I Like Interesting Novel Titles

[Arch9CivilReactor]

I’ve recently just realised how fun it is to see different ‘types’ of novel titles. How they give you certain expectations going in. Mostly because I’ve been mulling over what to name my own novel and wanted to see how others do it.

Whether expectations are met or not, I like that there are titles of different varieties. Like those that just say a premise, but that being enough to bring in an audience because that premise sounds interesting enough to at least have a look.

“Warrior Grandpa and Grandmaster Granddaughter” only has the basic description of two characters, but that is enough to sound so interesting. Mostly because it’d make you wonder how these two will interact. It gives certain questions about how that would work.

Then there are the more dramatic names like “The Angel Of Death Sheds Her Tears” or “Song of the Sky Walkers”. It just sounding so serious that you expect the author will go full dramatic to express each detail of their story. Especially if they are referring it a person and/or alliance.

I remember the long ass name trend when every novel had like seven to nine words explaining the story. It’s not like I don’t check those out. I just like it when the story knows where it is going to go and doesn’t drop off from there half way after the basic premise has been established.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Now it is time for someone to write a book titled: "Interesting Novel Title"...

 

[Keene]

I couldn't come up with a good name for my series, so I just called it after the main protagonist's name.

Seems to have worked out, despite giving very little information.

I have come to appreciate the addition of tags into a web novels title ala Royal Road. Looking at their rising stars, 6 out of the top 7 follow this format:

• Baby Mode Tutorial [A Litrpg Apocalypse • Regressor • Fantasy]
• Sword Saint's Reincarnation - a LitRPG Adventure
• Dao of Healing [Transmigration Healer Xianxia]
• Boundless Cultivation - [Isekai Progression Fantasy with Light LitRPG Elements]
• Good Guy Necromancer: A Slice-of-Death Adventure
• Knives & Levels: Survival LITRPG Apocalypse

While yes, they do "pollute" the purity of the novel title's space - they do a good job immediately setting up expectations for what's to come.

 

[Hoshino]

Just look up isekai you'll find a lot of interesting names like

 

[PancakesWitch]

I couldn't come up with a good name for my series, so I just called it after the main protagonist's name.

Seems to have worked out, despite giving very little information.

I have come to appreciate the addition of tags into a web novels title ala Royal Road. Looking at their rising stars, 6 out of the top 7 follow this format:

• Baby Mode Tutorial [A Litrpg Apocalypse • Regressor • Fantasy]
• Sword Saint's Reincarnation - a LitRPG Adventure
• Dao of Healing [Transmigration Healer Xianxia]
• Boundless Cultivation - [Isekai Progression Fantasy with Light LitRPG Elements]
• Good Guy Necromancer: A Slice-of-Death Adventure
• Knives & Levels: Survival LITRPG Apocalypse

While yes, they do "pollute" the purity of the novel title's space - they do a good job immediately setting up expectations for what's to come.

damn theyre so generic lol

 

[Valmond]

I couldn't come up with a good name for my series, so I just called it after the main protagonist's name.

Seems to have worked out, despite giving very little information.

I have come to appreciate the addition of tags into a web novels title ala Royal Road. Looking at their rising stars, 6 out of the top 7 follow this format:

• Baby Mode Tutorial [A Litrpg Apocalypse • Regressor • Fantasy]
• Sword Saint's Reincarnation - a LitRPG Adventure
• Dao of Healing [Transmigration Healer Xianxia]
• Boundless Cultivation - [Isekai Progression Fantasy with Light LitRPG Elements]
• Good Guy Necromancer: A Slice-of-Death Adventure
• Knives & Levels: Survival LITRPG Apocalypse

While yes, they do "pollute" the purity of the novel title's space - they do a good job immediately setting up expectations for what's to come.

It’s not only that, this comes more from I believe it was the Korean side of things. Don’t quite remember. Anyway, the method was developed due to how their search engine was.

In short, explanation titles became a way for them to be found. And given when you’re in the line of making money, you need to increase your chance of being found.

On top of that, the lessen the chance of someone leaving. You set up a general explanation in the title. The title as a result became more used than the actual blurb.

What happened from there is that the method spilled out, and is used even now. The amount of traffic you get from doing this dramatically shoots you than if you don’t use the method.

This goes into a number of things.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

My three most interesting sounding titles are already on SH:
Henry Rider: Clown Hunter

Henry Rider and the NuYu Prescription

and

I Applied for a Delivery Job and Got Turned Into a Flying Reindeer?!

 

[Clo]

My novel titles are all pretty bland taken on their own.

Their name make sense when you have them all of them together.

I personally laugh at stupid names, but I prefer the short, snappier titles

"Demon Lord Rimuru"
Vs
"The day I was reincarnated as a slime"

But one says what it's the tin. The other, not so much.

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

My novel titles are all pretty bland taken on their own.

Their name make sense when you have them all of them together.

I personally laugh at stupid names, but I prefer the short, snappier titles

"Demon Lord Rimuru"
Vs
"The day I was reincarnated as a slime"

But one says what it's the tin. The other, not so much.

Shorter doesn’t really mean better in this specific case. Demon Lord is a generic trope on its own but reincarnating as a slime sounds interesting. It is short enough compared to the paragraphs you see that mix a short title with a long one. Like:

“Demon Lord Rimuru— That Day I got reincarnated as a slime”.

it is complete garbage when I put it like that, but I believe the latter half is short enough. Which is why I’d choose it over that.

 

[Clo]

it is complete garbage when I put it like that, but I believe the latter half is short enough. Which is why I’d choose it over that.

I always have a wave of shame when I give out a title as a recommendation, and the name is like 2 sentence long.

I am clearly not the targer, given the trends.

But I like short snappy names, even if they don't say what the book is about at all.

Like Fire, Seasparrow or Bitterblue from the Graceling Series by Katrin Cashore.

Or Dreadnought by April Daniels.

 

[l8rose]

I think my favorite that I have seen so far has been "I'm Deleting Them From My Life" which honestly just sounds like the person was going to murder a few folks. Instead, she just goes off to live her best life and ignores the shitty people from before. Then there is "After Being Mind-read by the Cannon Fodder Group, the Foolish Beauty Effortlessly Won at Life" which is just a mouthful.

Back when I tried to sound fancy with my own titles, I came up with "Little Things of Lyrium Blue" which honestly makes it sound like either myself or the characters/story are on drugs. Black Veil and Crystalborn aren't much better I suppose, but those are based on the stories.