Blogger: Mary Keeley
An editor contacted me this week to inquire about a client’s proposal. The editorial team is interested in the author’s nonfiction book but asked if she’d be willing to tweak her approach slightly and give it a different title.
Assuming the requests wouldn’t compromise her Christian values or her central theme, you can guess her response to the interested publisher in today’s competitive market: “Sure, I can make those adjustments and come up with a killer title.”
How do you arrive at the perfect title? The most important way to approach titling your book is this:
It’s all about the readers.
Ask yourself these questions: What is your book about really? Putting yourself in readers’ shoes, what will they get out of reading
your book? Your answers will point you to a good starting place for title brainstorming. (Your answers also become your list of reader benefits for your book proposal.) And then begin with a working title, writing down new ideas and provocative words as they evolve in the writing process. Think about what your readers stand to gain from your book.
A title should:
- Tell what the book is about by identifying place in time, a characteristic of the protagonist, or central theme or topic, that parallels the tone of your book (pithy, slang, shock-value, thought-provoking, directive).
- Use simple, reader-friendly language.
- Hint at what readers can expect.
You also want to create some mystery in your title that compels readers to purchase your book to find out what happens or the information your title promises.
Here are a few techniques for creating the perfect title:
- Make it intriguing or mysterious to pique readers’ curiosity.
- Approach the titling process from different perspectives—context, a phrase or quote from the manuscript, the villain, metaphor or imagery of your protagonist, edgy play on words, a contrast or comparison for your topic and the takeaway for readers—until you sense one approach stands out.
- Ask a big question that suggests the reader will find the answer in your book. If you follow through and provide a satisfying answer in your book, readers will learn they can trust you to deliver and will want to purchase other books you write.
- Use a straightforward “How to” in the title of your how-to book. If this sounds too simplistic to you when edgy, intriguing titles appear to be the most popular, remember that your book’s audience is looking for quick, clear instruction on your topic. Those words create the perfect title for the book your intended readers want.
Landing on the perfect title can put you in a quandary, no doubt about it. Title-testing websites like Lulu.com can help or hinder. Don’t assume the results you get are ironclad. For example, 50 Shades of Grey scored between 34.8% and 72.5% chance of being a bestseller, depending on the selections I chose from the questions’ dropdown options.
Another way to test your title ideas is trying them out on neutral parties who don’t know you personally but resemble your target audience. Perhaps a librarian in a nearby town or someone you feel comfortable striking up a conversation with at a bookstore or at church, or your Facebook friends.
What is the best book title you’ve seen recently that made you stop in your tracks and want to investigate further? What about it affected you that way? What is your challenge in landing on the perfect title for your book? We have a great community on this blog. You are welcome to try out two or three ideas on each other here. Give a paragraph description of your WIP, and ask for reactions and suggestions.
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Best title I’ve seen – “When Hell Was In Session”, Jeremiah Denton’s account of his years as a POW in North Viet Nam. You don’t have to know anything, a priori, about the story to feel the chill. (In the case of John Dramesi’s book, “Code of Honor”, you do need some background…Dramesi was famous at the time for being one of the few POWs who never gave more than name, rank, and serial number…a practice which became controversial because the Vietnamese used collective punishment for the “infractions” of one man.)
Worst title – “What Happened To The Corbetts”, Nevil SHute’s prescient late-30s novel of what life in London might be like under German attack. The book is a lot better than the pedestrian “See Spot Run”-type title would indicate. (The American edition’s title was “Ordeal”, which is hardly an improvement.)
But sometimes a bland title can rise beyond itself. Consider Claude Monet’s “Impression: The Sunrise” (http://www.monetalia.com/paintings/monet-impression-sunrise.aspx).
It’s descriptive enough, but certainly lacks punch…or so one might have thought, since it gave birth to the name of the Impressionist style. (I personally like J.M.W. Turner’s titles better…who can beat “Sunrise With Sea Monsters”?)
My WW2-themed WIP is about a German POW who gives his parole to leave his camp and work as a mechanic on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, but is soon found to have the power and faith to raise the dead, which brings in turn joy, tragedy, and a miracle that seems to transcend time and space.
There is a romance that is based on the relationship between Lancelot, Guinevere, and Arthur in T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King”; the wife of the garage owner for whom the POW works dislikes him on sight. (The couple is Irish, which does play into the story.)
The working title has been “The Last Indian War”, but while I rather like it, it’s non-PC enough not to have a chance of survival.
Some other possibilities have been “The Healing Enemy”, and “Tribes”, from the German – Navajo-Irish axes around which the story is told.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Andrew, I love what you’ve shared of your book! I’m not great with titles, but I’ll think on it and see if anything comes to mind. 🙂
I’m having to think on this, too … I like your title.
Andrew, is your WIP character or story driven?
It’s character-driven. It revolves around the development of the MC, Karl von Thoma, from a man who simply wants to escape the atmosphere of war to one who realizes that he has to help, in his own way, to build the peace he seeks.
Sounds like a great story, Andrew.
“Healing Among the Ruins”
I like that, Jim – especially since the last act takes place in the ruins of Nazi Germany, and brings healing and closure to the surviving MCs.
Agree with both on Denton and Shute!
I thought “Die Empty” was extremely provocative. I bought the audio book based on the title alone. I knew nothing about the author, but the title grabbed me.
Shauna, that title grabs me too. Although it’s a secular book about achieving goals, wouldn’t it be a great Christian living book title too?
Yes! I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the book, but mostly because I had uninformed expectations. Still love the title!
It’s provocative, but had the opposite effect on me. I didn’t like it.
I’ve realized that I don’t want to die empty – that the most important goals in life are those toward which we find we must work, but which we never achieve.
The goals from which we can’t shrink. Don Quixote’s Impossible Dream.
So I’ll Die Full, thanks, facing forward.
Did anyone else have this feeling, or am I standing out here in left field all by me lonesome, facing away from home plate?
Interesting take, Andrew. Although I was a bit disappointed in the formulaic, self-helpy tone, for me it was an indictment to stop hording gifts that can only be given by me in my lifetime.
I can see it going either way, Andrew. It seems like the way we read and perceive titles has a lot to do with our own back ground.
Y’all, my middle grade book is about two house cats, Azzie and Lucy, escaping. After their family leaves, with their two small humans walking out with their Make-A-Wish backpacks, they both make wishes. Never content in his circumstances, Azzie wishes for freedom; Lucy for health and family. Soon he discovers the back door open. He escapes, and his weak sister follows. They endure outdoor dangers … a cat fight, a pit, a storm, a stream, a tornado, a chicken quest (gunfire, Andrew)…. Azzie returns Lucy home, as promised, at dark to discover the back door shut.
Someone’s wish comes true. 🙂
The title I selected is:
Adventures of Azzie and Lucy (this reminded me of Winnie the Pooh … but also leaves room for sequels)
I thought about:
The Escape (this leaves room for sequels, too … Escape to St. Jude’s, Disney World, Give Kids the World, Fort Worth Zoo … you name it.)
The Second Time (my initial idea … leaving room to write The First Time, The Third Time, etc.)
Wishes
I’d love your ideas.
What about The Wishing Cats?
I like that, Jeanne. I was thinking, too
Wishes (big print)
of Azzie and Lucy (smaller print)
🙂
I vote for The Wishing Cats.
However…the way I first typed it, it came out The Wishing Kats…maybe that was serendipity?
Kats … I’ll have to think on that, Andrew! It’s funny … I think I have a little something in it from each of you blog contributors! A word or two that reminds me of each of you. 🙂
Love the Wishing Cats (or Kats). It adds a hint of mystery that would make someone pick it up off the shelf to find out what they were wishing for. And who doesn’t love cats? Well…I’m sure there’s someone. I think “cats” is more intriguing than the characters’s names. Your reader has no attachment to the characters yet, so I don’t think it would trigger anything in a potential buyer.
Great point, Karen. Thank you.
Shelli, it would be worthwhile to canvas YA readers to find out which word, “adventures” or “wishes” attracts them more. Each word carries different connotations.
Great story for the age group. You can put many life lessons in the book, as Azzie & Lucy seem like many of us!
“The Misadventures of Azzie & Lucy”
I like that, Jim … definitely “misadventures” and then some! 🙂
“Azzie and Lucy, Escaping” (straight from your description.)
“Through the Cat Door”
Thank you, Gary!
Or you could do a combination: A Wishful Adventure: Azzie and Lucy Escape to Second Street.” Then for for a sequel: Another Wishful Adventure: Azzie and Lucy through the Cat Door.”
I liked the Grandma Attic series when I was little which had Stories from Grandma’s Attic; More Stories from Grandma’s Attic; Still More Stories…
Thank you, Sondra! You’ve given me some ideas to consider. 🙂
I loved the title: Hell? Yes! by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Provocative.
Ragged Hope. Of course, the fact that Cynthia Ruchti wrote it encouraged my interest. My first thoughts when I read the title … “Been there, done all that. Now somebody is going to help me through it.” It did not fail to live up to its title.
Meghan, I agree. Those two words together resonate with so many people, exactly as you said, and Cynthia Ruchti readers have learned she always delivers.
How did you know I was trying to figure out a better title for my WIP, Mary? 😉 I don’t consider creating titles a strength of mine. 🙂 Your tips help.
One book title I really l like is Susan Meissner’s Fall of Marigolds. I haven’t read the book yet, but the title’s stuck with me.
My book currently titled Light of Day, and is about a widow who is a non profit manager. When she’s asked by an old college friend to help his organization weather an embezzlement scandal she agrees to help. Suspicion was cast on one staff member. As she does some investigating, things aren’t adding up to that person as the suspected fraudster. What she isn’t ready for is someone on the staff discovering a scandal in her past who threatens to go public with it if she reveals him as the actual embezzler.
My story question is: What if, to live in freedom, you have to give up all that makes you feel safe?
I’d love ideas!
I like your title, Jeanne.
A Scandal Unfolds
Unfolded Scandals
🙂
Shelli, I missed these earlier. Thanks for the suggestions. 🙂 I’ll add them to my list of possibilities. 🙂
If the tone is lighthearted or sweet, I’m not sure I like the word scandal in the title. It gives the book a darker feel. That’s just my opinion. Maybe something like “A Heart Unfurled” or “Heart Wide Open” would signal the sacrifice and openness of the heroine as she has to trust enough to let her past surface.
I agree with Sondra – “scandal” isn’t a positive feeling for me, and darkens the tone.
Love the concept!
How about “Blacklight”? (One word…I think it looks better than “Black Light”.)
Or perhaps “The Shadow Box”?
Both of these have gone on my list of considerations, Andrew. Thank you!
Jeanne, your book sounds like a great movie too!
“The Revelation of Shadows”
Thanks, Jim! I like that title idea. 🙂
Jeanne, your story question points to what your book is really about. Does that prompt some different ideas?
Mary, that’s what I’m thinking I need to focus on. I’ll mull on that some more. 🙂
Hmmm, what about “Safe in the Shadows”?
Nice!
Could it shorten to “Shadow-Safe”?
Andrew, that’s a good thought. Thanks!
That’s a great title! It says so much in four little words.
My favorite title is “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers. The story is about a deaf man and the people he encounters in 1930 Georgia.
I am attracted and affected by the truth in the title.
My title for my WIP is “The Olive Press.” When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, the pain was obvious. Gethsemane translated means olive press. My WIP is a story about a young, Jewish woman, who grows up as a orphan in Pre-Nazi Germany.
It is now 1933 and she is a teacher in that same orphanage. As the Nazis “steal” orphans for Hitler’s Youth, Joni is pressed beyond measure. Something else happens in 1933 that changes her life. She falls in love with an American missionary – who is also a spy.
I know the “Olive Press” as a title doesn’t have much glitz, but to me it captures the essence of the story.
Awesome, Jim. I like your title. I thought of these —
Pressed Beyond Measure (you wrote that)
Pressed
🙂
Thanks, Shelli!
“The Olive Press” is an intriguing title, but my first thought was that the book had an Italian connection.
Your description reminded me of the fate that awaits those who mislead the little ones…perhaps “A Rock to the Abyss”?
Interesting take, Andrew. Thanks!
Jim, the important thing to consider is whether your intended readers will respond to the title. There is mystery in it. It may be a matter of how fully the image of an olive press connects readers to your story. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird creates a complete image of what the story is about.
Your book concept sounds intriguing, Jim! I’m thinking . . .
My favourite title is C.S. Lewis’ “The Joyful Christian”. It simply says it all.
My WIP is about an Indian officer who follows his love, a young Englishwoman, back to Surrey to find heartbreak, rejection, and, ultimately, redemption.
The working title has been “A Soldier of the King”, both to reflect the protagonist’s loyalty to King George VI (even in the birth of Independence), and his dawning allegiance to Christ.
I like your title, Surpreet.
You have my interest, Surpreet. Sounds great!
Surpreet, your working title conveys the strong character of the protagonist, which is attractive. The eventual dual meaning would make your title memorable to me.
One title I love is Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers”.
It’s so gloriously simple – “in these pages you will find a tale of SF combat in a future world that will not be completely unfamiliar”.
One other thought…sometimes title and author really have to go together.
If I were to call a book “Night”, it could be a tale of suspense and intrigue, or a memoir about a life misspent in astronomy.
But for Elie Wiesel, “Night” can have but one interpretation.
True Andrew, for an author who is well-known in one major arena, like Elie Wiesel example, his or her byline provides added enlightenment to a title.
Andrew, have you read Wiesel’s Dawn, the sequel to Night? It’s equally as appropriate as Night because Dawn requires a major decision of the main character and he has all night to make it. We tend to think of dawn as a beautiful, peaceful time, but not in this book.
I haven’t; but I will. “Night” was a soul-searing read.
I’m pretty sure that the scripture, the book of the Bible proves there is no such thing as a perfect title for the perfect book(The Bible). Grace people, New Testiment folks would say ‘Jesus’. Old Testament, religion minded, order & arrangement folks might have chosen ‘Accord’. I tend to lean toward ‘The Gray’. Needless to say, the best selling book ever, is and will always be just ‘THE WRITING'(an authoritive writing as scripture). And although it commands the initial attention. A title is just that, “jest” a title.
jest(wager)
Writing a bit on the back burner as a related platform grows to interest publishers, but after several years of speaking, retreats, and writing conferences (and encouraging input from the whole Books and Such team) my current working title is
Forgotten Fruit of the Spirit: When Following Christ Doesn’t Feel Christian
Other titles used felt too dark and accusatory, others like a VeggieTales episode. Always open to input and certainly willing (expecting?) To change for eventual publisher.
Still hearing “If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile…”
How about “Unopened Gifts” instead of “Forgotten Fruits”?
Yep, veggietales is not an image one would want to play tug of war – but even they make the point of how we like to “clean up” the image of Christian life, often never bringing the reality of the Scriptures as our children grow.
We are using “Forgotten Fruits” (as a parallel to vegetables) instead of gifts because we talk about traits or characteristics which are more consistent with Paul’s list of fruit of the Spirit (which weren’t listed) as opposed to being skills or Spiritual Gifts.
A few examples are Risk, Greatness, and Boldness.
Titles are poetry sometimes.
A young adult novel (not Christian) I read recently was called “After” by Amy Efaw. A teen leaves her infant in the trash to die. The story is about what happens after. We all have moments that become the division between “before” and “after.” Love that title.
Another great title is the nonfiction book “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts” by Neil White. The author is sentenced for a white collar crime to 18 months in a prison that doubled as a leper colony. (The leprosarium existed until 1999!) He enters with arrogance and prejudice and leaves with a heart of compassion.
My memoir’s working title is “SOME THINGS YOU KEEP, Letting Go, Holding on, Growing up.” I stuffed the void left by my mom’s suicide when I was a child with the rags of rejection, fear, addiction, and depression, but I also managed to collect pieces of goodness, hope, and redemption along the way. Growing up was a journey of knowing what to hold onto and what to let go. I think my title is intriguing enough to get someone to take note of the book. Not sure. Maybe with the subtitle, it’s too long.
I love the titles of Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld books. They’re perfect for the genre and the subject matter. (Paranormal romance, they’re immortal warriors of ancient Greece)
Another one of my favorite titles is the first Psy-Changeling book, Slave to Sensation. The Psy are one step from being machines and they’ve eradicated all emotion and physical contact. The Changelings are all about physical contact. The Psy heroine craves physical touch and the sensations that come with emotion. It’s a brilliant title for the book.
Titles are very important to me. For my own work I want it to capture the theme of the novel. My upcoming release is a science fiction romance titled My Name Is A’yen. It’s the hero’s story, and he has to learn to stand by himself instead of hiding behind his friends, and to embrace who he is and make a stand for what’s right.
The current WIP is titled Heart of Winter. They’ve been through a lot, parted on not the best terms, and the hero has been slowly building a wall around his heart because he’s tired of being abandoned. She’s been doing some of the same and is mad at him for something he foolishly promised he would’t let happen, and then it did.
A title that sticks with me is “The Body Bears the Burden”, written by a neurologist about traumatic stress. I find myself sometimes repeating the name of the book in various accents for personal entertainment 😉
On the other hand, my WIP has been a little challenging to name. It’s about a woman who is one of three healers who, before her birth, decided to come into life primarily to help others (also known as a Mission Life). In the transition to life, plans made before are forgotten, so the three must remember, with the help of a spirit guide.
The TIP (Title in progress) is “The Gathering of the Three.” I plan to keep that unless/until I’m in a situation like Mary describes.
–Brandy
Titles are so hard for me. In some ways it seems easier to come up with a 90k word novel than to come up with a clever title. Thankfully, my publisher is very good at it!
(waves hello from a vacation cabin…by a lake…on day WHATEVER of pouring rain)
One title I LOVED was Beverly Cleary’s “Ramona The Pest”. I loved Ramona, she was SUCH a great character, and such a walking buffet of trouble. She had no desire to be perfect, got under the skin of just about everyone, but her heart was always in the right place.
Hmmm…sounds famil…ahem…anyway.
My working title is “Under a Warrior’s Moon”.
Natanii is a Navajo warrior who fought in the Battle of Canyon de Chelly. He escapes Kit Carson’s army and eventually finds sanctuary with a British family. His failure to save his wife and family haunts him and keeps him from returning home when it is safe to do so. When he meets a woman who needs his warrior’s skills, once again, he is unable to step in and fight her battles.
Will he escape by the light of the moon, or will he accept that some battles are best fought by God?
Ummm…I hate to say this, but when I read the working title another meaning of “moon” came to mind.
Some similar alternatives come to mind –
Warrior’s Twilight (might be a bit close to Gandt’s recent “The Twilight Warriors”, though a different genre)
Warrior Beneath The Stars
Fields of Battle, Sky of Stars
Redemption by Moonlight
Ghosts of Moonlight
I love the description you gave, and the concept. I just wish that some words didn’t have dual meanings in todays parlance
Thanks, Mary, for a very timely post.
I was wedded to the working title of my first book, only to have the publisher change it — and they VASTLY improved it! My title would have been a disaster.
I thought I would do better adding to these brainstorms, but fiction seems even tougher.
My work in progress guides readers into a life-giving relationship with the Bible. I target the many Christians who struggle with Scripture or have just not developed soul-filling practices that bring them into the Bible. The key thing is I draw on approaches from the saints and sages of Christian history rather than modern academic methods. (I’m a Church historian by trade.)
My working title is surely too snarky:
“Here’s What You Can Do With Your Bible: Four Steps to a Life-Giving Relationship With the Best Book You Never Actually Read.”
Thoughts? Ideas? Thanks!
Actually, I love your working title.
It’s not snarky, to me. It’s rueful, an embarrassed smile.
Thank you Andrew! Very helpful.
That title is great. I would pick up your book. It’s clever.
Thank you JJ — keep in touch and I’ll make sure you get a chance to do so ;]
Not snarky at all, Gary. It’s borderline genious if you’ve got the written savvy(the blood and guts)of the matter to follow it up with. A bit of satire, the holding up in wit, a tweak of sarcasm; can often time become the mother’s milk of a properly siddured(order & arrangement)undertaking. I pretty much used the same concept in titling my math of christ[1=3] fiction work ‘Oh My God, He’s Black(Gravity). Of course, in leaving the (gravity) portion out; I’ve gotten a lot of folks who haven’t bothered to read the matter coming to me with, ” is this about a real black god; if it is that’s a bit cheapening isn’t it?” Never underestimate the few readers that will do their homework and the great many who instead tend to make saveloy(pigbrains)of it all. Great title, man.
Of note: I have found that the many who struggle in scripture, and I do mean many have not given of themselves into the proper spirit that will achieve for them any real semblance of an understanding. So, anything done to explain will go for naught anyway. But, we of faith must continue to do what is demanded of us. Preach. Preach, that one more; just one more might be gathered to such a spirit.
Thank you, Sidney! I appreciate your affirmation.
Hello, Mary… and everyone!
Being new to the world of fiction writing, I’ve enjoyed reading the Books and Such Blog for the past few months. I’ve learned so much from all of you!
One of my favorite titles: The Tough Coughs As He Ploughs the Dough — Dr. Seuss
As for my WIP, I’ve completed a 65K rough draft which I would classify as women’s inspirational fiction with elements of suspense and romance.
My working title: “Sheltering Grace”
The story is about a young widow, Grace Delaney, whose life was shattered when her police officer husband was killed in the line of duty. Jack had been her shelter from the storms of life and Grace’s faith in God is shaken. A year after Jack’s death, Grace is still overwhelmed by grief. She retreats to their family cabin where she encounters three strangers who help her rediscover the sheltering grace of God.
All thoughts are most welcome! Kathy
Kathy,
One can never go wrong when using then three(3) equals one(1) concept. In their personal life, professional save-all or writing premise. Now, remember that the 3 strangers and the cabin concept has already been used in the work called ‘The Shack’. You might want to satisfy those things in a slightly different way. But, like I say; the concept of a learning from a three pronged knowledge, wisdom and understanding are RIGHT ON.
Thank you for your insight and suggestion, Sidney. Very helpful!
Kathy
Can’t count the number of times I thought I had devised an original title, only to run it through Amazon and discovered it had already been used, sometimes more than once.
When a writer stumbles onto what seems the ideal title, it can feel like such a wonderful “Aha!” moment. But I would change a title in a heartbeat if a publisher requested a new one. In fact, I did do that.
“The Mountaintop School for Dogs” caught my attention. Both the cover and the title drew me in because I love dogs. And the hook is great. “High up on the mountain, the Sanctuary is a place of refuge. It is a place where humans save dogs, who, in turn, save the humans. It is a place where the past does not exist, where hopelessness is chased away, where the future hasn’t been written, where orphans and strays can begin to imagine a new meaning for “family.”
I’ll have to look into that one.
We have a “mesa-top” sanctuary, mainly for abused Pit Bulls (but we take anyone!). Saving them has saved me, no question.
And they continue to save me, every day, by giving me a purpose and a focus that is blood and bone, not mere dreams and ambition.
Thanks for posting this.
I’ve really struggled with a title for my historical romance in Seattle (and a series title too). I know that titles are often changed, but I want to make an impression with a proposal. At first I had a default title, “Healer,” which some liked because it was mysterious, but I was never settled on it. Finally, I’ve settled (for now :0)on River’s Edge because it’s a metaphor from the books of Ezekiel and Revelation about healing from the River of Life in heaven. And my hero, who is the cynical, wounded one who needs to come to the River, calls his farm River’s Edge because it borders a river.
The sequel is titled Meadow Song, and the third book Storehouse of Peace.
Please be honest and tell me if these sound totally stupid. 🙂
I like River’s Edge – the first thought it brought to mind was a counterpoint and refutation to Eliot’s poem, “The Waste Land” –
Here, in this last of meeting places
we grope together and avoid speech,
gathered on the beach of the tumid river.
Likewise, Meadow Song is lovely; reminds me of “In Flander’s Fields”.
I’m not keen on “Storehouse of peace”, because it isn’t consistent with the natural features that have so much meaning in the first two choices.
Perhaps “Glade of Peace”? Or “Healer’s Glade”?
I love the title “Healer”, but not for the reason you might think – one of my PTSD service dogs is a Heeler, and I call her my Healer, because she walks post for me so I can find peace in standing down at night.
(If the passage from Eliot is familiar, it’s because Nevil Shute referenced it in the title of his doomsday novel, “On The Beach”.)
I love that you have a Heeler with you. What a comfort. Also really like the connection with “The Waste Land.” I agree with you about the third title. I like glade. I’ll work with it. Thanks, Andrew.
Hi Sondra,
I really like River’s Edge and Meadow Song.
But I agree with Andrew. For the third title in the series, I’d stick with the nature theme. River…Meadow…Forest? (or Mountain?)
Forest Glade could refer to arriving at an open (bright, light) space in the dark woods.
There is a novel on Amazon “In a Forest Glade”, though. Good luck! Kathy
I’m going with Forest Glade for now! Thanks so much. I looked up the amazon book and it’s so different I don’t think it’d be an issue.
I look forward to reading “Forest Glade” one of these days!
Do you have a working title for the series?
My original MG book title was: The Nautical Adventures of a Boy and His Creature.
I pitched this story (at the Cuesta Writer’s Conference) to the head of the largest children’s agency in America and she told me the the title sounded like something out of the 80’s.
Soooo, I changed the title to: “Beyond Danger and Adventure. (I gotta believe those agents know what their talking about)
In a writing class, the same woman said that if a writer hasn’t read the Harry Potter series of books, they can’t possible write a MG novel today.
I have not read any of the Harry Potter book or seen any of the movies nor will I read any of the HP books because . . . just for fun, I’m going to prove her wrong.
Donnie, consider the title: Adaboy
-sidney
Titles are tough for me. I know what I like in other books, but it’s difficult to title my own.
I do know I stray away from “cheesy” ones though. 🙂
Great post, Mary!
‘cheesy’ sells