IT DOES EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN… Cathy Ace
Getting your book written and published is one thing, getting it talked about and into the hands of readers is quite another. How can authors help build the right sort of appeal for their work from the outset?
Readers would probably be disappointed if the story in “A Tale of Two Cities” was set in only one location, or if a book called “Rebecca” didn’t have a character with that name, so I think we can all agree that the title of a book plays a critical role in framing a potential reader’s expectations. However, although I believe it’s hugely important, it’s not just the title that matters; readers like to get as much information about the nature of the book they’re considering in as little time as possible…which might be mere seconds when a book is on a shelf in a shop, or on a screen.
I write two series, and each uses the same framework for every title within it, with the specifics reflecting the story being told in that book.
When it comes to the Cait Morgan Mysteries, featuring a Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology who solves traditional whodunits around the world, these are all entitled The Corpse with the (something precious) followed by (a human body part/trait).
The Corpse with the Silver Tongue was the first book in this series, and the titular character (a man who could charm secrets out of people during conversation) is dead in the first paragraph. All my titular corpses die within the first couple of pages and they’ve had: a Golden Nose (an award-winning winemaker), an Emerald Thumb (a gifted plantswoman), Platinum Hair (an aged Vegas casino owner who still models herself on Marilyn Monroe), Sapphire Eyes (a hypnotic and manipulative choirmaster), a Diamond Hand (a man who’s highly skilled with playing cards), a Garnet Face (a man with a significant birthmark), Ruby Lips (a woman who habitually wears red lipstick), a Crystal Skull (a man who owns a secret treasure), an Iron Will (a man whose stalwartness, as well as his last will and testament, is quite something), a Granite Heart (a man with little emotional attachment to his family), Turquoise Toes (the mother of a burgeoning cult), Opal Fingers (a woman with the ability to locate fruitful opal mining sites by looking at a map), and a Pearly Smile (a pearl diver, turned model).
As you can see, the title relates to the death of a person (telling the potential reader they’re in for at least one dead body) and also supplies some information about a defining characteristic of the victim (while remaining enigmatic enough to – hopefully – encourage the potential reader to take the time to read the blurb).
What about going beyond the title?
Each of these books is set in a different location, which is shown in a photograph on the cover, which allows the potential reader to draw some conclusions about the place they’ll “visit” through the storytelling. Photographs are used, as opposed to illustrations, because the books are contemporary, and the photographic style signals this.
Also key? The choice of typeface for the cover: some typefaces scream “domestic suspense”, others convey “golden age style mystery”, yet others suggest “cosy crime”; just look at the covers for these different types of books on the shelves, and you’ll spot the trends/similarities.
One more element: the standardized overall styling and a strip statement that this book is part of a series is important. However, the position of the book within the series isn’t noted; each book in this series really does stand alone, and there’s a different cast of characters in each one, so reading the series “out of order” is something that a lot of folks do, and it really doesn’t matter.
Below are two covers which illustrate what I’m talking about; I believe they offer maximum information for the potential reader in one rapid scan.
I use the same rationale for my other series, The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries. This series features a quartet of professional private investigators who run their company out of a converted barn in the grounds of a Welsh stately home. They are tackling cases for clients, which is why the title framework is always: The Case of the (insert quirky alliterative that refers to one of the cases in the book). This “quirky alliterative” title ensures the potential reader understands that the book is a light murder mystery, as does the tagline on the front cover of each volume of: “A cosy Welsh murder mystery”.
These covers also tell the reader that the book belongs to a series, and gives them the number of the book in the series, because, for this series, with a consistent locale and a recurring cast of characters whose lives we follow, it really is better to read the books in their correct sequence, and folks like to know (easily) how to do that.
The Case of the Dotty Dowager kicked off the series, and within each volume my softly poached PIs tackle more than one case…not all of which are murder cases (though I make sure that the murder case gets into the book title). Once again, the front cover art shows a contemporary photograph (because the setting is contemporary) of the location of the case in question, which helps readers understand more about where the story will “take them”. Nowadays, I get to choose the cover photographs, so they are all Welsh locations (because the books are set in Wales, and I like to get photos of my Homeland into people’s hands whenever possible). However, the publishers of the first four books in the series chose to use more generic photos.
The 11th book in this series will be published in March 2025, but I can’t reveal the title or cover for that yet (sorry!). However, the cover of the 10th book, The Case of the Secretive Secretary, is below. As you can see, the title follows the rules, and Tenby is the star, because that’s where one of the three cases in the book (yes, it’s the murdery one) is set. Other cases have been of the: Missing Morris Dancer, Curious Cook, Unsuitable Suitor, Disgraced Duke, Absent Heirs, Cursed Cottage, Uninvited Undertaker, and Bereaved Butler.
Title choice and cover design is an art, not a science, but I do think it helps to get a book noticed – and it needs to represent what’s inside the covers as clearly as possible. Let’s be honest, as readers we all like to understand what we’re spending our time and money on and, therefore, as authors, we need to do everything we can to help build clarity from the outset.
Crime Cymru 