.html

Be sure to check the right column here on my blog for other excellent blogs and their resources.

What is your ultimate purpose in writing your stories?

The Bible says, many times,

that God did things for people in the past

so that

they would see Him, know Him, believe in Him,

praise Him, and glorify Him.

He does the same for us today

so, here at Spiritual Memoirs 101,

we write stories about what He has done for us

so that others—our kids and grandkids, especially—

will see Him, know Him, believe in Him,

praise Him, and glorify Him.

Happy writing!

*Related posts:

Your personal timeline will help your memoir’s readers   

http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/09/your-personal-timeline-will-help-your.html

The BEAUTY and BONUSES of memoir

http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/10/beauty-and-bonuses-of-memoir.html

The beauty of memoir: your vignettes’ strong endings

Finish your individual vignettes with punch, with muscle.

A weak ending could make your story fall short of its potential impact.

A strong ending, however, offers readers the rich lessons your story contains.

This is where the beauty of memoir shines. Keep in mind the definition and purpose of memoir:

Retrospection, pondering, and examination are required.

Think about why you are telling your story.

What is your current understanding of what God was doing?

Include Bible verses that illustrate and validate your vignette.

What did you learn from the experience?

What did you learn about yourself? Do you now see a pattern? Some repetitions?

How was your faith strengthened as a result of the experience? How was your faith strengthened for the next difficulty?

What new person did you become as a result of the event?

Write your discoveries into each vignette’s ending.

Remember: your stories can do more than entertain: They can play a role in shaping the spiritual lives of those who read them—your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and anyone else you choose.

Write an ending “elegantly crafted that does not end with ‘and as you can see, “all things work together for the good.”’” (Cindy Blomquist, editor, Women of the Harvest, http://wothwritersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-am-not-teacher-but-awakener.html) 

"… My biggest pet peeve … is a weak last paragraph. Why? Because I need satisfaction: a well-paced ending gives me closure and makes me feel good about my investment in reading.… A bad ending is like a car cruising along in the fast lane about to pass up its appointed exit, only to make it by crossing three lanes of traffic without looking to see what catastrophes have occurred by this abrupt and careless behavior. Don't be that kind of writer (or driver) .… Allow yourself the time to wrap up your [story]…. Evoke a call to action. Tell me about the transformation that resulted. Drive your point home without crossing 3 lanes of traffic at 100 mph. And please, oh please, don't use a verse from the Bible to wrap it up...." (Cindy Blomquist, editor, Women of the Harvest, http://wothwritersblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/it-was-dark-and-stormy-nightthe-end.html

An effective ending leaves a lasting impression upon your readers.

Writing a strong finish takes time and thought.

If necessary, set your story aside for a few days, pray, and then craft your ending.

Conclude your vignette so your reader will feel inspired by reading it.

Create an ending for each vignette that will move your reader to ponder,

maybe laugh,

maybe shed a tear,

and, most importantly, to apply your story’s lessons to his or her own life.

Related post:

What is a memoir

http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-is-memoir.html

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