The first was just
prior to my debut book being published. I’d phoned a book shop to enquire about
events and on hearing the name of the story alone, the seller proceeded to tell
me that my book would never sell. Apparently, the title would put parents off
buying it, and children off reading it, too!
MYTH NUMBER 1: DO
NOT INCLUDE WORDS CHILDREN WON’T UNDERSTAND
The seller had,
and still has, a very valid point. Your writing
needs to be carefully matched to the age of your target readership. However,
there is also an argument for using stories to explore and extend a child’s language
and understanding of concepts. Indeed, it could even be the selling point. Baby
101’s series of books, including ‘Architecture for Babies’ and ‘Economics
for Babies’ are good examples.
I'm actually glad I stuck with my title. The picture book in question, ‘Aerodynamics
of Biscuits,’ (illustrated by Sophia Touliatou) has been reprinted twice, turned
into a theatre show and was runner up in the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. There’s
also a brand new edition coming in 2020! My
advice would always be to make sure your writing is appropriate for your age of
reader, but if there’s an opportunity for more complex vocabulary to be
embedded and explored, don’t be put off including it.
I thought it
might be interesting to unpick some further myths about titles.
MYTH
NUMBER 2: KEEP IT SHORT, SNAPPY AND SUCCINT
It’s generally
advised that your titles should be short, snappy and succinct. Shorter titles
leave more room on the cover for bigger font. Also, since picture books tend to
sell on concept, a title can act as a mini pitch, communicating the concept to
readers and buyers.
However, long
titles can be memorable and distinctive. I love the title of Emma Perry’s debut
picture book, illustrated by Sharon Davey. It’s a longer one, coming in at 8 words, but it communicates all the voice, character and concept I need to want to
read it! (Unfortunately, I’ve got to wait until it publishes later in the year).
Here’s another example that’s a whopping 10 words long!
Of
course, if your picture book manuscript has an overly long title, it could
suggest that story is too vague or too complicated. Interestingly in Time’s list of 100 best-selling
children’s books, the average length of the picture book titles was
3-4 words long.
MYTH
NUMBER 3: DO NOT USE CHARACTER NAMES
Character
names can be short, but the worry is that they give very little information about story. The
risk is that you fail to hook your readers. If my story with Olivier Tallec, How
Rude! had been named after the characters, Dot and Duck, you could argue it
wouldn’t have been as strong a title. Titles
are a promise to the reader; of humour, adventure or something else. So don’t miss out on the opportunity to sell your story.
However, I do think it is possible to
name books after characters, especially if the names give us a lot
to go on. Take something like the Little
Miss and Mr Men stories, for example. Similarly, titles like Supertato work
because the characters have great names that are also the concept! If your character's name is the USP,
why not use it?
MYTH
NUMBER 4: WORD PLAY, RHYME AND ALLITERATION DON'T TRANSLATE
It can be tricky to translate puns, rhymes and phrases from English into
other languages, which could be an argument to avoid them in titles. However, that’s not to say it can’t be done.
Perhaps
the title would work in enough English-speaking territories to make the project
financially viable anyway? Or maybe the publisher would change the title to something else when any co-editions are translated?
Lucy Rowland talks
more about this in her post for Picture Book Den, ‘What’s in a Title?’ Her
story with Ben Mantle, ‘Little Red Reading Hood,’ relies on word play, but yet here it is translated into
French! https://picturebookden.blogspot.com/2018/08/tips-for-titles-whats-in-name-by-lucy.html
MYTH
NUMBER 5: YOU CAN’T USE A TITLE THAT’S ALREADY BEEN TAKEN
I
had to seek some advice on this one! But I guess the bottom line
is that books with the same titles do exist. However, you’d probably want
to be as original as possible. If you did use a title that had already been
published, you’d certainly want the subject of the texts to be suitably different
to avoid confusion. You wouldn’t want to duplicate a title if it had been published recently,
either.
It
would also be important to check that the title wasn’t under copyright. Whilst I
believe that, generally speaking, it isn’t possible to copyright a title since
it is considered ‘a short slogan,’ some concepts and characters are copyrighted.
You wouldn’t be able to include Rudolph, for example, without seeking
the relevant permissions. More about this here.
I hope these thoughts are useful when naming your texts! Don’t underestimate the impact of a great title. It can be the difference
between someone picking up your book …and not. I’ve heard that picture books can and have sold on titles alone, if they’re that good. Contrary to the popular
idiom ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ – we do! The title will
be one of your most important selling points, so spend time getting it right.
Now it’s your turn!
Which are your
favourite picture book titles and why?
Clare is a children's writer and primary school teacher from
Devon. She writes fiction and non-fiction picture book texts - sometimes funny and
sometimes lyrical. Her first book was published in 2015, and she currently
has books in development with Little Tiger Press, Quarto, Andersen, Nosy Crow
and MacMillan. She also writes for the early
readers for Collins Big Cat and Maverick.
www.clarehelenwelsh.com @ClareHelenWelsh
