I could use some help from you folks on a couple of issues relating to my title. This will be a self published 'how to' guide for men seeking marriage with a woman from Russia or the FSU. I am thinking the title must be rather keyword rich to be found on Google and Amazon etc in the future. Having this morning perused the weak competition on Amazon, this reveals with some searching fanciful titles such as 'from nyet to da', 'understanding russian women', 'love letters from Russia' and 'how to survive an international marriage'. All very nice but not the terms people will search for which will be 'Russian women' or maybe 'mail order bride'. So the front runner up to now on my notebook is: A Guide to Russian Women How to meet, court and marry a lady from the Former Soviet Union I may have preferred 'Russian Women Guide' but that is a popular phrase used by a big US based dating website called rwguide.com and is splattered all over their sites. I recall there is no copyright in book titles and indeed rwguide do not own the domain name russianwomenguide.com so can they claim ownership of the phrase 'Russian Women Guide' or not? May it be a registered trademark in the US and how would one find out? Moreover, in my title above I use 'women' in the main title and 'lady' in the sub title. That somehow doesnt look correct to me for some reason? But I feel I shouldnt use the word 'woman' when I have used 'women' already - but again I am undecided. I need to commit to this as the cover photographer I have talked into creating the book cover in the correct format etc also, and he wants to get on with it, as do I. Its just one of those times when you need another opinion. Any thoughts?
I think that 'Russian Women Guide' is a comprehensive title, but not necessarily what you need here. I believe your title is fine, and since this is a how-to, it should be simple but interesting. I'm not sure if i can add to that category. However, the use of women and lady simultaneously on the cover is alright, in my opinion, but you should consult mammamaia and TWErwin about the best marketing possibilities.
Having just read the post again I am inclined to agree the top main title is OK. And who needs passing off accusations? I am still torn between: A Guide to Russian Women How to meet, court and marry a lady from the Former Soviet Union and: A Guide to Russian Women How to meet, court and marry a woman from the Former Soviet Union And is the above capitalised correctly?
Manny, While there are 'proper' capitalization conventions for titles of books/novels, sometimes something that bucks the trend gets a bit more notice/catches the eye. With this in mind, I am not sure that 'Former' should be capitalized. Soviet Union is a proper noun. Former is an adjective, not necessarily part of the noun...although it is a common complete phrase. Just one opinion. Good luck with the book and I hope it does very well in the niche market! Terry
'former' should not be capitalized, since it's not part of the country name, only a modifier... would be treated the same as 'current'... titles can't be copyrighted, so you don't have to worry about that, in picking your title, but the one you like seems a good one, 'russian women guide' sounding a bit awkward to me... the subtitle doesn't thrill me, though... and not only because of the woman/lady problem... why not go with something simple, like: A Guide to Russian Women How to meet, court, and marry one. ... hope that helps... love and hugs, maia
Since you have a subtitle, which is included in amazon search, you'd be free to be a little more lyrical with the main title. To me the "guide to russian women" things has a clinical sound and might even seem objectionable to some, like a field guide to animals or something. And what you are writing, actually is a guide to marriage, more than the women themselves. (God help us when it comes to that) So you might try something a little more evocative. Maybe not all the way to "russia with love" sort of thing, but there are ways to go. "A Guide To Marrying Russians" says it all, doesn't it. Russkies for Dummies would have trouble because actually there ARE problems with titles. You can't really call a book Hardy Boys or Rhett and Scarlett or Official Microsoft or something. But that's a direction to consider. Romanancing the Russian??? Just kidding a little bit here, but think out of the box a little. Your subtitle clears things up. You might consider more keywords there, actually. "Legal and cultural handbook to Russian Brides" Or "...to finding a Former Soviet Wife" As far as "former" the grammatical stickling is not important compared to the usage. You use FSU, not fSU so you capitalize it.
Copyright of a title and Trademark infringement, for example, are two different things. Discounting issues such as satire, I don't think that what is being considered by Manny has such a concern. Manny is not considering, for example, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Marrying Russian Women, where 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to' could be considered infringement, even if it's not a registered trademark. Terry
So thanks to some private help from TWErvin2 and Mammamaia, I settled on: Russian Bride Guide How to Meet, Court and Marry a Woman from the Former Soviet Union. The cover looks pretty natty now and can be seen here. Thanks guys! (Maia I have not forgotten BTW)
that got a big, automatic 'WHOA!' outa me when it opened up, so if i was in the market, i'm sure i'd buy your book! great graphic, for the guy who wants....... i'd better stop there... best of luck with sales... hugs, m
