Now All We Need Is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way [Paperback]

André Bernard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1996

"An entertaining little book. . . . It is a good thing that writers have to keep struggling for the right title, to judge from Bernard's amusing evidence."--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

André Bernard has researched the stories behind more than one hundred of the most famous titles in the English language to produce a fascinating volume rich in literary anecdote and publishing lore. The Great Gatsby was almost titled Trimalchio in West Egg, while some unknown editor told William L. Shirer, "Please God, don't ask us to publish a book called The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." It's a wonderful romp among the literary monuments.Raymond Chandler to Alfred A. Knopf: "I'm trying to think of a good title for you to want me to change."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This amusing anthology of anecdotes and commentary on the history of illustrious book titles by BOMC editor Bernard (Rotten Rejections) reveals the behind-the-scenes efforts of famous authors and editors to find titles for such classics as Bleak House and Gone with the Wind. Bernard highlights more than 100 books, including those poached from literary sources (The Sound and the Fury from Macbeth); those that arose from disputes between editors and authors (Farewell, My Lovely as a compromise between Alfred Knopf's Sweet Bells Jangle and Chandler's Zounds, He Dies); and those with clunky working titles like Trimalchio in West Egg (The Great Gatsby). Arranged alphabetically by author and interspersed with quaint black-and-white illustrations and lists of thematically related titles, this handy reference work should fuel cocktail party banter.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

This small book is truly delightful and will appeal to every prospective writer and anyone interested in the creation of ideas. (Karen Glendinning - Chattanooga Free Press )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (October 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393314367
• ISBN-13: 978-0393314366
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,304,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, and very interesting, entertaining, amusing, and informative., September 9, 2011

By 

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now All We Need Is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way (Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it fascinating to read about some of the behind-the-scenes workings of how many of my favorite books finally arrived at their title. It was very amusing to see the back-and-forth struggles between editors and authors over a book's title. Although not a how-to book, this small short amusing book will certainly appeal to every writer and editor.

The book discusses over 100 different famous books of fiction, such as "Jaws", "The Great Gatsby", "The Maltese Falcon", and "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and how their title came to be. One of my favorites is the story of "Gone With The Wind". It was first called "Pansy", then changed to "Tote the Weary Load", and then to "Tomorrow is Another Day".

Bernard's book also has great advice, sprinkled throughout the book, from authors and editors about choosing a title. One of my favorites is a quote by Walker Percy: "A good title should be like a good metaphor; it should intrigue without being too baffling or too obvious."

Some historic literary facts are also given for many of the titles. One of my favorites is the story about Lewis Carroll being the first one to suggest to his publisher that the dust jacket carry the title of the book. Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" became the first book to be published with a printed jacket.

In Bernard's Introduction, he says that this book is an "... an anecdotal account of how some of the most well-known book and play titles come to be. It is not meant to be a comprehensive compendium of every catchy title, but rather a lighthearted look at a struggle that has bedeviled writers for centuries."

As an author and publisher I can really appreciate how important a title can be to the financial success of a book. Nowadays, a title must not only be catchy, but also be key-word-rich and search-engine-friendly, if you have any hope of it being found on the internet. The proper title is essential if you want your publication to stand out from the huge number of publications that are published every day. If you are an author or publisher, you will certainly know that a good title is an essential part of a successful marketing plan for any publication. In Bernard's book you will read about very famous authors going through the same (but on a much less sophisticated level) agonizing process that we authors and publishers go through today. Nowadays, developing the best title is even more important than it was when most of the books discussed in Bernard's book were written. But it was still very interesting to see how these famous authors and big-name publishers dealt with this important process.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Are Stumped About Book Titles, Get This One, June 10, 2006

By 

W. Terry Whalin "Publisher/ Editor / Writer" (Scottsdale, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now All We Need Is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way (Paperback)

Many authors throw a few words into their manuscript for a title--with little thought about it. This fascinating short book reveals a few of the behind the scenes stories about well-known books and their titles.

If you read through Andre Bernard's book, you will learn book titles come from many different sources. It could spark something for your own writing and publishing work. If nothing else, you'll learn some terrific publishing trivia which will make riveting small talk in any gathering. I like this book and believe it has tremendous teaching value.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good concept, but not interesting enough., June 26, 2003

By 

MAB (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now All We Need Is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way (Paperback)

"Now All We Need Is a Title: Famous Book Titles and How They Got That Way" is a cute book, but nearly all of the books mentioned did not pique my interest. Nearly none of the "classics" that are popular today are written about and it lacked an index. A disappointment - I do not recommend.