Titles by Lynda Alsford

Recently, while standing in a queue at Valencia airport in Spain, I noticed that the man in front of me held a book in his hand. It was called Does anything eat wasps? I was too far away to read the subtitle or the author’s name, but the title made me want to find out more about the book. I decided as soon as I was back at home again I would google the book to find out more. The title leaped of the page and grabbed me. In fact I was so inspired by the title that as soon as I had boarded the plane I got out my notebook and wrote this post.

What makes a good book title?

I started wondering about titles. As far as I am concerned Does anything eat wasps? is a great title. Some of my other favourite book titles include; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared and To kill mockingbird. These titles make me wonder about the story. They entice me into the book, making me want to know more. So, how do we choose our own titles? When we have finished that article, poem, short story or book how do we choose a title for it? Or do you have the title in your head first and then write around it? Do you find it easy to come up with a title? Or is it something that takes a lot of thought and effort?

Giving my book a name

I have limited experience of this. For my first book, I didn’t know what to call it for quite some time, so at first I just concentrated on writing the book. It was a very cathartic experience getting the words down on paper. I was an evangelist who stopped believing in God and had to evangelise myself back to faith. Writing the book helped me make sense of my story. My book spoke of God’s faithfulness in the face of my faithlessness. One day at church we were singing the Matt Redman song You Never Let Go. The words of the song spoke to me powerfully and I realised God had never let go of me no matter how far I tried to get away from him. ‘He never let go’, I mused to myself. Light bulbs immediately flashed in my head. That was the title of my book - He Never Let Go. There was no work on my part in coming up with a title. It was divine inspiration. My second book, Being Known, took more thought and the title didn’t come as easily.

What about you? How do you come up with titles for your work? Is there a set process you go through? What is your favourite book title? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Oh, and in case you are wondering about Does Anything Eat Wasps it is a book written by the New Scientist magazine and the full title with subtitle is Does Anything Eat Wasps And 101 Other Questions. It is a compilation of the best questions that get submitted to the New Scientist every week. Actually I think it may be quite interesting and will probably buy it one day.

Lynda Alsford is a sea loving, cat loving GP administrator and writes in her spare time. She has written two books, He Never Let Go describes her journey through a major crisis of faith whilst working as an evangelist at a lively Church in Chiswick, West London. Being Known describes how God set her free from food addiction. Both books are available in paperback and on kindle on  Amazon.co.uk  and  Amazon.com. She writes a newsletter called Seeking the Healer, in which she shares the spiritual insights she has gained on her journey. When she finally starts her blog, it will also be called Seeking the Healer and you can find out more about both at  www.lyndaalsford.com.