Laura Lyndhurst's Blog, page 5
August 8, 2020
How to choose a book title
Hello Everyone,
This is my first blog post. I'd been considering starting one, but I'm relatively new to social media and have been taking things slowly.
However, after I posted this morning about my free ebook weekend starting today, someone asked me a question regarding how I chose my book title. I answered her, and then thought it might be a useful topic to start a blog with, so here it is for anyone else who might be interested.
Calling the book 'Fairytales Don't Come True' was a rather last-minute thing, really. I'd written it under another title, and re-written after being rejected by a couple of publishers. I was trying for a 21st century working of 'The Harlot's Progress' pictures by Hogarth, but when I'd re-worked it I realised that I'd put in quite a few fairytale references and, by introducing the character of Dora, written it in an old oral-storytelling style such as was in 'The 1001 Nights', before the frame-story between the tales was removed (it's still there, between the tales of Sindbad the Sailor and Sindbad the Porter in certain editions). I also realised that Mags and Dora are Snow White and Rose Red, although 'Snow White' here is a 'scarlet woman', while 'Rose Red' is too 'pure and white' for her own good. So the 'Fairytale' title suddenly seemed blindingly obvious, given that for storyteller Mags it didn't come true.
So that's mine; I'd be interested to hear about yours.
All the best,
Laura
This is my first blog post. I'd been considering starting one, but I'm relatively new to social media and have been taking things slowly.
However, after I posted this morning about my free ebook weekend starting today, someone asked me a question regarding how I chose my book title. I answered her, and then thought it might be a useful topic to start a blog with, so here it is for anyone else who might be interested.
Calling the book 'Fairytales Don't Come True' was a rather last-minute thing, really. I'd written it under another title, and re-written after being rejected by a couple of publishers. I was trying for a 21st century working of 'The Harlot's Progress' pictures by Hogarth, but when I'd re-worked it I realised that I'd put in quite a few fairytale references and, by introducing the character of Dora, written it in an old oral-storytelling style such as was in 'The 1001 Nights', before the frame-story between the tales was removed (it's still there, between the tales of Sindbad the Sailor and Sindbad the Porter in certain editions). I also realised that Mags and Dora are Snow White and Rose Red, although 'Snow White' here is a 'scarlet woman', while 'Rose Red' is too 'pure and white' for her own good. So the 'Fairytale' title suddenly seemed blindingly obvious, given that for storyteller Mags it didn't come true.
So that's mine; I'd be interested to hear about yours.
All the best,
Laura
