I need YOUR opinion!

Posted on by inkbiotic

Hello lovely bloggers, I need your help. I am terrible at coming up with good titles, I think it may be an ancient curse put on me. Up until recently, I called my new book The Good Cult, but I don’t like that anymore. Now after weeks of floundering I have come up with some possible options, but I have no idea if they’re actually any good or not; so knowing that you all have the writing smarts, I am turning to you for help.

Whether you’re a regular reader or just passing by, I’d like to know what you think of them. They all contain the words The …Cult, because the book is about a cult and I like to state the obvious, but I want a complete title that grabs your attention, makes you wonder and want to read more. Any additional information about what you think the book would be like from these titles, whether they make you want to read on, would also be extremely helpful.

The Babble Cult

The Clockwork Cult

Last Chance to Escape the Babble Cult

The Cult of Juda

If you have any other useful tips on how to come up with titles, that would be great also. Thank you!

53 thoughts on “I need YOUR opinion!”

  1. Hmmmm… I seem to regret my flash fiction titles quite often if I change them. In my head the first title I come up with is usually the right one. And I have huge problems finding a good title after I wrote the story. I seem to have better luck making stories to my titles than titles to my stories. I don’t know if this is very helpful, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that the title that is *your* name for it in your head independently of how it looks from the outside is the best one. I think;)

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    1. I see what you’re saying, but The Good Cult has never sat right with me, it was more a desperation name. I agree with totally with writing the title first, if only I had remembered that before I started writing it! Oh well, may next time 😉

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      1. Haha! Happens all the time, doesn’t it. Hmmmm…. What you explain here is what usually happens to me as well when I forget to make a name first: any name just feels strange. Please let me know if you find an universal solution to the problem:D

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      2. I’m not sure who Judah is, I shall google…ahh son of Jacob, had a kingdom. Since the name isn’t Judah or Judas, it’s more a suggestion anyway. Juda is actually a woman, I’m not sure if I like that you can’t really tell that from the name or not. I did wonder about changing the cult leader’s name to something obviuosly female like Julia, but for me that takes away some of the impact (no insult to anyone with the name Julia!)

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  3. The Clockwork Cult would intrigue me enough to pick it up! The Cult of Juda does sound biblical, but the pedant in me knows that that’s spelt “Judah” with an ‘h’. Would I want to read a novel with this title? I’m less attracted.

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  4. Personally, I like The Clockwork Cult, but I would expect that the novel is steampunk. The Cult of Juda sounds interesting, but it does smell, a bit, of Christian religion so I would expect it to 1) a “spinoff” of the classic Bible story, 2) a spoof of the Bible story, or 3) about a leader in the vein of David Koresh. The Babble Cult makes me think of a funny story or a story related to the tower of Babble.

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    1. Hmm, some useful thoughts there, especially since the third option for the Cult of Juda is what the story is about. Would you want to read it if you knew that was the theme?

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      1. Absolutely. The Cult of Juda would be a title that would lure me in, then a well-written blurb would definitely get me hooked. I think a title should cause a bit of “hmm, I wonder what THAT’S about” thinking on the part of a potential reader.

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  5. You posed a question here, which made me think ‘The Questionable Cult’ or, for the more risque, ‘The Misspelled Cult’.
    For me The Clockwork Cult works : a touch of intrique, time and Victorian Gothic/ Steampunk.

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    1. The Misspelled Cult is great, a place where like-minded, peace-loving people go to hide from grammar nazis! Thank you for your thoughts in The Clockwork Cult, that one seems to be a frontrunner, along with the Juda one.

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      2. Now it’s sounding like a website, like Flickr or Grindr, a place where the anti-pedants can meet maybe?

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  7. Now we know why you have been so busy. When I read the list the one that popped out first was “he Cult of Juda.” “The Clockwork Cult” reminded my of “A Clockwork Orange” and brought up associations of thugs with big boots. The “Juda” title made me think of some kind of cult leader and to wonder what this cult would be like. Hope that this helps.

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    1. Yes, that’s most helpful, I’m a bit worried about the Clockwork Orange associations also. I like that the Juda title invokes questions, that’s exactly what I want (can you actually’ invoke a question?’ it sounds wrong.)

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  8. I think, using the term CULT in the title decides for the prospective buyer. The rest of the wording is not going to matter that much. People interested in cults or anything to do with cults, will stop to have a look and maybe buy. Other won’t, no matter what the title.

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  9. I was instantly drawn to ‘The Clockwork Cult’ and ‘The Cult of Juda’. But although ‘The Cult of Juda’ sounds like *a thing*, i’m favouring ‘The Clockwork Cult’, as it sounds stranger and more surreal than the ‘Juda’ one. And i like strange and surreal 🙂

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    1. Oh- and i noted that someone else mentioned that it made them think of ‘A clockwork orange’, and fair enough, i thought of that too, but it’s not like Anthony Burgess *invented* the term “clockwork”; we hear it in lots of things, so i don’t see that as a big concern. A lot of book titles remind me of other things. There’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ and Lord of the Rings’, and a bazillion other things ( i won’t even get into song titles..). My vote goes to ‘The Clockwork Cult’!

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    2. Strange and surreal are appealing, and are qualities a lot of your art has. Although the book has its moments, it’s a lot less strange and surreal than I usually write, almost normal (although still about a cult). Thank you for the input! 🙂

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  10. The Clockwork Cult stands out to me. First, because it reminds me of A Clockwork Orange. Second, because it reminds me of Dali’s melting clocks painting. Third, because it sounds mechanical and potentially conspiracy theorist with a hint of illuminati. Fourth, because process of elimination.

    The two which mention Babble Cult sound like they’re going to be humour/parody in the style of Tom Holt or Douglas Adams. The Juda one sounds too religious to interest me.

    HTH!

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    1. That helps a great deal, the books is in part about conspiracy theories with a hint of Illuminati, so that’s kind of perfect. A friend also said what you have about the Juda title sounding too religious, so that’s a definite consideration. Thank you!

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  11. ‘The Clockwork Cult’ is the one that my eyes were drawn to the most. Alliteration, and ‘A Clockwork Orange’, that will pop into everyone’s head including mine but that’s ok surely because it will make people pick it up (when it’s on that bestseller shelf in the bookshop). You’re going to be famous!

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  12. Yes, that’s true – I have a fear of riding on someone else’s coat tails, but like Siddie says, Burgess didn’t exactly invent the word. And thank you for the encouragement, it’s perked me right up! 🙂

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  14. I like The Clockwork Cult or The Cult of Juda, though I lean more towards the former. The Clockwork part really makes me interested, but “Juda” sounds mystical and mysterious; however, you could leave that name for a more chilling reveal in the book itself.

    As for coming up with titles, errrrr, I wish I had some good tips! Sometimes I think of titles before I even write a story (Northern Lights was one of them. I knew one day I’d write something that would fit that title), but sometimes I just let the title come to me as I’m writing/editing. Thinking up a good title is difficult. I’m in a few writer groups where people will throw up a blurb and ask for help coming up with them all the time, so you’re not alone!

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    1. It’s odd it’s so difficult, we write thousands of words that we like enough to show people, but not a couple for the title. I guess it’s the importance we put on it – trying to sum up those thousands of words in a tiny space. Thank you for the input, The Clockwork Cult is looking like the winner!

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  15. I hate coming up with titles too, you posting your options for opinions is a great idea. I like The Clockwork Cult best. It’s intriguing, and I would want to know what the clockwork is all about. I wouldn’t necessarily expect steampunk at all. Juda sounds strong, but screams biblical. Cheers for now, let us know what you pick

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    1. Thank you Lynne! I’m really glad I put the question out there, it’s made it far simpler to choose. Have a lovely day!

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  16. In my marketing life, I had to name many things. Eventually, I came up with a convention that helped narrow it down from all the words in all the languages on earth to less than that. To build your convention, look at your past works and see if there are usable trends there. Remember the “job” of the title – to attract, intrigue, connect, infer, etc. Is there a sub-theme that you want to employ? (For example, all start with “The”; all start with the letter “C”; all four-letter or fewer words; all include the name of a bird; etc.) Is there a successful author (or trend, or movement) in your genre that you want to link to and if so, what names do those books have? What communication vehicles will the book be in and are there length restrictions? Who is the audience and what words have triggers for them? Start with a visual image and work back to get to the phrase that evokes it.

    Just ideas… now go ahead and pick a title from all the words in all the languages on earth.

    Cheers, m

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    1. That’s an impressively organised method! I can see how a marketing background could be useful for titles, takes the mystery out of it – makes it a straightforward process instead of a creative blur. Thank you for sharing! 🙂

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      1. Although, to be honest, for my fiction I do not use a method – I go with me gut! I have noticed how important the title is – to readers and editors alike. Many stories that have had rejectionitus have been cured with a title change. (That and the whole, eye of newt, blood of a lamb, waving of incense burners whilst rubbing Wonder Oil in one’s armpits technique.)

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      2. 😀 See, I know eye of newt and heard good things about lamb’s blood, of course; but armpit Wonder Oil? That could be the missing ingredient! 😉

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    1. A few people have mentioned steampunk, so I looked it up – it isn’t that, although it looks an intriguing genre. Thank you for your input! 🙂

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