Your memoir needs an outstanding subtitle

Have you noticed that a novel seldom has a subtitle? Subtitles usually belong to the realm of non-fiction—and what a gift someone gave us when he or she invented subtitles. (A subtitle follows a title, and the two are separated by a colon.)

 

Let’s be clear about subtitles: “Your subtitle is not just some front-cover formatting slot to fill,” writes Susan Kendrick.

 

Susan is right. Your memoir’s subtitle has hard work to do. It helps accomplish your title’s goals.

 

A title’s goals are to:

• establish a distinct identity for your memoir,
• catch potential readers’ attention,
• entice them to buy your book,
• read it when they get home,
• and recommend it to their friends.

 

A subtitle sheds light on a book’s title.

 

A subtitle also:

• tells how your book is different from others,
• hints at what a reader will find within the book,
• expands on the title,
• entices readers,
• and might allude to secrets within.

 

Brooke Warner wrote recently, “The most popular trend in memoir . . . is to identify your key theme or themes, and build a simple subtitle around that: A Memoir of Faith, A Memoir of Resilience, A Memoir of Love and Loss.”

 

Brooke says that type of title works “because generally memoir readers are seeking out memoirs based on themes they’re drawn to or exploring in their own lives.”

 

You’ll want to read Brooke’s post, "An Author's Guide to Book Subtitles." In it she includes Eight Key Takeaways for Book Titles.

 

Look at these memoir titles without their subtitles:

 

The Perfect  Storm

Jackie’s Girl

Love, Africa

What Remains

A Long Way Gone

Thin Places

Thirteen Days

Plunder

Little Matches

Falling Awake

 

Did they intrigue you and make you want to buy them? Do you have a good idea what they’re about? Probably not.

 

Now look at them with their subtitles and notice how they reveal the book’s contents:

 

The Perfect  Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger

Jackie’s Girl: My Life with the Kennedy Family, by Kathy McKeon

Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War and Survival, by Jeffrey Gettelman

What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love, by Carole Radziwill

A Long Way Gone:  Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah

Thin Places: A Memoir, by Mary DeMuth

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis, by Robert F. Kennedy

Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure, by Menachem Kaiser

Little Matches: A Memoir of Grief and Light, by Maryanne O’Hara

Falling Awake: An America Woman Gets a Grip on the Whole Changing World One Essay at a Time, by Mary Lou Sanelli

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, by Katie David Majors

 

Review the goals of a title (above). Do the subtitles help accomplish those goals? I say yes, except for two.

 

Mary DeMuth’s Thin Places: A Memoir, is still vague. I’d prefer a subtitle that offers better hints about what readers will find within. People acquainted with the definition of “thin places” will have some insight into the book’s contents, but many people don’t know the term. From the back cover, thin places are the “places where the division between this world and the eternal fades. . . . snatches of holy ground . . . where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity.”

 

Also Kisses from Katie’s subtitle doesn’t work well. Readers need to read the back cover to learn that at age nineteen, Katie moved to Uganda and adopted thirteen children.

 

How long or short should a subtitle be? Mary DeMuth’s subtitle is two words, “A Memoir.” Mary Lou Sanelli’s is a whopping sixteen words long. There are no “rules” for how long a good subtitle should be, but it’s best to avoid unnecessary wordiness.

 

Here are tips for crafting a strong title/subtitle: 

• Choose an easy-to-understand title.
• Choose an easy-to-pronounce title.
• Choose an easy-to-remember title.
• Consider the benefits of a short, crisp title.
• Witty can be good—if it really works.
• Even if your title isn’t short, be concise: Does every word need to be there?
• Read your title aloud. How does it sound? (See Priscilla Long’s advice from last week as well as Susan Kendrick’s “What Makes a Good Subtitle and How Long Should it Be?”)
• Beta readers, and others who have helped you with your manuscript, might suggest titles.
• Choose a title that feels just right to you.

 

Finally, let me once again encourage you to read—even study—Susan Kendrick’s post, “What Makes a Good Subtitle and How Long Should it Be?” It’s packed with helpful info, not just subtitle length.

 

Have fun crafting your memoir’s perfect subtitle!

 

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

 

There’s an art to fashioning a book title that’s just right.

 

The pros don’t all agree on the “rules” for creating a strong, compelling title, and some tell us to break the rules anyway. But we all recognize when a title does not work, so if you hope to market your memoir, put extra effort into choosing your title.

 

Since that takes time, don’t wait until you’re finished writing your manuscript before working on your memoir’s title. Try out a few working titles (temporary, unofficial titles) before finalizing your choice.

 

Notice your working title’s melody, its sound, its rhythm.

 

Lynn Seraffin says, “The ‘rhythm’ of a title has to do with rise and fall of words, the number of syllables and the strong/weak accents within them. . . . ”

 

In Priscilla Long’s delightful book, The Writer’s Portable Mentor, she explains that “Sounds have frequency. Sound travels in waves that come at more frequent or less frequent intervals. The shorter the wave, the higher the frequency. Eek! is a high-frequency sound. The longer the wave, the lower the frequency. Blue is a low-frequency sound.

           

“… [T]hink of high-frequency vowels as high-energy vowels. Pie in the sky! Let’s get high! Dream on! Scream!....

 

“Low-frequency vowels are low-energy vowels. They bring us down. We have the blues…. We are lonely. We feel moody….”

 

In her book, Priscilla gives us a list of the lowest frequency vowels:

long o (boo)

long o (bone)

short o (book)

 

Here’s Priscilla’s list of the highest frequency vowels:

long e (bee)

long a (bay)

long i (buy)

 

When choosing your memoir’s title, ask yourself if you want a high-energy title or a low-energy one, and choose words accordingly.

 

In working on my second memoir, I played around with titles. My first working title was Tattered and Breathless and Full of Tales because years ago I stumbled upon Janet Chester Bly’s poem, “Breathless Tales.” It captured, so succinctly and in such a delightful way, the quirky life I’ve lived—so different from what I’d always dreamed I would live. Here is her poem:

  

Breathless Tales

 

I would rather clutch my invitation

and wait my turn in party clothes

prim and proper

safe and clean.

But a pulsing hand keeps driving me

over peaks

ravines

and spidered brambles.

So, I will pant up to the

pearled knocker

tattered

breathless

and full of tales!

~ Janet Chester Bly (Many thanks to Janet for permission to use "Breathless Tales" in both Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger’s Memoir and Grandma's Letters from Africa.)

 

Although that first working title, Tattered and Breathless and Full of Tales, was a direct quote from Janet’s poem, it wasn’t a problem—I didn’t need to ask her if I could use it—because I knew I’d use it only temporarily.

 

My second working title was Scruffy and Winded and Full of Tales. “Scruffy” instead of Janet’s “tattered,” and “winded” instead of her “breathless.” But that was still too much like her wording.

 

My third working title was Winded and Wrinkled and Brimming with Tales. It was probably different enough from Janet’s words.

 

And I liked the rhythm of that third working title. See for yourself—read these two titles aloud:

 

Scruffy and Winded and Full of Tales

Winded and Wrinkled and Brimming with Tales

 

The rhythm needs the two-syllable “brimming” instead of the one-syllable “full,” don’t you agree?

 

In that working title, I also liked the repetition of the short “i” sound (assonance). 

 

I also liked the repetition of two-syllable words: winded, wrinkled, and brimming.

 

On Priscilla Long’s frequency scale from low to high (which I did not include above), the short “i” sound is right up there next to the highest frequency sounds, and that seemed to be a good fit for my memoir’s contents. (I encourage you to buy Priscilla’s The Writer’s Portable Mentor. It’s a gem!)

 

In the end, I chose a different title—Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger’s Memoir—but that’s a story for another day.

 

What about your working title?

Do you want low-frequency vowel sounds

or high-frequency?

Read it aloud. Does it have a good rhythm?

A pace, a beat, a cadence?

 

Then ask yourself Lynn's suggestions:

 

“Does it feel too long? Too short?

Is there a musical quality

that makes it pleasant to say?

Does it feel like it should have ended

a few syllables earlier?”

 

How can you make your working title better? 

Keep tweaking it until you’ve crafted your permanent title

—your winning title!

 

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.

 

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.