Digital Reader Penetration Accelerates - Titles can make or break...

Digital Reader Penetration Accelerates

Interesting article about the growth of the digital market, but that was SO not where my mind went when I read the title. Am I the only one with a dirty mind here?  Probably not.

I happened to be cruising the Publisher's Weekly blog today and saw this article which was released on Monday and I'm really surprised I didn't see any commentary (snarky or otherwise) on some of the blogs I frequent. Now, I know this is an article from Publisher's Weekly so it's not likely to be about sex. But I tell ya, that's where my brain went, which shows just how vital an appropriate and catchy title can be.

The title of this article is certainly without peer because it's good and bad at the same time. But in a professional capacity, did they really want everyone to think about sex FIRST? I'm guessing no. Hell to the no!

So what makes a good title? Something that stays in your brain. That's important. And a word or phrase which is somewhat descriptive of the story. There's nothing worse than reading a story and getting to the end only to ask yourself what the heck the title had to do with the story. I hate those kinds of titles. When writing erotic romance, I've been told titles need to be kind of sexy. However, some titles that aren't explicitly sexy really do work well.

For example, Needing Harte and Commanding Acquisitions aren't overly sexual titles but damn, they are hot stories. They do fit what the stories are about - BDSM relationships with couples who are falling in love.  Great job at naming your stories ladies!

So... do you have any pet peeves about book titles? Any favorite titles? Just wondering how that digital reader penetration is going...