Good Book Titles - The "Recipe" for a Better Book Title

Generate a lot of book title ideas around the contents of the book--words, phrases, fragments. Make your list as long as possible. Don't worry if the ideas are silly or weird -- don't limit yourself or judge your list at this point, just get them down on paper (maybe even on index cards, like Julia Child and Judith Jones did).

To help you brainstorm your book title, gather friends to help (bribing them with food and drink usually works). Share with the group the list of ideas and emotional responses you made in step 1 and tell them to go at it. Remember, no judgments!

Here's a sampling ideas for our early reading title:

E-Z Reading with Friends
Reading Can Be Fun!
Dick and Jane with Mother and Father, Spot and Puff... and Sally, too!
Simple Stories for Simple People
Not Long on Plot, But Boy, You'll Learn to Read!

If your book needs a subtitle, use the same method for brainstorming subtitles to complement your title selections:

Dick and Jane and Friends: A Simple Story for Young Readers
Reading Can Be Fun: The Dick and Jane Episodes