Good Titles

[Trionyx]

Em, keep your titles just as they are, puns and all; just add "with Mom" at the end of each of them. You'll double your views.

Much like adding “… in bed” to the end of the fortune found in your fortune cookie. That can put a whole new spin on things.

 

[mirafrida]

There's no one right way to do this, but most of the time I take a practical approach to story titles. My general philosophy is: "The text of the story is your art; everything else is marketing." Most of the time (not all of the time) titles for me are marketing. I write my titles with an eye toward grabbing the maximum number of eyeballs and readers possible.

I forget which wise Author’s guide I read but they had essentially advised that titles should be almost “on the nose” of the gist of the story. So basically “Pimping My Wife” or “Maternity Hallpass” two titles I used that basically tell the potential readers what they are getting into since titles are inevitably the first thing someone sees on the page.

This sort of advice makes so much sense... and I so can't ever bring myself to do it.

I think "Conquest of the Americas" is the favorite of my own titles
though I also liked "Hero's Tale (or, A Heroic Homeric)"

 

[NoTalentHack]

Another one I came up with at lunch that I'm going to start working on... uh, soon. Probalby.

OnlyFrans: Man finds out his daughter is a camgirl while searching for porn while his wife is away. Then he finds out his wife, Frances, did porn before they met for about five minutes, and she had told the daughter how to stay safe, etc. He's mad, because both of them kept secrets; they point out that, for different reasons, it's not really any of his business. He expects his son to be bullied because of his sister, but he mostly has to fend off guys trying to get her contact info. He expects her fiance to be mad, but they met through their work. Then he finds out that she not only paid for all of her college but pre-paid for the son's college and has almost finished off paying the mortgage to his house. No one seems mad except him; the general agreement is that he was conservative even when Frances met him, but he's way out of date now. It's about all of this stuff, but also about wrestling with changing times and questioning how integral the morals one has are, and to what extent a person should move with the times, especially when no one's getting obviously hurt.

 

[Rob_Royale]

So, opinions please.

The Lepidopterist and the Trophy Wife.

To flashy?

 

[SimonDoom]

So, opinions please.

The Lepidopterist and the Trophy Wife.

To flashy?

I think "lepidopterist" is too technical, and its connection with "trophy wife" too non-obvious. Some people won't know what a lepidopterist is. If you are determined to include his avocation/vocation and her "trophy wife" status in the title I would look for some way to use the word "butterfly" rather than lepidopterist-- it's a better sounding, more appealing, and more evocative word. Like, "The Butterfly Hunter and the Trophy Wife."

 

[Rob_Royale]

I was thinking the unusual word would grab a readers attention. Valid points though. Thanks.

 

[Duleigh]

My favorite is Serendipitous Liaison which I love but people stay away in droves, they prefer Camping in Bondage Go figure

 

[ElectricBlue]

Are breasts more attractive when the world's about to end?

They are in this story by @LoquiSordidaAdMe

If Tomorrow Never Comes

As an aside, this perfectly illustrates why Group is such a terrible category. This is a perfectly crafted short story, and those peanuts have only given it a 4.10.

It's only 4100 words, worth a quick read.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Em, keep your titles just as they are, puns and all; just add "with Mom" at the end of each of them. You'll double your views.

Add "with Simon's mom" for a triple word score.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

They are in this story by @LoquiSordidaAdMe

If Tomorrow Never Comes

As an aside, this perfectly illustrates why Group is such a terrible category. This is a perfectly crafted short story, and those peanuts have only given it a 4.10.

It's only 4100 words, worth a quick read.

Hey, thanks for the shout-out, EB. Much obliged.

 

[SimonDoom]

They are in this story by @LoquiSordidaAdMe

If Tomorrow Never Comes

As an aside, this perfectly illustrates why Group is such a terrible category. This is a perfectly crafted short story, and those peanuts have only given it a 4.10.

It's only 4100 words, worth a quick read.

If he'd called it "If Tomorrow Never Comes With Mom," it would be a whole different story.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

My favorite title from my stories is "No More Perfect Kisses" so by using Simon's Rule, changing it to "No More Perfect Kisses from Mom" will be a best seller ...

 

[ElectricBlue]

If he'd called it "If Tomorrow Never Comes With Mom," it would be a whole different story.

He's got the car, I guess .

 

[yowser]

It's been a couple years. Any good recent story titles you've added to your catalogue?

I'm unreasonably attached to 'Super Thighs Me' and 'Barb Braves the Bondage Bus.'

 

[AwkwardMD]

The Sacking Of Rome - a title so delightfully on the nose that I was snickering throughout the writing process.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

I suppose the title of mine that I am most fond of is for a Non-Human fantasy about pixies and goblins and trolls set at a Renaissance Festival. I called it...

A Fairy Affair at a Faire

I have an idea for a sequel set on a Staten Island commuter boat called "A Fairy Affair on a Ferry." And then maybe a third set in a taxi cab called "A Fairy Affair for a Fare".

...Sorry. I'll leave now.

 

[Erozetta]

I'm very fond of Purrfectly Playful which is a moderately slow burn kitten play story.

I also have a 750 called Cookies, Commands, and Subroutines which is about a submissive baker and a budding dominant coder meeting for the first time. I have a sequel to this one I'm working on that will be called "Sweet Bytes".

 

[kitmarlowe]

It's been a couple years. Any good recent story titles you've added to your catalogue?

I'm unreasonably attached to 'Super Thighs Me' and 'Barb Braves the Bondage Bus.'

'Super Thighs Me' is an incredible title, holy shit

 

[ChloeTzang]

LOL I don't think I really do good titles, but my favorite is "Chinese Takeout"

 

[StillStunned]

I seem to be really bad at titles, or at least titles that make readers want to click on the story, except for "Too Cold Not To Fuck" and its sequels. Of course they make up for all the other failures.

 

[TheLobster]

I'm not sure it qualifies as good, but I'm a sucker for punning the titles of well-known works, usually movies, into something that may be only broadly related to the actual theme of my story:

Gym Girl, Interrupted
Naked Without a Cause
Teaching Miss Stacy
The Perks of Being a Futanari

As for actually good titles -- those that have the highest likelihood of attracting an average Lit reader -- I humbly present With a Little Help from Her Son and Summer Inside His Sister as my highest (?) achievements.

But my favorite is the one where I managed to combine a clever pun (even if I do say so myself) with a hefty dose of titillation.
Behold, my Christmas 2024 contest story:

Jiggle All The Way

 

[Duleigh]

Anything I write with the subtitle "A Blizzard in Buffalo" seems to be well received. A Blizzard in Buffalo has kicked off two very successful series, I'm trying to see how to fit it into a discworld Fantasy:

Tales of the Mended Drum
A Blizzard in Ankh-Morpork​

It might work!

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

But my favorite is the one where I managed to combine a clever pun (even if I do say so myself) with a hefty dose of titillation.
Behold, my Christmas 2024 contest story:
Jiggle All The Way

Ah yes, that sweet spot! I'd also add a third element: Mystery (i.e., words in a title that seem so incongruous that a reader would feel compelled to click to see).

 

[ThatNewGuy]

My two favorite titles are probably "Art of Deception" and a 750-word, non-erotic piece called "Ornaments." Both titles take on additional layers of meaning after the story is finished.

Some of my titles are less successful. "Maize," for example, is pretty corny.

(I'll see myself out.)

 

[StillStunned]

I just submitted a story about a hot redhead. I couldn't think of a catchy title, so I called it "Red Hot".