Strange Book Titles

I got a rejection today for a piece that I was sure would be published. Some days, I feel that I just don't know what it takes to get published. Most people will say that it takes an exceptional title, but consider the following news story which leads me to wonder: how did these books ever get published?


6 books make shortlist for strangest title

Selecting the shortlist for Britain's strangest book titles was tough this year because of the large number of candidates, a spokesman says.
The competition was so intense that "Excrement in the Late Middle Ages" and "All Dogs Have ADHD" did not make the cut, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year was founded in 1978 by Bruce Robertson, a member of The Diagram Group, a book illustration firm, who had too much time on his hands at the Frankfurt Book Fair. In its early days, the competition relied on more old-fashioned methods, but the top winner is now decided by an on-line vote.

"At a time when the economic climate is forbidding and cost-cutting companies are 10-a-penny, I'm proud to report that the British publishing industry has remained as stubborn in the face of change as ever," said Horace Bent of The Bookseller, the trade magazine that runs the contest.

This year's shortlist includes:
"Baboon Metaphysics"
"Curbside Consultation of the Colon"
"The Large Sieve and its Applications"
"Strip and Knit with Style"
"Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring"
"The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais."