How important is the title to a book or a film? How important is it to anything?
The answer must be that it is so important it is the single most vital part of the whole thing. It’s what makes people decide whether or not to buy the book or a ticket to see the film. And that ultimately determines whether it will be a success or not, and whether further books will be published by the same author or films made from the same producer.
What makes you pick up a book in a book store, one from hundreds of others? What is it that makes you pick up that particular book?
What first kindles your interest in a certain film? It could be the reviews you read, but what makes you read a review in the first place? It might be knowing the stars of the film, but just as likely it’s the title of the film.
And you have just one shot at getting the title right. So that’s why titles are so important, whether you’re talking about a web site, an article, a blog post . . . anything.
I think I’ll frequently post here about titles. They fascinate me. But I’m inviting all my visitors to make their own contributions on this topic as well. What do YOU think is a fantastic title? Which books and films do you think have fantastic titles?
Of course books and films aren’t the only things, but I’ll start with them and add further categories soon. Please suggest any categories you feel strongly about. More tomorrow . . .
