What's in a Name - Coming up with The Perfect Book Title

I find the hardest part of writing a novel, ironically, is coming up with the perfect title. It has to jump out at the reader, stand out on the shelves of the book shop and have great “searchability” on Amazon. It must fit the genre (world war 2 fiction with a twist) but not be too similar to other best sellers out there. It’s a tall order and not conducive to sudden bursts of creativity.

I was lucky that the title of my first historical fiction book was handed to me on a plate. When I came across the real hidden village in the Netherlands, there really was no other title that summed up what this novel was about. I still think The Hidden Village is my strongest title yet.

My book titles rarely come to me in a flash of inspiration, but take weeks, sometimes months of mulling over what might or might not work.

I’m at that stage right now with my next novel, which I’m in the middle of editing. The time has come to get the title fixed, but as soon as I think I’ve got it, I start to have doubts.

When I started this one, the third in my Untold WW2 Stories series, I had what I thought was the perfect title. The story (based on true events) is about a young farmer’s boy who goes on a horse and cart into the nearby concentration camp every day to pick up the potato peelings for his father’s cattle. Despite the dangers facing him on a daily basis, he strikes up a friendship with a prisoner and together they set up an operation smuggling prisoners’ mail in and out of the camp. Until his prisoner friend disappears.

The story is about a boy and I thought that ‘The Boy Who Went into the Camp’ would be a strong title. I shared it with readers and fellow authors who were less impressed - too many words, sounds like it could be a holiday camp, a children’s book? etc etc. So, sadly, it had to go.

I thought I’d nailed it with my next attempt “Behind the Barbed Wire”, until I searched on Amazon and found no less than five other books with the same title.

Finally, this week I think I’ve got it. A short title that evokes the divide between the camp and life on the outside. I need to be sure though before I announce it, but when I do, I’ll report back here.

If you liked this post please share on social media or drop me a line on the Contact Page.