Hey Reader,

Longtime readers might remember when I used to do the 3@3. New readers, welcome to the explanation: a few years back, I used to go live once a week at 3pm and answer 3 questions that had been pre-submitted. It was all live, no editing, just raw talk. Turns out, I've got a pile of those clips sitting around, and honestly, most of the advice hasn't aged a day. Would I add some information or say it a bit different? Maybe. But these are still so solid, I decided to resurrect them and share them with you again!

The question this time:

How do I come up with the title of my book? And should I title books in a series in the same naming style?

On the first part, my honest answer is: there's no one right way to do this. Some authors title around a theme. Some pull a phrase straight out of the manuscript. Some build the title around a character or a trope. Look at what's already working in your genre, and pay attention to what feels important to you as you're writing. If a word or phrase keeps showing up, that's usually your title trying to introduce itself.

The one caution I'll give: you can absolutely reuse a title someone else has (titles aren't copyrightable), but avoid ones that have already been used to death or are so unique they’re instantly recognizable (Looking at you, Dungeon Crawler Carl).

Type it into Amazon or a search engine first. If a title's been used seven times already, a reader trying to recommend your book by name is going to have a hard time finding you.

On naming books in a series the same way, it's genre and taste dependent. It can absolutely help tie a series together and make it recognizable. But it can also work against you if the titles get so similar readers can't remember which one they've already read. Ask yourself how long you'll realistically be able to carry the naming convention. Three books, easy. Ten books, harder.

So how do you come up with your book title? Full answer, plus the specific series examples that came up, here in my new video, "How to Title a Book."​

If titling has you stuck and you want to think it through with other writers, Just Keep Writing is free and open 24/7, no pressure, just a place to work through this stuff. It's easy to join right here: https://bookboss.angelajames.co/JKW​

And the question I keep asking: would you want live 3@3 back, or something like it, so you could ask your own questions in real time?

Happy writing!

~Angela
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