Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Titles are the blessing and bane of writers’ lives. If that just-right title simply won’t come to you when you beckon it, the standard thought is, The publisher’s going to change it anyway; so it doesn’t matter that my current title stinks.
That’s one way to clear your head of titling concerns, but it happens not to be true.
Having just returned from a writers conference, my brain is a-buzz with all the publishing conversations I engaged in. I noted that several nonfiction writers, especially those writing memoir, had used as titles for their works long and cumbersome concepts. One writer’s memoir was about the abuse she suffered as a child. Her title ran along the lines of: Overcoming the Reality and Pain of the Trauma of Childhood Abuse. Uh, not too enticing.
When I suggested that she might go with something simple like Mother Love because her issues were about a harsh, indifferent, and emotionally abusive mother who expected her daughter to be the mother figure for all the other children.
Such a different approach to her title confused and surprised her. “But when I tell other victims my title, they get it,” she responded.
“I’m sure they do,” I said. “But don’t you want to reach a wider audience–people who might want to read your book as an inspiring story, and some people have mother issues for different reasons. Wouldn’t you like them to read your book?” The point I was trying to make was that she had needlessly narrowed her audience because of the title she had chosen.
Other writers I met had traveled similar paths to that of this first writer, developing lengthy, overly-specific titles that spelled out with vigorous detail what the book was about. Especially for a memoir, which to qualify to fit in that category must have a strong literary tone, the title must be treated as a piece of art, a crowning flourish to the work rather than an exposition in and of itself.
A long-winded book title is akin to the film The Revenant being entitled Wherein I was Mauled by a Bear and Crawled through the Wilderness.
But let’s go back to the genesis of this blog post: Does the title the writer attaches to the manuscript matter? Isn’t the publisher going to change the title anyway?
Your work’s title is a banner flying over the manuscript. You have the opportunity to decide what “color” that banner is–you’ll want to choose a title that reflects the tone and voice in your manuscript. If the book leans toward the humorous side, your title must have a touch of humor. If your writerly voice is literary, you must have a literary title. The title sends latent messages about what your manuscript is about and what your writing voice is like. You want to be sure the title is “on message” with the book’s content.
A great title can be a strong selling tool not only to a publishing house but also to potential readers. My client, Amy Lively, wrote a Christian Living book entitled How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird. It was the perfect choice because it displayed Amy’s voice, targeted a specific audience, and conveyed clearly what the book was about. Guess what? We never even had a conversation with the publisher about the title. Everyone knew it was a just-right fit.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to cast your vote for your book’s title at the outset by assuming the publisher will be indifferent to your suggestion. Just the opposite is true. The title you select either whets appetites to learn more about what you’ve written or is an unappetizing offering that publishing staff have to move past to discover the joys of your manuscript.
Tell us about a book whose title you think is a perfect fit. What makes it work so wonderfully?
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Actually, Janet, I like “Overcoming the Reality and Pain…”. You see, I lived that story…and far worse. A title like “Mother Love” would, to be honest, make me want to throw the book through the nearest window, glass or no glass. I can see the irony, but that kind of situation is so far beyond ironic that only a plain and simple title would really be appropriate.
Overcoming…” could be a subtitle, for an appropriate one-word banner – “Hell”.
* I’ve seen two excellent titles…”The Big Show” by Pierre Clostermann, and “First Light”, by Geoffrey Wellum. Both are memoirs of a pilot’s wartime service in the RAF. Both are evocative stories of the enchantment of flight and the cost of war.
* “The Big Show” takes its title from the coda that Clostermann (a Frenchman who escaped the Fall of France) wrote for his work, and I ask you patience in quoting it here; it describes his feelings at the end of a long and brutal war –
“The Big Show was over. The public had been satisfied. The programme had been rather heavy, the actors not too bad, and the lions had eaten the trainer. It would be discussed for a day or two round the family table. And even when it was all forgotten – the band, the fireworks, the resplendent uniforms – there would still remain on the village green the holes of the tent pegs and a circle of sawdust. The rain and the shortness of man’s memory would soon wipe out even those.
“My surviving comrades from the Big Show have luckily not understood – nor have I – and it is our sole reward.”
* Clostermann closes with a quote from St.-Exupery’s “Pilote de Guerre” – “We are the playthings of a universal incoherence. We are individual stones in a mighty edifice, whose completed design we shall need more time and more peace to see in its proper perspective.”
* Wellum was a young Englishman who joined the RAF out of school, and “First Light” emcompasses both the magic – and trauma – of flying against the Germans at daybreak, and his own moral coming of age under the pressure of a war that gave him no time to grow up.
* I recommend both very highly.
* For myself…sorry, can’t resist…if I ever get around to self-pubbing “Emerald isle”, that’s what it’s going to be called, because it’s a thoroughly Irish and Catholic story, and while only part is set in Eire, it suffuses the entire tale. (And in case you’re wondering, Mongolians are just Irishmen with slanted eyes and yellow skin, so I am completely comfortable is writing it from that perspective. If we can’t find anyone else to fight. we’ll joyously fight our own cousins and brothers.)
A brief PS…Janet, as you undoubtedly know, Clostermann was accused of fabricating some of the events in “The Big Show” (which was published in 1951). He aggressively and successfully fought his detractors in court.
* Personally, I never agreed with those accusers. His voice is consistent throughout, and I’m well-enough acquainted with both flying and fighting to see, I think, the change in voice that would accompany fabricated episodes. I would take his work at face value (as did his contemporaries), and I think it’s important to note that his detractors only arrived on the scene decades later. “The Big Show” was and remains perhaps THE classic account of air combat in WW2.
* So, a question…as an agent, do you have the antennae to pick up falsity in description? Are there characteristics of voice which for you are a red flag, that say (even for fiction) that something doesn’t ring true? (I’m not asking about technical details or the like – I’m specifically interested in aspects of voice and the accompanying literary ambience….and yeah, I realize I’m asking kind of a big question that may call for a whole new post. Sorry.)
Andrew, I would like to think that I can detect a change in voice that would signal something amiss with a manuscript, but I’ve never been tested in that way.
I did detect when a potential client had taken a curriculum manuscript and switched it to a standard nonfiction book. It felt “curriculumy” to me, and when I asked, he confirmed that he had made that adjustment in hopes of selling the book to a publishing house that didn’t produce curriculum. So if I can detect a category switch, I would think I’d pick up on a voice change.
Andrew, you are among that circle of readers who suffered the same abuse as the author of “Overcoming the Reality and Pain of,” which the writer knew were drawn to her title for her memoir. I was suggesting a title that would appeal to a larger group of readers. If the writer wanted to self-publish and target those who had suffered through a similar circumstance, than I would say she should stick to her own title. But if she wanted to attract a traditional publisher, who would want to position her book to appeal to a larger audience, she needed a title that worked for that bigger group.
Thank you for including the beautiful and sad conclusion to Clostermann’s book; it gives all of us an opportunity to appreciate what an artist he was.
This post was a relief, when I saw the title I thought, “Nooooo!” So I’m glad you said the title is important. I know that it will likely change, but I like to think my titles at least have a chance 🙂 I laughed at loud at your Revenant title!
I love Little Women, maybe my mind went there because we are studying it for school this year. But the title is perfect.
A recent book where the title was perfect to me was Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty. It was so compelling that I immediately wanted to read it!
Another is The Ringmaster’s Wife by Kristy Cambron. It’s not out yet, but the title told me so much about the story… In this case it’s more about what isn’t said. Can’t wait to read it.
Angela, your mention of “The Ringmaster’s Wife” made me think of how titles go in trends.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Astronaut’s Wife
The Pilot’s Wife
The Shoemaker’s Wife
The Ambassador’s Wife
The Aviator’s Wife
The Governor’s Wife
And don’t forget the fingernails-across-the-blackboard ambience of “Wifey”.
Little Women and Big Little Lies are wonderful examples of titles that just “work.” And The Ringmaster’s Wife is a great title, as you said, for what it doesn’t say as well as what it suggests about the book.
You yourself tend to be a great titler; so I have hopes that we won’t have a title discussion on that happy day when you’re offered a contract.
Thank you! 🙂
I realize that the publisher owns the manuscript after the author signs the contract, so of course they would have the right to change the title and anything else about the work. Still, that thought is somewhat disturbing. The titles I’ve selected for what I’ve written are born early in the writing process. They are pithy, very closely tied to the key emotional theme underlying the plot, subtly integrated throughout the story, and usually specifically tied to the final paragraph. I would hope a publisher would be sensitive to that and not too quick to change something that was more than a convenient name that was slapped on the story after its completion.
Carol, if you saw how BAD authors generally are at titling, you would understand why publishers frequently suggest using something different. And for the most part, the suggestions are excellent.
When the author hears what the publisher wants to title the book, that title makes so much sense that the author quickly sees the benefit and agrees.
But sometimes it’s hard work finding a title that both the publisher and the author can agree to. Really hard work. Yet I’m hard-pressed to think of a time agreement wasn’t reached. (Maybe everyone was just too tired of thinking of options, and the group mutually surrendered to the best of a bunch of okay possibilities.)
But, Carol, if your titles are so neatly sewn into the fabric of your manuscript, it’s highly likely the publisher would see the careful stitching and would realize that title is right for the book. (Although it can happen that a major author releases a book with the same title as a debut author’s, and at the same time. In that instance, the debut author will have to give way and come up with a new title, if there’s any hope of the newer author’s book making decent sales.)
LOVE my title, it always draws a smile and people “get it.” Now I just pray they DO it 😉 Thank you for making my title a reality and a possibility, Janet!
Amy, I love your title, too, but I’m already considered a few six-packs past eccentric (the living room is a cross between a kennel and an aeroplane factory)…so what can I do? Is there a way to feign normality, or should I simply Embrace the Weird?
You’re so welcome, Amy. I get the same response whenever I mention your book’s title too. You gotta love that!
Janet, Great points. Make the title short and descriptive of the novel. I titled my first published novel Run Away Home, because that’s what the main character, a young female doctor, did. But the publisher said that title didn’t show that this was a medical novel, and they chose Code Blue. You can be assured I didn’t make that mistake twice, and they accepted all my novel titles since.
And your novel titles are great: Fatal Trauma, Lethal Remedy, etc.
Interesting point about reaching a wider audience. I’m not titling my book for me–I want a title that calls to others.
*I have an imaginary group of readers–real people I want to reach with my message. You’ve inspired my imagination, Janet. Would the individuals in this diverse group scroll right past my book title, or would they click? Would the title call to them from the store shelf? If someone suggested they read it, would the title stick with them?
The questions you’re asking are the right ones. And another one to add: Does the tone of the title reflect the voice of the manuscript?
I ADORE coming up with titles. I got to keep my first title–Miracle in a Dry Season. For Book #2, I wanted A Trail of Stones, but they chose another option I suggested–Until the Harvest. With the third novel I came up with a handful of titles and they chose one of my favorites–A Tapestry of Secrets. Upshot is, I wrote all my titles and none of them were something I slapped on as a placeholder. Titles set the mood and they are FUN to write! Hmmm. Maybe we should do a title-writing workshop . . . now that would be a good time!
I love all of those titles, Sarah. And they so fit the tone of your books.
I have taught titling workshops, and they’re really fun. Especially when I open it up for the attendees to toss their titles out to the group. But it also requires me to think very fast on my feet to gently direct writers to reconsider their title choice. You and I could team teach so we had two brains to bring to the brainstorming part of the workshop.
Deal!
I’d attend that workshop! I really struggle with titles. I can write a 90k novel, but a meaningful three or four word title? Ugh. Everything that pops to mind just sounds hokey. After getting over the shock of having my first title changed, I’ve learned to appreciate my publisher’s talent for picking titles that will resonate with readers and booksellers. And now that I’ve gone through the process a few times, I think I’ve gotten a little better at choosing titles, too.
Karen, titling isn’t everyone’s gift, just as writing a 90,000-word novel isn’t everyone’s gift. But, as you said, when you see the titling process, you begin to pick up on what works and what doesn’t. Experience is a great teacher.
Great post!
I recently had a sixth grade class use my book as part of their reading curriculum. I printed copies of my manuscript and we made it a 2 week project. I made frequent classroom visits during those weeks,and learned sooo much!
In a final assignment, they were asked to draw their vision of the cover and give it their own title. That was enlightening for me. I just may change my title….
The experience also gave me direction for needed revision. I am now querying again, as I know I have a much stronger manuscript.
What a fun project for the class to come up with tile and cover ideas! And what insights you would gain about what the kids saw as key aspects of your book.
Janet, I love Mother Love. Especially for a memoir, where the “help” to the reader is so muchess overt, and comes so tightly swaddled in someone else’s story…
There is room to be a wee bit more on-the-nose (and search engine-friendly) in a subtitle, too. The publisher kept my main title and then we swatted a bunch of subtitles around to find something that was expository but still (I hope) artful and on-tone.
I have a friend Jenny who is a poet, and she is a pro at enigmatic titling. I tend to lean towards titles that are metaphorical, or with dual meanings. I loved Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking,” because it just lures you…almost in spite of the book’s heavy content.
Thanks, Becky, for getting why Mother Love so worked for that memoir. I have no idea if the writer ever understood why that was a better option.
I love the title of your book, Broken for Good: How Grief Awoke My Greatest Hopes. It shows how a beautiful title can be filled out with an expository subtitle.
Though I don’t consider myself great at coming up with titles, I am intentional about the titles I choose for my books. My third book went through three titles before I landed on what I hope is a suitable title. The first title didn’t really fit as the book came together. The second book caught more of the essence of the story, but it sounded morel like a suspense story than a romance. The third (and current title) has a better feel for the story and fits it well. I think. 😉
*One nonfiction title that I felt was well done was, Just Show Up, by Kara Tippetts and Jill Buteyn. It described the book perfectly. As for fiction, I thought Rachel Hauck’s The Wedding Dress was a simple, but fitting title. The dress in the book is almost its own character. And Cathy Wests’ Bridge of Faith is similar. The title captured an essence in the story.
Jeanne, sometimes discovering the right title is a journey with no shortcuts; it just takes time, thought and careful consideration, which is exactly the process you followed before you (hopefully) landed on one that worked. Thanks for explaining why the first choices didn’t. That shows you really understand what aspects of a title need to be considered.
I love titles. To me they’re the bright red door to a cottage, begging me to enter. So I find them as important as book covers and back copy. A book I recently read, “The Distant Hours”, by Kate Morton, was aptly titled. It’s poetic nature fit the literary style but also hinted at the split-story mystery spanning decades of history. Delicious. And then, recently, “Sister Dear”, by Laura McNeill. A total slam dunk in my opinion for a suspenseful title that hints of “Gone Girl” style (also another great title) and family dysfunction. Last, but not least, “The Fine Art of Murder” . . . that in itself encapsulates a title that screams exactly what the novel’s villain considers his “craft”. I love titles. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.
All of these are such great examples, Jaime. Thanks for not only sharing them but explaining why they work.
One interesting thing about titles is that they can be time-capsules, fixed firmly in a literary or social context, and can have an effect on a sales ‘tail’.
* I’m thinking of C.E. Lucas Phillips’ “The Greatest Raid Of All”, a narrative of the British combined-arms operation against the Normandie graving dock in St. Nazaire in 1942.
* The title comes from the contemporary use of the word ‘raid’, which covered, colloquially, Britain’s cross-channel operations against the ports of occupied France. St. Nazaire was certainly the greatest of these, for how often might one consider – and successfully execute – the crashing of an old warship loaded with explosives into the gates of the drydock, thereby to immolate gate, self, and a large number of curious Germans in a timed explosion of several tons of amatol. (Why the Germans did not even slightly suspect that a 300-foot-long ship, embedded in the dry-dock gates, might not be carrying some sort of additional surprise is one of the minor mysteries of the war.)
* But today, the word ‘raid’ has come to mean almost ANY ‘special operation’, and has to a large degree fallen from use on favour of…wait for it…’operation.
* Thus, Phillips’ title, which would have had an immediate and stirring meaning for his intended audience (living in England in the 50s, with a living memory of WW2) is, for today’s reader, a bit of a “huh?” that requires further investigation.
* And, as we all know, requiring further investigation decreases the odds of a sale.
Andrew, that’s a great example of how words fall out of favor or come to mean something different as time goes on. I recall, as a middle-schooler, reading a delightful story of two young women traipsing off to Europe in the 1920s. The book’s title: How Hearts Were Young and Gay.
Song titles can also be wonderfully evocative, albeit at times puzzling.
* The first time I heard of Glen Campbell’s “Limestone Cowboy” I was delighted, as geology was and is a beloved hobby. I was, admittedly, nonplussed that the lyrics dealt with the travails of some sort of entertainer in a large city…but nonetheless, the title won out, and when I hear the opening chords I am transported into the sun and wind of fieldwork, hammer and glass in hand, notebook in pocket, and…oh, dear, I’ve just trodden upon my pencil. Those were good days.
Hi Andrew.
Were you a geographer?
Hullo, Michael!
* No, I was, until the illness they say will kill me took hold, a teacher of structural engineering. Prior to that I worked in a position dealing kinetically with security issues.
* But I always had a love of the outdoors, and the barren rock of the world’s dry places…southern Utah, Wadi Halfa, and a certain corner of the Gobi. ‘Beauty bare’, as I think Byron said it, writ in sun-warmed stone.
I started thinking of a new title for my WIP when I read ‘Stein on Writing’. I haven’t come up with an apt one yet. Non-fiction titles that have got my attention recently:
The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory.
Ridiculous Faith by Shundrawn Thomas.
Fiction:
Blink of an eye – Ted Dekker.
Michael, sometimes titles are terribly stubborn and just won’t come out of hiding for the longest time. But don’t give up. And brainstorm with others. Sometimes it takes a new view to see what direction a title needs to go in.
Those are good examples of intriguing yet succinct titles. The Daniel Fast is especially good at conveying the book’s content.
Thank you for replying, Janet. I agree that a different view might provide the concept of a new title.
Janet, this may be an extraordinarily stupid question…but when a publisher replaces a title, who is delegated the task of coming up with possibilities?
* I have in my mind’s eye an image on an intern in a hard-backed-chair, under a bare, slightly swaying light bulb, feverishly trying to come up with titles, sweat beading on his desperate forehead.
* And a voice from the darkness…”Is ZAT ze best you can come up vit? Ja…zo! Ve haff veys off improving your motivation…”
* Guess I’ve seen one-too-many Erich von Stroheim movies.
Andrew, it’s generally a team effort. In all the publishing houses I’ve worked at we would set aside a mornining or an afternoon to brainstorm all the titles for the upcoming publishing season. (We knew this was our first session, since it’s highly unlikely to finish in one meeting.) The editor for the book, someone from marketing and often someone from sales would be the minimum cast of brainstormers, but at times the room would have more than one person from each department.
If we failed to come up with a title we liked for a book, or at least a list of good options to show the author, we went back to our desks and worked on other possibilities.Then, we’d reconvene another day and go at it again.
The first question was always whether we could use the author’s suggested title or some variation on it.
Something as important as a title would never be delegated to an intern, who probably would have little idea of what makes one title work and another to fail–even under “enhanced interrogation.”
Thank you for addressing this, Janet. It’s one of those small publishing mysteries…answers to questions I never thought to ask.
I know this is a serious concern, Janet, but your post made me smile. Some titles are so odd yet they work, and others, just don’t. I had titled my Native American series by family name, and didn’t have a lot of trouble with that until book #4, which I entitled Grandmother Sun Grandfather Moon. When I started calling the novel “Gus-Gum” in my head, I knew it was NOT a good title. Thank goodness, my editor came up with Song of the River. Yay for wise book people who, like you, have that innate sense of what works and what doesn’t!!
Sue, yes, sometimes the odd title is just right. I recall several years ago when, on April 1, an editor called me to tell me the title they had come up with for one of my client’s books: Blah, Blah, Blah.
I burst out laughing because, of course, this was an April Fool’s joke, and a very good one.
Actually, the editor explained, it was no joke.
Eventually he won me over. When you read the subtitle you’ll see why: Making Sense of the World’s Spiritual Chatter.
And, I have to say, I have no trouble remembering that book’s title.
I thought you were kidding with ‘Blah, Blah, Blah”, masking another ‘banner title’. But I Googled it. Wow.
Now you know how I felt when I first heard that title on April Fool’s Day.
My youngest boy loves The Diary of A Wimpy Kid books.
In my humble opinion, they’re a redux of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Age 13 1/2. But I could be completely wrong.
Another great title is The Lost City of Z. Which is sorta obviously about a lost city. I read the book and loved it in all its heartbreaking and selfish glory. Having spent time in the Amazon, I cannot imagine trekking through before Quinine , and GPS apps on my sat phone.
One of my own titles that I loved was A Round Grove of Trees. Doesn’t that sound like “she married a tree nerd”? It’s actally the English translation of “Bosque Redondo”, which was a prison camp.
My agent, Saint Mary of Keeley, helped me come up with a slightly more relevant title about a prisoner who shows mercy and kindness to the camp commander’s daughter and gets punished in the process. He’s also a rescuer of slaves. The title is A Dangerous Mercy I sure hope Kevin Coste and Steven Spielberg keep that title when they co-direct the multi-Oscars winning film.
Jennifer, your example of moving from A Round Grove of Trees to A Dangerous Mercy is a great one for showing how a lovely title can be the wrong title. When I read A Round Grove of Trees, I was smitten by it and wondered what you could possibly come up with that would be better. But then, when you explained more about the story and dangers the protagonist faced, A Dangerous Mercy clearly is the better title. It so matches the book’s tone.
Thank you, Janet.
“Book 3”, I know, GREAT title, eh? Ahem, Book 3 is currently titled “A Beautiful Lie”.
A horse thief makes off with a family’s prize horse and ends up shot off the back of it during a cross country chase.
A leads to B, B leads to C and the pretty young thief marries the eldest son of this wealthy family. Her problem is she cannot keep her lies straight and ends up running away. In the hunt to find her, two brothers, one of whom is her father, are reunited after 30 years of secrets and scandals.
Each thought the other was dead, and it was the young woman’s most grievous lie that brought them back together. Proof that God can use our greatest shame to bring His plans to fruition.
I love A Beautiful Lie!
I love and agonize over the titling process. So far, I have been deliriously happy with the titles (and covers) with which I’ve been blessed by my publishers. For me, I’m always on the hunt for titles that are:
1. Evocative (Meaning evoking some kind of emotional response from the reader.)
2. Clear (if non-fiction) and intriguing (if fiction)
3. Leans more toward, “Hmm, I’d like to investigate further” rather than “Huh?” And that is admittedly a fine line.
4. Lyrical (That’s just me, but it’s partly because it fits my “voice.”)
5. Not hard to make a nickname. 🙂 Because people will call it by its shortened nickname if it’s a little longer title.
6. NOT the exact same title of another book, if at all possible.
7. A title that so fits the story, it will inspire me as I write it…or can help the design team find something iconic to pull from in creating the cover…or forms a memorable “touchpoint” for readers, so when hearing the title alone, they’ll remember the reading experience or the emotions/growth/discovery/healing they found in the pages.
NOVELS:
They Almost Always Come Home (longer, but worked for the story. It’s nickname turned about to be They Almost Always…)
When the Morning Glory Blooms (A deep tie-in to key elements in the story; nicknamed Morning Glory)
All My Belongings (Layered meanings on several levels in the story)
As Waters Gone By (Iconic meaning drawn from a key verse)
Song of Silence (Oh! This one. Short, sweet, full of wonder. WHAT could this story be about?)
An Endless Christmas (A thought that reappeared often in the story)
NON-FICTION:
Ragged Hope
(subtitle: Surviving the Fallout of Other People’s Choices) LONG subtitle, but it so clearly describes the agony without specifying a narrow audience of only one kind of pain
Tattered and Mended
(subtitle: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul) Again, a longer subtitle, but we found readers identifying with the individual words–tattered, mended, art, healing, wounded, soul…
Just as individuals are drawn to different styles of book covers, but “science” proves certain styles of cover appeal from a marketing standpoint, the same is true regarding titles. A title that sounds like a term paper appeals to some readers. A title that sounds like a song title appeals to others. And then we have the editor/agent/marketing team/sales team viewpoints. 🙂
(I wonder if I could pull out my high school term paper and rework it. They asked for as narrow a topic as possible, so I selected “The Psycho-Social Aspects of Leprosy in the United States Today.” No?)
Lyrical. Yes. For me, it comes from years of titling poems before I ever attempted a novel.
Yes, you and Cynthia track in what appeals to you in a title. Although, I don’t know about you, but I’m a little worried that she’s going to showcase the title of her term paper as her next writing project…
Cynthia, thank you for taking the time to outline what you weigh as you come up with a title; it’s a great list that would prove helpful to many writers. And thank you for telling us your titles. Each works wonderfully for its own reasons. Did you come up with all of them, or did the publishing team help to refine some?
Combo effort. Some of these titles are as they were originally submitted. (I teach a writers’ workshop on Taming Title Trauma.) 🙂
Others were small tweaks of what I submitted.
Still others were large tweaks. (Ragged Hope: Surviving the Fallout of Other People’s Choices was originally just what is now the subtitle. Oh, MY! I’m so glad the publisher pushed for a shorter main title…and our own Wendy Lawton was instrumental in that.)
One not listed was its original title. The pub house said, “No, that’s not it.” And submitted a couple of options that didn’t quite sit right. Prayed and thought. thought and prayed. Pub house came back to say, “Wait. Hold the fort. The original title is actually perfect for this story!”
I’m so grateful for having had publishers who appreciate the collaborative effort. And grateful for a smart, savvy agent. 🙂
Cynthia, it’s so helpful to know which titles were changed, which went forward untouched. I love the title Ragged Hope, as I know you do too. Making the decision on titles collaborative brings a lot of minds together to consider options; it’s the only way to go, in my opinion.
So Sarah Thomas, you and I need to do a titling workshop! I love the name of your workshop, by the way. Mine is something like Creating Razzle-Dazzle Titles.
Cynthia, when Son #3 saw my copy of Song of Silence, he did the one eyebrow thing and asked me WHAT tat could possibly mean.
I would say, though, it’s my absolute favourite of yours. 😉
Thanks, Jennifer! Is that because some of it was inspired by your and your “adventures”?
See out of place comment below.
😉
Here are a few of my favorite memoir titles
Thin Places
The Glass Castle
Autobiography of a Face
Angela’s Ashes
Every one of them cries out, “At least pick me up and find out what I’m about.”
For novels, I love these:
Room
Invisible
Searching for Sky (a YA novel about a girl who has lived on a remote island for as long as she can remember then enters the real world)
I am so thankful that I listened to the people who encouraged me to change the title of my book! My original title for Suddenly Single Mom was Stranded: 52 Messages of Hope for Newly-single moms. I think the title reflected how I felt at the time, but I now see that it didn’t match the subtitle or even my writing style. When two editors in a row pointed out that it was too depressing for a devotional, I saw that too. One of them helped come up with the title that was eventually submitted. The publisher chose a different subtitle (52 Messages of Hope, Grace, and Promise), which I like so much better than my original! The process taught me a lot about the importance of the right title. This new title even changed my approach to writing the book.
Jeanette, those are great examples of titles for memoirs and for fiction. Autobiography of a Face is so unusual yet it makes you want to find out more, doesn’t it?
I’ve always thought Room was the perfect title for Emma Donoghue’s novel since the young boy, Jack doesn’t use articles with nouns since, as far as he is concerned, the world is made up of Room and there is only one Lamp in the world.
Thanks for sharing how the title and subtitle were changed for your book. They showcase how important tone and voice are in a good title. And, as you mentioned, the title and subtitle informed how you wrote the book.
Thanks for the great post, Janet. I learned the value of a good title when Rachelle offered me representation. The one on the manuscript she’d read before that memorable phone call was lame. It gave the reader no idea what the story was about. We put a better one on it, and she sold that story–after a massive rewrite, that is. And, yes, the title changed.
You would think I’d learned my lesson after that experience, but Rachelle and I had an interesting discussion regarding the title of a submission I’d sent her not long ago. She patiently explained to me how I hadn’t grasped the importance of every single word in that title. I finally “got ” what she was saying, and we came up with a title we’re both happy with. Of course, that’s no guarantee that the story will sell or, if it does, that the publisher will use the title. I’m learning that it’s important to give a story the best title I can come up with in order to help the project sell–but to hold it loosely.
Kelli, I appreciate your taking us through your discovery process about the why a strong title is important. I uttered an “amen” after your last sentence–yup, you need to give the story the best title you can, and then hold that title loosely.
I have to say I’m impressed with how astute those who work in publishing houses are when it comes to titling. I’d say that 95 percent of the time, when I hear their idea for a title, I think, “Zing! That’s perfect.”
Book titles can be so neat. I often pull a book off the shelf from its title only.
And I do think the title an author chooses matters, but only if it goes along with the book. Like you illustrated, Janet, sometimes they are just…not right. I will add however, that long subtitles totally turn me off. If the author/publishing house cannot come up with a title that can stand by itself, do I really want to read this book? Um, probably not.
One of my favorite titles is an older book, ghosted by stellar author Elizabeth Sherrill. “Return from Tomorrow” by George Ritchie. It is his account of dying and his subsequent interface with Jesus and return to life. The title at first stopped me because because I immediately thought, “How can you come back from tomorrow? They must have gotten the title wrong.” They didn’t. I’ve always felt it should be mandatory reading for every person on earth.
An aside–the reason why you didn’t find those spectacular caves in Glen’s song, Andrew, is probably because you mistook the “R” for an “L.” Rhinestone Cowboy is his lament of not getting to be the “Star.” Even if the star’s diamonds are really fake. That will give you a little different take on it.
And to be honest with you, I’d also throw “Mother Love” out the window. Nope, does not go with child abuse. “In Spite of My Mother” maybe.
Wanda, thanks for your thoughts on what works in titles. I wasn’t familiar with Return from Tomorrow; so thanks for mentioning it. (I certainly respect Elizbeth Sherill’s writing; so amazingly good.)
Here’s the thing about nonfiction titles and subtitles: they often serve two different purposes. The title entices the reader and offers a sense of the book’s tone. The subtitle generally provides a benefit for the reader or is a BRIEF explanation of the book’s content. The subtitle helps to define why the reader should check out the book. If you can accomplish both tasks in just the title, that’s all well and good, but generally it takes both the title and subtitle to manage that task.
Oh I grow far too attached to my titles. Fortunately, I learned early on that the biggest gift you can give yourself (and your agent and publisher), is to be flexible. If they think a better title will make a better book, far be it for me to argue. Fortunately I am very blessed with a fantastic team who wants to hear my thoughts, good and bad, thus the (re) titling process for my last two books was not as painful as I anticipated. My July release went through four titles until we finally hit on the AH HA one, The Things We Knew. Next year’s release was a little easier. I think the key is, as others have said, to find something that grabs the reader immediately, and speaks to the heart of the story. So I have learned not to get attached to any title I choose. 🙂 My WIP is called This Story Has No Name.
Ha! Love the title for your WIP. That one won’t be hard to move away from, will it?
Perrrrrrrrrrrhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaps.
THAT was for Cynthia!!
The title Mother Love leaves too much unsaid. It would need to be set with a background of maybe a shattered pane of glass. Titles are not the only thing on the cover, and the combination may be important to convey nuances cryptic words leave too ambiguous.
That is so interesting because I was talking to my mom on the phone and she told me with some excitement “I think I’m reading a literary novel!” She is finding it interesting to learn about different book categories.
“What is the title?” I asked.
“All the Light We Cannot See.”
I had never heard of it, but still I knew. “Yep,” I said. “That’s a literary novel.” Why…because of the title. It was just a literary novel kind of title. Even though that isn’t my genre, I somehow knew. Of course I wanted to know if I was right and so I looked it up. Yeah, Pulitzer Prize winner…definitely a literary novel. It is so amazing how much a title can tell you.
Yes, a title can tell us a lot, as your conversation shows. The great thing about All the Light is that it appeals to those who appreciate literary writing but also those who enjoy commercial fiction. That’s saying a lot for a book.
As a terrible title crafter, this discussion is fascinating and very helpful. As I worked on a subtitle for a project, a friend (and fellow Bookie) suggested that one of the best ways to develop a title is to answer the question the reader may not even realize he or she is asking. While I still don’t have a subtitle I love, that perspective did prove helpful in brainstorming and developing options.
Teri Lynne, yes, that is a good way to think about the subtitle in particular. I describe it as telling the reader what benefit they’ll receive from the book.
Very interesting. My question is can I change the title of my memoir after being self-published? Hoping to reach a wider audience and, as a result, sell more books.
You may change your memoir’s title, but you should add “previously published as….” That way, those who read the book already won’t be confused and think this is a new book.