Titles, and how far do they affect a novel

[Mr.Grey-Cat]

Hi there, everyone. So, I was looking through novels in Scribble Hub, and well, I found some novels that surprised me.....

not by content, or something like that, but by the number of views. Like, imagine seeing a novel with more than 25K words, but with less than 500 views, or a novel with more than 50K words, but less than a thousand views... it's shocking.

I mean, even I, and I am not that great, but I had close to 1500 views in my first weeks of publishing, with only a few chapters. let alone those guys that get 1000 views daily, so how come some novel can't reach that number in months, right? well, I checked, and the only thing I can think of is the title, yes THE TITLE, because all the novels that I found suffering from the low view count, all of them had a title made of One, only one word, with some exception, adding a three-word description after the title.

so what do you think? is it really the title's fault? is changing the title really a possible solution? do a title really have such a strong effect? is the cover and synopsis truly meaningless if the title is bad? or is it simply that some people have truly bad luck? Which of them?

 

[EternalSunset0]

Hi there, everyone. So, I was looking through novels in Scribble Hub, and well, I found some novels that surprised me.....

not by content, or something like that, but by the number of views. Like, imagine seeing a novel with more than 25K words, but with less than 500 views, or a novel with more than 50K words, but less than a thousand views... it's shocking.

I mean, even I, and I am not that great, but I had close to 1500 views in my first weeks of publishing, with only a few chapters. let alone those guys that get 1000 views daily, so how come some novel can't reach that number in months, right? well, I checked, and the only thing I can think of is the title, yes THE TITLE, because all the novels that I found suffering from the low view count, all of them had a title made of One, only one word, with some exception, adding a three-word description after the title.

so what do you think? is it really the title's fault? is changing the title really a possible solution? do a title really have such a strong effect? is the cover and synopsis truly meaningless if the title is bad? or is it simply that some people have truly bad luck? Which of them?

Of course titles have an effect. I cannot quantify how much it matters but it's also likely a reason why so many LNs have those overly long synopsis titles.

 

[greyblob]

Hi there, everyone. So, I was looking through novels in Scribble Hub, and well, I found some novels that surprised me.....

not by content, or something like that, but by the number of views. Like, imagine seeing a novel with more than 25K words, but with less than 500 views, or a novel with more than 50K words, but less than a thousand views... it's shocking.

I mean, even I, and I am not that great, but I had close to 1500 views in my first weeks of publishing, with only a few chapters. let alone those guys that get 1000 views daily, so how come some novel can't reach that number in months, right? well, I checked, and the only thing I can think of is the title, yes THE TITLE, because all the novels that I found suffering from the low view count, all of them had a title made of One, only one word, with some exception, adding a three-word description after the title.

so what do you think? is it really the title's fault? is changing the title really a possible solution? do a title really have such a strong effect? is the cover and synopsis truly meaningless if the title is bad? or is it simply that some people have truly bad luck? Which of them?

this has been discussed more extensively in the what draws you in? thread. title is probably last or second to last. it's usually tags>cover>synopsis>title.

 

[Lorelliad]

Probably both. I'm going to use this as an excuse to flash my work.

It's called All From His Seat. When you read it at first, you get the idea that everything will be done from a certain character's seat. Meaning he probably won't be moving around a lot.

And that's certainly true. But not in the way that you think. The MC is a cripple, meaning he technically will not be moving a lot. And to add salt to the wound, the cover is off a boy sitting in a chair, on his computer.

And this leads to misunderstandings. I've read somewhere that the reason many LN's today have long titles is due to the fact that people judge BASED on the title. No one bothers to read the synopsis, or the tags.

I'm not entirely sure about this, though. Just read it somewhere.

So yeah, it's also partially my fault for putting a misleading title. But I'd rather not change it.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Hi there, everyone. So, I was looking through novels in Scribble Hub, and well, I found some novels that surprised me.....

not by content, or something like that, but by the number of views. Like, imagine seeing a novel with more than 25K words, but with less than 500 views, or a novel with more than 50K words, but less than a thousand views... it's shocking.

I mean, even I, and I am not that great, but I had close to 1500 views in my first weeks of publishing, with only a few chapters. let alone those guys that get 1000 views daily, so how come some novel can't reach that number in months, right? well, I checked, and the only thing I can think of is the title, yes THE TITLE, because all the novels that I found suffering from the low view count, all of them had a title made of One, only one word, with some exception, adding a three-word description after the title.

so what do you think? is it really the title's fault? is changing the title really a possible solution? do a title really have such a strong effect? is the cover and synopsis truly meaningless if the title is bad? or is it simply that some people have truly bad luck? Which of them?

I would say that if you are a well known author, you get more views almost regardless of the titles simply because you have a fanbase who knows you are a good writer.

Some authors do promote their other works too. Like in a new chapter of their main work, say, "hey I got a new novel you may wanna check out"


Anyway, yeah. If people recognize you as well known author, or simply one they like, you're gonna get views. Even if you just suddenly come out with a new story and dont tell anyone, once they see you as the author on Latest Series they're more likely to check it out.

 

[Reborn_Cat]

A title is literally the first thing you see about the novel, it might not have the biggest impact but it is what causes me to check what the novel is about

 

[Lloyd]

Its the tags obviously.

 

[KiraMinoru]

The title and cover is what draws the reader’s immediate initial interest, what gets the reader to actually click and open up the fiction page, while the tags are what gets the readers to stay and give the first chapter a read.

If you include GL as a genre, you’re basically guaranteed a free ride to the top so long as you have a bare minimum level of competence. Pretty sure there are people as soon as they see GL, they add it to their reading list without caring about anything else. Smut works pretty well, GB is also pretty good but to a lesser extent than the other two.

As for the synopsis, it may as well be your title. Or just give an extra one liner for the synopsis since it seems like people typically can’t be bothered to read it more often than not. At least for scribblehub that’s what seems to be the magic formula to success.

 

[TotallyHuman]

I mean, when I scroll for new novels to try, I do look at titles first and foremost. Tho I can't tell exactly what makes for an appealing title. If you know what kind of novel you're writing, you should probably figure out for whom you're writing if you have yet to do this and then go from there with that...

 

[Kenjona]

Tags>Synopsis>1st chapter>Title>Art. If anything the only thing a title can do for me is turn me off immediately when it is an obvious turn off for a story type.

 

[Habtamu]

titles without good story is like food without salt.

 

[Lorelliad]

titles without good story is like food without salt.

Food can be delicious without salt too.

 

[SailusGebel]

Title is important.

 

[MissPaige36]

Hi there, everyone. So, I was looking through novels in Scribble Hub, and well, I found some novels that surprised me.....

not by content, or something like that, but by the number of views. Like, imagine seeing a novel with more than 25K words, but with less than 500 views, or a novel with more than 50K words, but less than a thousand views... it's shocking.

I mean, even I, and I am not that great, but I had close to 1500 views in my first weeks of publishing, with only a few chapters. let alone those guys that get 1000 views daily, so how come some novel can't reach that number in months, right? well, I checked, and the only thing I can think of is the title, yes THE TITLE, because all the novels that I found suffering from the low view count, all of them had a title made of One, only one word, with some exception, adding a three-word description after the title.

so what do you think? is it really the title's fault? is changing the title really a possible solution? do a title really have such a strong effect? is the cover and synopsis truly meaningless if the title is bad? or is it simply that some people have truly bad luck? Which of them?

You are completely right. Even though I only have a few chapters and my uploading schedule is ass, I still get a handful of views. I got like over 1000 the first month here. So the title is super important, you’re right.

 

[BenJepheneT]

let's play a game. here are two titles:

Of Monster and Men: Luscious Resurgence

or

I Got Betrayed By The Hero and Reincarnated As A Demon Prince to Cuck The Hero's Party's Harem including the Hero Himself

which one would you read?

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

Cover>Tags> Synopsis>1-3 Chapters. Sometimes long as titles turn me off. I don't look at titles mostly when I pick a read.

But they are eye-catching. At the same time, I only look at the title without clicking on the story if the cover doesn't attract me.

 

[KiraMinoru]

let's play a game. here are two titles:

Of Monster and Men: Luscious Resurgence

or

I Got Betrayed By The Hero and Reincarnated As A Demon Prince to Cuck The Hero's Party's Harem including the Hero Himself

which one would you read?

Easy choice, number 2.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Easy choice, number 2.

Surprise, they're the same book

Make those titles long and easy lads, Webnovel readers are here for junk food, not good food

 

[KiraMinoru]

Surprise, they're the same book

Make those titles long and easy lads, Webnovel readers are here for junk food, not good food

I figured they were, but your typical light novel reader isn't going to care much about the first one. It's missing the essential keywords that people hone in on. Hero, reincarnated, and demon for example.

 

[SailusGebel]

I'm a bit baffled. Why does no one mention ratings and reviews as a major factor that affects the novel's popularity?