The Making of a Title
Before I started writing, I assumed that authors were in full control of things like titles and covers. Little did I know that there is an entire team of publishing professionals that weigh in on these kind of decisions. Self-published authors have much more autonomy, of course, but those of us who write for traditional publishing houses must remain flexible when it comes to titles, because they often change.
A title is much like a cover where books are concerned. It is the first impression a book makes on a reader. It evokes emotion, theme, and genre in just a handful of words. Sometimes, only one. This makes it incredibly important. I am so thankful that I am not alone in making such an impactful decision. I have experts in marketing and sales, editors who know my story, and other creatives who brainstorm together with me to come up with the perfect title for each project.
I enjoy creating titles. I also have a tendency to get rather attached to my working titles. No one wants to change the name of their child right before delivery. But sometimes, it’s the right move. I’ve been fortunate to have several of my working titles be accepted as final titles by my publishing team.
Short-Straw Bride
A Worthy Pursuit
No Other Will Do
At Love’s Command
The Heart’s Charge
And nearly all of my novellas kept their working titles.
Many of my titles were still my own creation but came after my publisher asked for additional name choices to consider. I went back to the drawing board and sometimes sought brainstorming help from readers and author friends.
Jericho’s Fall —- A Tailor-Made Bride
Stealing the Parson —- Stealing the Preacher
Love’s Legacy —- Full Steam Ahead
Down to the Wire —- Heart on the Line
Eyes of the Beholder —- More Than Meets the Eye
And some of my titles were not created by me at all, but were devised by my brilliant editorial team.
Cloud by Day —- Head in the Clouds
Eden’s Garden —- To Win Her Heart
More Than She Bargained For —- More Than Words Can Say
I’m currently writing Book 3 of my Hanger’s Horsemen series, and a couple weeks ago my publishing team met to decide on a title for the story. My working title was A Warrior’s Devotion, and I have to admit that I was more than a little attached to it. It had the same rhythm and form of the previous two titles (At Love’s Command; The Heart’s Charge) and it had that slight military flavor that I wanted to keep. However, there was one key difference between this title and the previous series titles that my publishing team noticed. A Warrior’s Devotion referred to a PERSON where the other titles referred to more abstract entities like LOVE and HEART. For consistency sake, they wanted to keep the abstract focus. Unfortunately, most of the title options I supplied them used a person reference.
They brainstormed amongst themselves and came up with a new recommendation – The Force of Attraction. I certainly have attraction happening in the story between the main characters, but the love story itself is actually very gentle, so using the word “Force” didn’t sit well with me. Plus “attraction” felt a little superficial. This title just wasn’t ringing my bell. On the bright side, though, I now knew what they were looking for in a title. So I brainstormed a new series of options for them to consider. Ones that focused on the abstract but still had ties to military themes. Most of my proposed titles contained terms like duty, defense, courage, and protection. My favorite was Determined to Defend because it captured the hero’s character so perfectly. However, it didn’t have the cool ‘s pattern that the other titles possessed. In the end, they selected one of my other suggestions, one that was probably my second favorite. So I am very excited to share with you the official title for Luke Davenport’s story . . .
In Honor’s Defense
What do you think of the new title for Book 3?
How much impact does the title of a book play when you are browsing for a new read?
