FIVE TIPS FOR STANDOUT BOOK TITLES

• Titles Trend. Titles tend to flock together, as part of a trend, such as titles containing "wife". These trends tend to be genre-specific, making titles an important way to signal genre. You might show your book’s relevance by adopting a title that aligns with current trends. But beware of aligning with a trend that’s going stale.
  

• Titles Tease Interest. Your titles should first and foremost make someone interested in picking up your book. To that end, if the title is catchy and compelling, don't worry too much if it doesn't reflect the contents of the book precisely.
  

• Titles Change. Authors can and do change titles many times as they write. When you think about how drastically a book can shift through revisions and rewriting, it makes sense that there are often many title changes. Don’t feel like something’s gone wrong if you’re fiddling around with a title.
  

• A Good Title Might Be a Recurring Image/Motif. One trick I have used multiple times for coming up with a title, which I stumbled upon through googlling, was to use an image or motif from the book (eg, "The Velvet Glove" or "The Lost Tooth."). I found these to be reliably intriguing.
  

• Love Your Title. Finally, although saleability and teasing the book are important considerations, make sure you love your title. After all, you're probably the one whose mind it will be running in the most.