Short Story Publication – No matter how fantastic the short story you have written may be, without a solid title the chances are good that an editor and audience in general will simply not read it. The title is the most important part of the story as this is what first captures the reader’s attention.

A catchy title should grab the reader and make them wonder what the story is about. A bad title will probably make the reader skip the story altogether. This holds true when submitting your stories for publication. Editors are busy people, especially at First Editing and will often suggest a stronger title if your title doesn’t grab their interest. The title of your story will tell the editor and reader a lot about your creativity. If your title is strong, an editor will be more likely to look at your story with a positive attitude.

Often, you can spend hours coming up with a title only to have the editor suggest a change after accepting the story for publication. Sometimes the new title will make little or no sense to you.  And while this may be a bit upsetting, knowing the story will be published is its own reward.

However you come up with the title to your short story, remember it is the first impression the editor and reader will have about your writing abilities. Ultimately at the end of the day, you want the editor and reader to remember you.