How to Title Your Novel: Lessons from Stein on Writing
Coming up with the right title can feel like one of the hardest parts of writing a book. I’ll admit that when I was younger and teachers tried to force me to choose a title, I often rolled my eyes and slapped “Untitled” on my work anyway. Many of my clients share similar struggles.
That’s why I read with particular attention Sol Stein’s thoughts on titling in his classic Stein on Writing. (This is a stellar book, regardless of being a bit dated; check out my blog post on choosing the right point of view for your novel for more of Stein’s insights!)
Stein makes a compelling case: titles matter far more than many writers think (or hope). He draws from his years as an editor, sharing examples where he believes a title made the difference between a bestseller and a flop.
One striking case was Elia Kazan’s America America. Kazan had originally called it The Anatolian Smile, a title Stein urged him to change. Under Stein’s new title, the book succeeded. Later, Kazan used a variation of his original idea, The Anatolian, with another publisher—and for the first time, one of his novels failed to reach the bestseller list. Stein attributes this to the title.
Another example comes from Bertram D. Wolfe, whose first biography of Diego Rivera, simply titled Diego Rivera, sold poorly despite a “beautiful edition.” But when Wolfe later published a new biography of Rivera, this time titled The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera, both readers and critics responded enthusiastically. According to Stein, the key difference was the energy of the title.
I’ve seen this play out firsthand: Even in nonfiction genres where “dull” titles seem de rigueur and one might expect target audiences to accept them, an unexciting title can badly damage a book’s sales.
Stein’s Takeaways on Finding Great Titles
Here are some of Stein’s most actionable insights on titling:
Look to poems and songs: These texts often make great titles, a fact Stein drew on when he retitled a manuscript called The Battle of Schmidt as Follow Me and Die, after a popular song at Fort Benning’s Officers Training School. (Make sure to use work in the public domain, though, or you may run into serious copyright issues!)
Choose something imaginative: Titles such as “The Secret Life of James Thurber” and How to Raise Children at Home in Your Spare Time stand out. These might be nonfiction, but the same goes for fiction!
Pair your character’s name with an “energizing factor”: Think The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, The Great Gatsby, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. All these titles use a similar formula, and they’ve all stood the test of time.
Use metaphor: Stein points out that many of literature’s most enduring titles—Tender Is the Night, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Red Badge of Courage—happen to share something in common: the use of metaphor. This isn’t a coincidence.
As Stein reminds us, the point of a title isn’t to convey meaning. It’s to intrigue, to resonate, to excite.
Even the Greats Struggled with Titles
If you’re frustrated by your own attempts, take heart. Stein shares some of the clumsy working titles tried by literary greats.
Hemingway struggled particularly badly, it appears. One of his books was initially titled The Parts Nobody Knows, then, variously, To Love and Write Well, How Different It Was, With Due Respect, and The Eye and the Ear. Finally, after the author’s death, it found its final name: the riveting, time-tested A Moveable Feast. Likewise, a manuscript called As Others Are became The World’s Room, They Who Get Shot, and The Carnal Education, among others, before finally becoming the gorgeously titled A Farewell to Arms. Meanwhile, Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury was once called Twilight.
It’s a reminder worth keeping close: First drafts are rough by nature. You’re comparing your early attempts with the polished, final versions of other authors’ work. Keeping at it through the discouraging moments and self-doubt is what gets you from They Who Get Shot to A Farewell to Arms.
