An Attention-Getting Book Title

Over the years, I've seen many book titles and most of them are not memorable and easy to forget. Then I was reading the Soapbox called "Shock and Yawn" by Jeff Gomez in Publishers Weekly. His new book is called Print Is Dead. He is definitely stirring some discussion in the publishing community. Here's one paragraph from his excellent article:

"The cold shoulder is especially evident at work (I'm employed at a major book publishing house). One co-worker, after I got into the elevator with him and a female colleague, said to her as we started to rise to our offices, "Don't talk to him, he's writing a book called Print Is Dead." The tone of his voice was that I'd betrayed them by writing a book that went against everything they stood for (or, at the very least, called them obsolete and put into motion an idea that would cost them their jobs). A second later, of course, he started to laugh, adding, "Just kidding." But his initial comment was telling. This was six months ago, before anyone had seen a galley of what I was writing. He was reacting purely to the title, to the idea."

Gomez is senior director of online consumer sales and marketing at Penguin Group U.S.A. so he is daily involved in working for a major book publisher. His book title is stirring discussion--which for any book author is a good thing. With a tiny bit of online research, I dug a bit deeper into Gomez and his efforts. I located his PrintIsDeadBlog. Also I was intrigued to see that he is podcasting some of the content of his forthcoming book (about a third of it according to Gomez). Here's the first of three excerpts. The technique reminds me of another wise book marketer Greg Stielstra and his PyroMarketing audio.

It's critical for writers to put energy into getting the right title for their book. As the author, it begins in your hands.