Looking for Input on My Bentley Book Title

[thehackmechanic]

Ok, 2002 brethren. Bentley Publishers is trying to choose a title for my book.

I'm looking for your input.

The working title of the book has been:

"Car Nut: Why Men Love Cars, and How Fixing BMWs Saved My Sanity (a memoir with actual useful stuff)." If anything accurately describes the book, it's "a memoir with actual useful stuff."

Bentley has come back with the following suggestion:

"Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic" (with optional subtitle).

If we go that route, I rather like "Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic: An Insight into the Male Mind."

Any comments on the old versus new title? Any suggestions for subtitle?

The parameters are:

-Bentley knows its business. Originally they wanted BMW in the title to target it as specifically as possible to the core market, but I felt that it could turn the book off to a wider audience. They feel that I'm a sufficiently known quantity in the BMW world that the Hack reference will work in terms of pulling in their core demographic.

-What title would make YOU more or less likely to buy it?

-What title would make your wife/significant other more or less likely to buy it?

I will point Bentley directly at this thread, as I've done with a similar thread on my FB page.

Thanks.

--Rob

[DSmith]

I like the Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic, short and sweet.

I also think "Hack Mechanic or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the car" would be a good title

[ziff73]

I understand their view regarding the BMW core...maybe putting BMW in a subtitle would be best? That way the main title 'Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic" could be the lead off and the subtitle can have BMW in it to draw in BMW people without the main title possibly turning a segment off...

Or the title can be about car therapy, self therapy, sanity saver type stuff that could interest a wide range of people that really do live the 'mechanic' life whenever they can because it is the best therapy for a lot of us...whatever type of car, we're all the same inside when we're wrenching...right? Dave Barry meets Motor Trend...;-)

Can't wait to read it!

Stephen

[Mike Self]

"Confessions of a Hack Mechanic, and Why Guys Love Cars."

mike

[calw]

watch out for too much squishy, feely, psychology stuff in the title. Many of us with male minds aren't interested in analyzing them...

[c.d.iesel]

Confessions of a Hack Mechanic -

Life with the Original Ultimate Driving Machine

[Rocan]

Confessions of a Hack Mechanic -

Life with the Original Ultimate Driving Machine

I'll second this.

Impressive... I love Bentley... I have a sizable stack of their books that is always growing.

[BillWilliams]

If you do the insight into the male mind thing, most would expect at least a chapter on sex

[HarryPR]

How about this combination of Bentley's title and yours?

Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic (How Fixing BMW's Saved My Sanity)

[BrentF]

My recommendation:

Title: Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic

Subtitle: How Fixing BMWs Saved My Sanity

[JLENHAM]

I like "Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic," sub title is optional.

[Dejammey]

Rob,

I have been a automotive book dealer for over 20 years now. (MidlifeClassicCars.com) One bit of advice I could give you is to make sure you have a good cover on the book. That will help sales far more than the title will.

I have seen crappy books do good because they had a great cover on them and I have see unbelievably good books that had bad covers not sale at all. I see this all the time. I have over 6 different books on LS engines and the one that sales the best has a far better cover on it then all the rest. But time after time I have customers telling me the book was poorly written and they go back and buy one of the other books that has a bad cover. I tell everyone that its not as good as the others but they still buy it because the cover looks good.

RB is a great publisher and I sale the mess out of their books. But sometimes their covers can be a little bland. IMHO

Good luck with the book and let me know when it comes out so I can stock it.

[visionaut]

...or maybe "Why Men Love Cars: Memoirs of the BMW Hack Mechanic."

Tom

[Guest gliding_serpent]

how about doing a bit of Dr. Strangelove style title

"main title"

or

"how I learned to keep my sanity and love old cars"

the words of the title are not key, just the strangelove title format. good luck

[gopher]

How about Memoirs of a Hack Mechanic: The Good, The Bad, and The EXPENSIVE.