Title Scorer

I just found this really neat site. I don't know if it's truly a help or just a fun thing, but I'm having fun with it. Like a lot of new things I bring here, I found this through my blog hopping. I've missed having less time for this hobby but this weekend since I had an extra day off from the day job and I'm not on deadline for an edit or to write a book, I get to do more promo and blog hopping. This nifty new thing I found tonight is called: "Titlescorer". Actually, it's called the "Lulu Titlescorer". I just found it but it seems to work this way: You put in your title. Provide some information like how many words, is there a name in the title, what type of words is each word (proper noun, verb, pronoun, etc.) The site says, "Results are between 9% and 83% chance of bestseller success." So here are some of my titles and their chance of success: "Sorry Charlie" - The title Sorry Charlie has a 44.2% chance of being a bestselling title! (this book will be part of Total-E-Bound's "Friction" M/M anthology coming out in August 2009. "Friction" - The title Friction has a 55.4% chance of being a bestselling title! "Charity's Auction" - The title Charity's Auction has a 72.5% chance of being a bestselling title! "Caught in the Middle" - The title Caught in the Middle has a 79.6% chance of being a bestselling title! "American Beauty" - The title American Beauty has a 64.8% chance of being a bestselling title! (my best seller so far - still available at Ellora's Cave) "The Perfect Gift" - The title The Perfect Gift has a 41.4% chance of being a bestselling title! (another of my best selling books - available at Total-E-Bound) "Doggy Style" - The title Doggy Style has a 41.4% chance of being a bestselling title! (To be released by Total-E-Bound June 29th) "Simon Says" - The title Simon Says has a 72.5% chance of being a bestselling title! (Coming soon from Total-E-Bound) "Always A Bridesmaid" - The title Always A Bridesmaid has a 10.2% chance of being a bestselling title! (Yikes!) "Truth, Justice, and the Vampire Way" - The title Truth Justice and the Vampire Way has a 59.3% chance of being a bestselling title! (to be released at Ellora's Cave April 22nd) Sooooooo, do you think this site can truly predict the success of a book? What makes a book successful? Is it only the title? If so, why am I driving myself crazy writing and editing the story? Is it the cover? Abstract. Bodice rippers. Beautiful art? Is it the blurb? Attract readers by the story's premise? Is it an excerpt? Attract readers by the actual writing and a piece of the story? Other advertising and promo? Giving away pens, blogging, banner ads, bookmarks, contests... What I suspect is a good mixture of all of the above. However, a bad title can't help a book much, either. I guess it would be like a recipe for a great gourmet meal - if you add motor oil as one of the ingredients even if everything else is stupendous, the dish is toxic. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)