I am way overdue for a blog post—although I’ve been participating in a fun weekly “Medieval Monday” nature-themed fall blog fest. I usually end the year with a best-of list or recap (and that may come January 1st). This time, I want to talk about beginnings and endings with books…simply put: how to name this darn thing I’ve poured my heart into?
Ah, choosing the perfect book title.
This FINALLY happened a few days ago:
Woo-Who! I FINALLY typed those magical words on my latest manuscript after over 6 months of writer’s block and the rocky coaster that has been 2020!
But with the end, comes the beginning all over. The title. I have a working title but it doesn’t feel right. How does an author find the perfect title to convey the mood and plot of her story in so few words? I’ve yet to even write my blurb or query, so how can I describe my story in 5 words or less? I know what my story is about, but how to convey it in a few magical words to my readers? Here are a few words that come to mind with my latest book (which is a sweet contemporary romance meets women’s fiction, a genre I call “love story”).
Words, words, words. I am a word lady. I love to write out words when coming up with a title. Just like searching on images evokes my cover ideas (and is far easier for me, TBH!), word bubbles help me create the title.
Some titles have come naturally and stuck. Some took more puzzling out. When it comes down to it, a title should:
Convey the mood (is this a story of hope? loss? mystery? suspense?)
Hint at the plot (what is this story about?)
Follow the market (has this been used before?)
Fit with genre trends (romance, suspense, fantasy)
Use simple, descriptive language
Be relatable to readers
It may: use character name or occupation, lift words from the story, play into theme, hint at intrigue/mystery, use famous phrases, use hooks, be formulaic/use punctuation, or be as simple as one word
Uh yeah, so no easy task! A title can make or break a book. Obscure or confusing titles may confound readers or intrigue them. Some of the simplest titles are mind-blowing amazing. I am sure we can all rattle off a few of our favorites, new or classic.
My visual inspiration for the newest book…just a snapshot into key elements. Some authors have Pinterest boards for their visuals.
SO here I am, having written “THE END” and yet, back to the beginning I go! My biggest hurdle seems to be convey the mood (sad, but hopeful), without using an overused or cliché title already out there.
Admittedly, I wrote the middle book first, and it was meant to be a stand alone, based on this curse of a hundred kisses. Being romance, I wanted something romance-y. What is not more romantic than “kisses?” Add in the curse of a “hundred” and there we had it. My heroine is also a Feeler, using touch to sense auras/life bloods. Kissing is a very touch-y word. Next came the prequel. I wanted to keep the hundred. Breaths came to mind as it plays deeply into the plot line (the heroine loses “breaths” of her life with every healing she does, and to heal her loved one might take every last “a hundred” breath). Breaths can also be sensual. Lastly, book three. I was torn between using “lies” or “truths.” I chose lies, again, because it tied into the plot (a fraudulent fortune-teller who tells lies for a living, who meets a true Seer, and his own visions have become murky lies). Lies packed more punch that truths.
This one took lots of reworking but in the end, I LOVED it. I had a dozen titles I ran by my beta readers. Words that bobbed in the brainstorming sea included: peaks, mountain, healing, past/loss, remembrance, courage, yesterday. This title plays into plot (a past winter storm that caused the loss of a loved one, and a current winter storm that puts my heroine to the test), as well as mood and play on words. The soul is the heart or center of the metaphorical storm. There is both the literal storm in the book, but also the heart of a storm raging in my characters. They need to find their center, their heart, true self.
Ah, the one I call my book baby (though as authors we are not supposed to refer to them as thus). This story is about a mother on a journey with her son, Will, in the wake of a devastating volcano that leaves her other son’s whereabouts unknown. She is widowed and cannot lose another loved one. She must overcome. I wanted to play on the name Will in the title. I also wanted to convey the road of grief AJ Sinclair’s walked in her life: her past, her present, and her future. I wanted to show a world that would rise up out of the ashes of mother nature, out of our own fraught journeys, while also showing that her son, who is autistic, will also overcome his challenges. It is a story of heartache, healing, hope, and acceptance. My first title was Will Not Fade Away. I still like it. But, under editorial advisement (it has a double negative —“not fade”— which might take longer for brains to process; it also has a darker tone) we chose Will Rise from Ashes: AJ, her son, and the world all will rise from literal and metaphorical ashes.
There you have it. Am I any closer to my new manuscript’s title? NOPE. Will I get there? Eventually. With my word bubbles, brainstorming, researching, and beta feedback? You betcha.
Readers — share with my your favorite titles and why!
Authors — share with me how you have come up with some of your fantastic titles!