iru<\/strong><\/td>| Oregairu<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Each of those series are wildly popular and one might argue that their nicknames contributed to their success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otaku love the idea of belonging to a \u2018secret club\u2019 where only they know the \u2018codenames\u2019 for their favorite shows. A nickname gives an added layer of attachment to a series kind of like a nickname for your friends or lover.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFurthermore, Otaku, myself included, also love being able to rattle off an extremely long title with ease in front of others. Doing so asserts that you are indeed a \u2018real\u2019 fan. I\u2019ll never forget the day I was finally able to say Oreimo<\/em>\u2019s full title in Japanese out loud\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo, it might be logical to assume a LN being given a nickname means that it has a sizable fanbase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, alas, this likely isn\u2019t the case. The only reason long-titled LNs are given nicknames is because no one can be bothered to remember the full title. Unpopular LNs have nicknames just like the popular ones do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSo, before you give your LN a long title, ask yourself: if this is just going to be shortened anyway, then why give it a long title at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Light Novel Will Stand Out in the Bookstore<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n By default, books on a bookshelf in the bookstore do not have their front covers displayed. The first aspect of a LN potential readers will see is the spine. And the only thing visible on the spine is the title.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is where the \u2018one-sentence sales pitch\u2019 that a long title delivers shines. Summarizing your story on the spine can give readers the extra incentive needed to take a look at your LN over the thousands of similar-looking ones surrounding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No reader is going to pick up and look at every LN in the bookstore (they only have so much time), so I must admit that a long title works wonders for standing out in the bookstore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I\u2019m sorry to tell you that for many of us, being Non-JP LN Authors, the time when our LNs will be sitting next to JPLNs in the bookstores is still but a dream. An attainable dream for sure, but not one we should put all our current efforts towards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the great majority of us, our LNs will be seen entirely through the computer screen on various eBook retailer\u2019s websites or perhaps even our own websites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd the great majority of English eBook retailers feature not the spine, but the front cover alongside the story\u2019s summary. If someone comes across a website displaying only spines, please let me know so I can have a good laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, the marketing benefit of a \u2018spine summary\u2019 is pointless in a digital bookstore. And so, again, I ask you to ask yourself: is it really worth having a long title if potential readers are going to see your story\u2019s summary anyway?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Light Novel\u2019s Title is Guaranteed to Be Unique<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a (ridiculous) belief that because there are so many LNs in circulation, Authors are running out of potential titles. Thus, a brilliant solution is to use a long title that has a near statistically impossible chance of already being taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yes this admittedly works quite well. LNs with needlessly long titles are 100% unique. If you are having trouble finding a name that isn\u2019t already taken, then a long title will solve your issue instantly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever. (I\u2019ve been saying that a lot\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This fear of running out of available titles makes sense on a surface level, but it really isn\u2019t that big a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The LITERAL<\/strong> first choice for titles I picked for my two LN series were both available. Here they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Garden of PSI<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- On Creating the Ultimate Weapon<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Three words and five. See? Neither are that long and both were available. Not once did I type something else in and find it was already taken. Not even the name of this website was taken and it was my first choice too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, it\u2019s easy to just take an aspect of your story that is unique (the setting \/ a specific character) and incorporate into an otherwise generic title.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFor example, the Author of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya<\/em> could\u2019ve perhaps originally titled his work \u201cMelancholy\u201d\u2014which was probably taken. So, all he did was slap the main character\u2019s name in the title and boom!<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s catchy, makes readers wonder why this character is so melancholic as to make it the core of the story, and perfectly reflects the story content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, while there are certainly Authors who have trouble picking a unique title, the answer isn\u2019t necessarily to make it absurdly long. Just change one or two words and you\u2019ll probably be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ok, it\u2019s self-questioning time again: is it worth going to extremes by using a long title or should I just play around a bit with a short one until it\u2019s just right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plenty of Reasons Not to Give Your Light Novel a Long Title<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it isn\u2019t obvious yet\u2014I don\u2019t like this trend of absurdly long titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while I begrudgingly admit they are effective on some level, I will do everything I can to convince not to make use of such a cheap tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mostly because\u2014those three benefits I listed earlier? Yea, they\u2019re not truly as great as they appear. So, for the next section, I will debunk them in reverse order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Title Needs to Reflect the Content of Your Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n First up, yes\u2014the \u2018one-sentence sales pitch\u2019 a long title delivers is undoubtedly eye-catching, but is it worth it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I say no for a number of reasons, but the primary one is that your title must reflect the content of your story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prove my point, let\u2019s take an extreme example (that still isn\u2019t that extreme compared to real LN titles). Here\u2019s a title I spent exactly 3.7 seconds coming up with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n- I caught a rare disease after stubbing my toe, died, and got reincarnated as my ex-girlfriend\u2019s pet crocodile.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Eye-catching? Yes. Memorable? Oh yea. Does it convey the story? For sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But let me pose a number of important questions regarding the continuation of such an LN series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before that\u2014a caveat. If you\u2019re writing a one-shot LN<\/strong>, then feel free to disregard (most of) this article. But if you\u2019re writing a series (which you probably are and should), titling your LN as the story summary will not end well. Because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Will the summary present in the title of Volume 01 still reflect what takes place in Volume 05\u2019s story?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Can you guarantee that the protagonist will still be his ex-girlfriend\u2019s pet crocodile in Volume 07?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Could you really maintain that gimmick for an entire series? Would you be able to keep it fresh and entertaining? How many jokes can you make out of that situation before it gets stupid? Would anyone even want to read it past a single volume?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What if you get tired of the protagonist being a crocodile and decide to turn him back into a human? Well, too bad, your story no longer matches the title. You\u2019re now falsely advertising the story.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Is that bad? Maybe not to readers who are truly invested in your story, but not those who were only interested in the crocodile plot. If the reason they picked up your LN in the first place disappears, why should they stick around?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I could go on, but you get the point. The long summary-style title might work if you really intend to write about nothing except the protagonist being a crocodile, but for Authors who want their story to evolve beyond volume 01, such a title is a detriment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd as a side note, I would also be careful not to pigeonhole your LN by giving it a long title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A title like the above example is undeniably one belonging to a comedy LN. Rather, most long titles, because they are long, sound like comedies regardless of whether they are or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, let\u2019s say you don\u2019t want to write comedy anymore, well too bad again, your title has pigeonholed you into the genre and there\u2019s nothing you can do about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you suddenly switch genre\/theme\/voice in your writing, readers will accuse you of going off the rails or betraying their expectations. Which, needless to say, won\u2019t end well for you as an Author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But don\u2019t worry, if you\u2019re still desperate to have a long title, I have a solution for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, take this actual successful long-titled LN: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe title may be long, but it\u2019s also totally nonspecific.<\/strong> It gives readers a general idea of what might go on in the story, but nothing concrete. I argue such a title is far more intriguing than just using the summary as the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen you do the latter, you\u2019re only prompting one or two questions, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n |