Good and Bad Story Titles

[AwkwardlySet]

I was checking out some new stories today, and it struck me that some of us maybe don't place enough importance on story titles.

Unlike the stuff we publish on Amazon, Smashwords, and elsewhere, our Lit stories don't have any cover. There is no image or art that could grab the attention of a potential reader. Having that in mind, I'd say that story titles potentially play an important role in attracting readers, especially those casual ones who are unlikely to engage in extensive browsing and tag-checking of story lists.
This is doubly important when we take into account the sheer number of new daily stories.

What do you consider a good title, and what do you think is a bad story title? I understand this is likely to be subjective, so I am curious to hear your takes. I'll share a few examples.

For me, a good title is one that subtly hints at what the story is about, contains some clever word-play, or sounds intriguing enough.

I'll give an example from today's story list: The Way She Moves - Lesbian Sex Category. It's a chaptered story, and while it's not something I would personally consider reading due to its (short) length, the title sounds intriguing enough to me. A quick skim through the story (and tags) tells me it's a story about a ballerina, so the title is both intriguing and cleverly hints at what the story is about.
I find that I really like this title, even if I won't actually read the story.



Bad titles.
Heh. I won't give any actual story titles as I don't want to shame any author, so I'll just give a few general examples.

A Football Player Fucks A Florist
Sex With My Neighbor

While these titles give some information about the plot, I find they lack in every other department.


Another type of titles I dislike are titles that contain the name of characters only. Say a story named Emily, or a story named John. Naming a story Emily and John, while a bit better since it does at least hint at heterosexual content, still pretty much sucks. From the standpoint of the reader, these are just some random names. They don't really convey much. There is no intrigue in them, unless it's some exotic name, but even then it's a weak title, in my view.

Again, I realize this is all subjective so I'm looking forward to see your examples.

 

[Erozetta]

I personally loathe titles that simply describe what happens in the story. Very similar to your bad title examples.

For me, personally, it's unappealing and lazy, which is how I suspect the writing will read as well. I'm not going to waste my time with it.

Funnily enough, I've been forced to read a few with titles like that and ended up enjoying them, but I never would've read them on my own because of the title.

As far as good titles, I am fond of most of my own currently. They all hint at what the story is about without being blatant or porny. And most contain some sort of wordplay.

For example, "Cookies, Commands, and Subroutines" is about the double meaning of the words between computer programming and the basic meaning of sweet treats, obedience, and submission.

I think one of my favorite titles I've found on the site so far is "Words with Friends with Benefits" by Ironiclaconic. It's a great story, too.

 

[HordHolm]

We had something of a debate about the Fetish category recently: https://forum.literotica.com/thread...to-get-maximum-views-on-your-erotica.1635339/, and the main issue was the low number of views. The OP in the other thread posted a list of the most recent published submissions (at that point) and one of the things that stood out was just how little information the titles (and summaries) gave. If I was a reader, faced with a number of titles, I wouldn't have had much help at all in making a choice. Only two out of ten or so gave any indication of content. Interestingly, those two had the highest number of views.

I understand the desire to make titles clever. I also think that for a reader aiming to choose one story out of twenty-five or so visible in a list, with minimal free time and certainly no time to waste, clever literary titles can be another obstacle, whilst something clear and concise can be of assistance.

 

[Writer61]

I was checking out some new stories today, and it struck me that some of us maybe don't place enough importance on story titles.

I agree with you, but I do sometimes think I should be more blatant about the story content.

For example, I have a story named 'Summer by the Sea' (in EV), which doesn't give much away (it is an allusion to an old song about the location). Recently, I considered renaming it 'Naked Summer' because it would fit better with other titles in the series (e.g. 'Naked on Screen'). In the end, it didn't happen for other reasons.

Using the word naked is blatant; the screen hints at the setting. I'm not sure which approach is best.

 

[StillStunned]

I like to think that there's no rhyme or reason to how appealing a story title is, but in fact I usually think of the title quite early in the writing stage and then it sticks. I very rarely ever change it. Obviously I think it's appealing to readers, and it reflects the story, but really that's as much thought as I ever put into it.

Case in point: "Red Hot", "The Swallow and the Demon", "Not A Soul". Not my best efforts.

There's a case to be made that SF&F isn't quite the same as other categories, because readers are often drawn to the worldbuilding, but still. I've let myself down a bunch of times. Particularly with "The Dome". That one's so bad that even calling one of the chapters "Mothers" didn't cause any ripples.

 

[Lifestyle66]

When readers are looking for their next selection, they have ONLY the category, title, and description line to go on. The tags and any "author's note" preamble aren't viewable until after they've clicked on your story.

So, the title needs to capture their attention.

My most successful (by number of views) title is in Loving Wives: "What Were You Thinking?"
Description: "Husband discovers his wife’s deception."

It shouts to the potential reader that the wife was caught and is implied by being in LW that she cheated on her husband. And the BTB lovers need to know what the husband will do about her! That story has over 123K views.

One thing which detracts from readers' clicks is a series title followed by "Ch. #".

My series "Lifestyle Ch ##: ____" was a mistake. Although it says "this is about a "lifestyle" and the rest of the title alludes to swingers, I've come to realize by my own story reading selections that I don't want to click on "Series Ch 10: ___", because I haven't read the first nine chapters and I don't want to spend the time going through older stories to catch up.

 

[StillStunned]

My most successful (by number of views) title is in Loving Wives: "What Were You Thinking?"
Description: "Husband discovers his wife’s deception."

It shouts to the potential reader that the wife was caught and is implied by being in LW that she cheated on her husband. And the BTB lovers need to know what the husband will do about her! That story has over 123K views.

A bit ago I was chatting to @Bazzle about his story Wife Watches On. We were both surprised, and a little disappointed, that it wasn't rated higher. It's the kind of setup that voyeur readers tend to love, in my experience.

But we decided after some discussion that the word "Wife" in the title probably brought in some readers who were expecting some cheating or cuckqueening. And there's none of that, so presumably those readers expressed their disappointment by voting low.

 

[shelleycat1]

My worst title was when I submitted “A cloned wife” as “A coned wife.” I think it got more views because it was bizarre, but it wasn’t the intention.

Sometimes readers just have to take a punt on something and hope for the best. I go by the titles and description, but also follow authors whom I have liked. Todd172’s “shameless” is brilliant but the title only makes sense half way through the story.

 

[Writer61]

My worst title was when I submitted “A cloned wife” as “A coned wife.” I think it got more views because it was bizarre, but it wasn’t the intention.

There's a new story in the list with a typo in the title …

 

[shelleycat1]

I wrote it after the experience of the mis-title. That’s my first try at a 750 word, and I’m not sure if I will write another. I got a beginning, middle and end in the word limit, but it’s frankly not great.

 

[iwatchus]

A bit ago I was chatting to @Bazzle about his story Wife Watches On. We were both surprised, and a little disappointed, that it wasn't rated higher. It's the kind of setup that voyeur readers tend to love, in my experience.

But we decided after some discussion that the word "Wife" in the title probably brought in some readers who were expecting some cheating or cuckqueening. And there's none of that, so presumably those readers expressed their disappointment by voting low.

One of the biggest goals has to be to not mislead the reader. That will result in some combination of drop-offs and low votes.

I do not write nor read in Fetish, but I suspect titles and/or descriptions are far more important there because of what I suspect are a wider range of non-overlapping interests. For a category that is relatively predictable like EV or Romance, I think something catchy but true to the flavor of the story is good. @Bramblethorn The Floggings Will Continue ... is a good example in my mind. It has a direct tie to the story and catches your eye.

My first series was not named xxxx : Ch ## and I did get a nasty comment on the very last chapter complaining about it. (Completely accidental, it was not intended to be a series and the title of the first story made no sense as a series title.)

 

[HordHolm]

My series "Lifestyle Ch ##: ____" was a mistake. Although it says "this is about a "lifestyle" and the rest of the title alludes to swingers, I've come to realize by my own story reading selections that I don't want to click on "Series Ch 10: ___", because I haven't read the first nine chapters and I don't want to spend the time going through older stories to catch up.

This is exactly why I'm veering towards standalones within a series, rather than chapters.

 

[StillStunned]

One of the biggest goals has to be to not mislead the reader. That will result in some combination of drop-offs and low votes.

Fair enough, but you shouldn't have to avoid certain words just because of what some readers might think. Particularly not if it doesn't even occur to the writer until after. The story title is a very accurate description of what the story's about, there's nothing misleading about it.

 

[iwatchus]

Fair enough, but you shouldn't have to avoid certain words just because of what some readers might think. Particularly not if it doesn't even occur to the writer until after. The story title is a very accurate description of what the story's about, there's nothing misleading about it.

But LW has probably corrupted the word "wife" for many in the Lit community. I really wish there was a different name for the category. (Speaking of bad titles.)

 

[HordHolm]

One of the biggest goals has to be to not mislead the reader. That will result in some combination of drop-offs and low votes.

I do not write nor read in Fetish, but I suspect titles and/or descriptions are far more important there because of what I suspect are a wider range of non-overlapping interests. For a category that is relatively predictable like EV or Romance, I think something catchy but true to the flavor of the story is good. @Bramblethorn The Floggings Will Continue ... is a good example in my mind. It has a direct tie to the story and catches your eye.

I agree with you, but with a caveat - Fetish is, along with SF/F, probably the widest category, and we would assume that other categories will be narrower. But even in something like EV, there is the question of whether the story is E or V, which might make a considerable difference to a reader. Or consider BDSM - is the story B, or D, or S, or M, or some combination? Does it have a maledom or femdom focus? All issues which might attract or repel a reader. A lot of categories may have polar opposite readers who want something either black, or white.

 

[filthytrancendence]

I feel like my titles are either really good or really bad. Not much in between.

Usually they come from some phrase I really like within the story that is semi-poetic and hints to what the story is about. I really don't think a title has to say much of anything at all about what the story is about in order to be compelling, but that's a fine line to walk. Some examples of mine that I do think work well despite being non-descriptive:

• A Wind Blew Though Me
• A Burden Worth Carrying
• A Way Through Darkness

I mean, they are descriptive, you just need the context of the story to understand the description. I feel like they are all interesting enough images to compel a click, and typically I use the tagline to hint at the content when the title does not.

But they get away from me, too. Like Stumbling onto the Right Path or The Bloom of Tartarus.

Definitely trying to be a little more utilitarian with them going forward...

 

[Nynah]

Unlike the stuff we publish on Amazon, Smashwords, and elsewhere, our Lit stories don't have any cover. There is no image or art that could grab the attention of a potential reader.

Call me a purist but I rather enjoy this fact about Lit. You have to attract readership with your words and your words alone. When browsing other websites that do allow for covers, if the author has chosen to use AI art as a cover, that's an easy pass from me, I don't particularly care how good your title or description are.

Having that in mind, I'd say that story titles potentially play an important role in attracting readers, especially those casual ones who are unlikely to engage in extensive browsing and tag-checking of story lists.

The title doesn't do all of the heavy lifting though. The short description after it also shoulders a lot of the burden. They have to work in tandem to attract potential readers. The category the story is placed in also does a bit of the work since some readers only stick to certain ones. And there are many dozens of other variables to consider, including story length, which is demonstrated by your example of a "good" title. Even though you said you like the title, you won't read it because it's too short. If the goal is to get someone to read your story, then this title hasn't done enough on its own.

 

[Lifestyle66]

This is exactly why I'm veering towards standalones within a series, rather than chapters.

I did the standalones route with what I refer to as my "Book Club Series." Each story is a standalone, and the titles are completely unrelated. But they interconnect with the same characters via a monthly suburban women's Saturday morning Book Club meeting. Each story relates the book selection for the month as it parallels one of the women's real life after the club meeting.

I started with no intent to create a series with "His Vixen", with the book club wives discussing extra-marital affairs. I used that club to bring out various definitions, such as the term "vixen" (as in stag-vixen). Then afterwards, she grows into the role with her husband. Then when I wrote my next story about a wife finding out her husband cheated, I tied it into the same book club, but with the standalone "Going Down Together". The stories received 24K and 20k views respectively.

After six stories in that series, the "Cheated Wives' Club" has the lowest views at less than 9k, probably because the LW audience has less interest in reading about cheating husbands and what the wives do about it (basically they go to a brothel when their husbands are cheating!)

 

[crookedletter]

Bad titles.
Heh. I won't give any actual story titles as I don't want to shame any author, so I'll just give a few general examples.

A Football Player Fucks A Florist
Sex With My Neighbor

While these titles give some information about the plot, I find they lack in every other department.

I don't disagree. But when it comes to setting reader expectations these are pretty effective. Not just in terms of plot -- as they are just mini plot summaries -- but in terms of what the stories are trying to do. I would guess that stories titled like this are essentially just porn scenes. If you want to see a football player fucking a florist, you're in the right place. If you want them to learn something essential about what it means to be human, you're probably not.

I would bet that A Football Player Fucks a Florist and something like Love in Bloom would draw very different readers expecting very different stories. If A Football Player Fucks a Florist is a sweet whimsical romance and Love in Bloom is just, well, a football player fucking a florist, readers on both sides might feel a bit misled.

 

[Erozetta]

I don't disagree. But when it comes to setting reader expectations these are pretty effective. Not just in terms of plot -- as they are just mini plot summaries -- but in terms of what the stories are trying to do. I would guess that stories titled like this are essentially just porn scenes. If you want to see a football player fucking a florist, you're in the right place. If you want them to learn something essential about what it means to be human, you're probably not.

I would bet that A Football Player Fucks a Florist and something like Love in Bloom would draw very different readers expecting very different stories. If A Football Player Fucks a Florist is a sweet whimsical romance and Love in Bloom is just, well, a football player fucking a florist, readers on both sides might feel a bit misled.

This.

Which is why I skip stories with titles like that. They hold no mystery or appeal for me. I have no interest in reading about a football player fucking a florist, but lots of interest in reading what circumstances cause a football player and florist to fuck.

Also, "Fumbling a Love in Bloom" would draw my eye more, because it indicates a romance with a risk of failure while also signaling the football aspect in a more subtle way that is less likely to turn off those who aren't into sports.

 

[TheLobster]

"Fumbling a Love in Bloom"

I'd personally go with Florist Caught in an Offside Trap.

...

Wait, which football are we talking about exactly?

 

[Meekly_Anna]

Hello everyone,
I'm a big fan of titles that are wrong or bad. They should be correct, but the reader should expect something completely different from what they actually get. I like to mislead the reader a little.
I've had a few complaints about it, but many people think it's hilarious.

Or what would you expect under a title of 'Anna's Merry Gangbang'?
There's a gang and they get banged. So, the title is correct. An I to blame that people expect the opposite?

 

[HordHolm]

I'd personally go with Florist Caught in an Offside Trap.

...

Wait, which football are we talking about exactly?

A Venus (Offside) Fly Trap?

 

[Writer61]

Footballer plays away

 

[CiaoSteve]

I really struggle here and spend so much time mulling over a title. I try to get to suggestive but sometimes feel that being too obtuse will also put off readers. Title and genre are my two big challenges, the latter as I tend to span genres a little.