by Bobbie Christmas
Q: I’ve written five short stories for children compiled in one book. Each short story has a title and subtitle. The book has a title and subtitle. Are the story title and subtitles italicized? Is the book title and subtitle italicized? On the book cover do the book title and subtitle have to be italicized?
A: The answer depends on how and where the titles and subtitles are used. Titles and subtitles when standing alone at the start of a story, on the book cover, or in the table of contents are not italicized. In other words, titles used as titles are not italicized. When narrative or dialogue refers to a title or subtitle of a book, however, it is set in italics. When narrative or dialogue refers to a short-story title, with or without the subtitle, it is surrounded by quotation marks and not italicized.
Q: What’s the best way to find a title for my novel?
A: Have you written the novel yet? If not, don’t worry about the title. Use a label for the file name that identifies the file, such as Book, and then write the book. While you are embroiled in writing the book, a title may come to you based on things that happen to a character or something someone says. If not, the title may pop out to you while you are poring over the second or third draft. Trust that the title will organically come to you, even though it may not happen until you write the entire book. Don’t let the absence of a title stop you from writing.
Q: Aside from the fact that sentences should not begin with a numeral, is there any grammatical or artistic difference in a book title reading One Hundred Houses or 100 Houses?
A: Book titles can go against all guidelines. Feel free to follow your own instincts when it comes to creativity. Consider the following book titles: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, 100 Bike Rides of a Lifetime by Roff Smith and Kate Courtney, and 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die [Volume 2] by Oscar Wilde, but One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
Q: I wonder whether this title of a church report is correct in its possessive: St. Mary’s 2021 Treasury Report. The name of the congregation is St. Mary’s Lutheran Church. Since I am using that name in a possessive statement, should it read: St. Mary’s’ 2021 Treasury Report?” I have never seen a double possessive. Is the first version correct? My preference would be St. Mary’s Lutheran 2021 Treasury Report, but I wonder about that first version and the reasoning for the correct choice.
A: While Chicago style does call for creating possessives by adding an apostrophe and an s, even when a name ends in s or x, as in Jesus’s, when something is already in the possessive, things can get sticky. When a name is already possessive, adding another apostrophe and s creates an awkward word. If it were in running copy, I would recast it like this: The St. Mary’s Lutheran 2021 treasury report is now available. In a title I would use St. Mary’s Lutheran 2021 Treasury Report.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more Ask the Book Doctor questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.
