As an author I prefer, and practice, selecting a name for my work that is somewhat enigmatic and generates maximum curiosity in the mind of the browser or grazer of bookshelves or online inventories. 

Being a wordsmith, I respond strongly to language, especially in the wording of titles.  (Yes, first impressions do count for me.) Regrettably, the language of our contemporary culture has been whittled down to the most basic vocabulary and the most semantically empty sound bites.

Linguistic sophistication seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle of the banal.

Frankly, I would not consider books with titles like 'My life' or 'Poetry by XYZ' or 'All about my blah-blah'. These might work as sub-titles and are often necessary to identify the genre of your work, but as sub-titles only.

Naming your work is a powerful tool. It is as much a creative act as is the actual writing.

  To illustrate my point, here are some of my book titles:

Ciphers Of Uncommon Origin, All Poems Actual Size, Resurrected Omissions etc. They catch attention to the point where folks actually pick up and open the book, and, lo and behold, even buy it.

Of course, the content must be equally captivating because expectations have been elevated on the strength of the title.

Footnote 1: I must not neglect to mention, that the visual design of the cover also plays a role in engaging the book-browser.

Footnote 2: I don't believe in showing a picture of the author. Not all of us are beauty queens or male models and whether you are black, white, purple or cross-eyed is neither here nor there. If your book deals with, or references, ethnicity, this will be made apparent in the content.

[Read a related article: THINKING ABOUT TITLES by Redroom author Elmaz Abinader.]

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