Yesterday I posted about the challenges of finding the
perfect title. I also asked some of my fellow writers to share their title
experiences. The answers are as varied as you would expect from, well, a bunch
of independent and creative people working in a quirky and sometimes baffling
business.
Sometimes the right
title speaks to you if you simply give it enough time.
Mayhemer Michael Winchell says, “It seems like for
all 4 of my books I have gone with ‘untitled’ for about half the book until I
write something and end up saying, ‘That’s it right there! That’s my title!’ I
do the same with chapter titles. I never title chapters ahead of time because
by the end there is always a phrase that jumps out and says, ‘I am your chapter
title.’
On
the other hand, some people start
with title, and it inspires the book.
Mayhemer Michael Gettel-Gilmartin says,
“I usually come up with a title and a main character before I
even begin writing. For example, my middle grade time travel, which is about
Shakespeare transported to modern times, is titled SHAKESPEARE ON THE LAM; and
my w-i-p, about a group of middle school girls who are ‘dying’ to see a ghost,
is called THE FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHT CLUB. All of these titles popped
into my head at the inception of my daydreaming process. A title is usually the
catalyst for a story—at least in my case.”
Even
those “gift” titles don’t always last, though.
Dianne K. Salerni shared
a story about her upcoming MG fantasy novel about a secret day of the week that
only a few people experience.
“I had the name of the manuscript, GRUNSDAY, before I even
had a plot for the story. But as the story developed, I felt that Grunsday was
a little too humorous sounding for a plot that was becoming rather dramatic and
serious. So, I wrote into the story line that Grunsday was just a nickname used
by some of the characters to make fun of “the eighth day”—the secret day—but I
kept it as the title.
When the book sold to HarperCollins, they also thought
Grunsday was too humorous sounding. The editor said that I could continue to
use the term “Grunsday” within the story, but that the title needed to be more
epic sounding, like the concept itself and the series they wanted to build off
it. She told me they had already re-named the book THE EIGHTH DAY and they
hoped I was on-board with that, because everyone at HC was calling it that. And
of course I said I was fine with it—because they were right!”
Editors and marketing people should be good with titles,
right? But they’re not the only ones who
can help. Nancy Butts
says, “My editor didn’t like the working title, Into Thin Air, of
my second novel. In any case, a best-selling non-fiction account of a doomed
climbing expedition on Mt. Everest had been published the year before, so the
title was out—and I was stumped for a replacement. Finally one of the wonderful
writers in my critique suggested The Door in the Lake, which is
taken from a pivotal scene in the novel.”
Dianne K. Salerni
shared a similar anecdote. “Originally, I self-published my [young adult] book
about fraudulent spirit mediums under the title of HIGH SPIRITS, but when a
traditional publisher, Sourcebooks, offered to pick it up and republish it,
they wanted to change the title. I sent them half a dozen ideas, which they
rejected. Then I compiled a list of a dozen more ideas I didn’t really like,
just out of desperation. I shared my dilemma with my fifth grade reading class
and jokingly said, ‘If you have any ideas for a better title, let me know.’ One
girl submitted an idea to me via the classroom blog: WE CAN HEAR THE DEAD.
I subtracted one word from her suggestion and added it to my list of a
dozen desperate ideas. WE HEAR
THE DEAD was the hands down favorite of the Sourcebooks team and the
ultimate title of the book.”
The lesson – ask everyone you know for help. Maybe someone
else will have the perfect idea. But
what if the perfect idea has already been taken? Titles can’t be copyrighted,
but it can cause confusion if a well-known book has the title you want, or if
there are many books by the same name.
Nancy Butts says,
“I recently published my first indie book and learned the hard way that I
should research titles before publication.
The title Spontaneous Combustion came
to me very early in the writing process, and seemed so perfect that I shaped
the entire text around it. I designed a cover using CreateSpace’s templates,
customizing the colors, font, and background using a photo I’d taken in the
Smokies. Then a week after I published the book on Amazon, I belatedly
discovered that there were several other books with that same title. And one of
them had been indie published just the month before using the same cover
template. Aack! Fortunately, that author has customized the cover as much as I
had, so they don’t look that much alike. And his book is an anthology for
adults, so the damage isn’t too bad. But lesson learned!”
Given the speed of publishing these days,
researching titles is harder than it
sounds. When I came up with the title for my adult romantic suspense, Whispers
in the Dark (written as Kris Bock), I checked the title on Amazon. Not
too much competition. But several others were published or republished during the
months it took me to get the book out. Oh well. Maybe there’s no such thing as
a perfect title after all.
Do you have any title stories to share?
I have a friend who's struggling to find the right title for her adult time traveling romance. Everything she's come up with has been shot down by her editor because it's too similar to other books. As you point out, it's hard to keep up with the new releases coming out all the time!
ReplyDelete"Send the same message but in completely different words." Realistically, how many options are there for titles, when you have only a few words and want them to be words that evoke a certain emotion?
DeleteOnce my editor and I both liked a title but marketing didn't (it included the word "Etruscan," and they said that kids didn't know what that meant). I mentioned it on a listserv, and both Philip Pullman and Sid Fleischman got indignant on my behalf. Sid said, "Nobody knows where Terabithia is or what Jumanji means, and that hasn't hurt sales!" I reported their support to my editor, and marketing backed down. Ha!
ReplyDeleteLove it!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTypos...
DeleteOh, to have that kind of backup on ANY front would help many a new author's sanity on so many levels...
Besides, isn't part of the point of titles to intrigue? Mystery of the title's meaning can be part of readers drawn to read/devour a book?
This from someone who as a kid expected "Dances with Wolves" to be about dancing wolves in the spirit of Disney's "Fantasia" and was depressed for a week to learn it wasn't.
If I EVER have the chance to work in animation or comics, wolves WILL dance, so help me!
Love Michael G-G's SHAKESPEARE ON THE LAM title, and THE FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHT CLUB too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike.
DeleteFun to read about titles, Chris!