Worst Part about Picking Titles

As an author, I was fortunate—I believe—to keep the manuscript titles I presented to Bethany House Publishers for my current Books of the Infinite series. All three titles, Prophet, Judge, and King, passed muster and have appeared on the final printed copies. Hurrah! Alas, my current work hasn't been as easy to name. In fact, it’s been tough. I’m still trying to decide if my current title-pick is right. I’m suffering from Title Trauma, and that's as chilling as my fave Exit Glacier pictured above. Why? Like most authors, I’m fretful about naming my books. Much like naming a baby, naming a manuscript is (potentially) a lifetime commitment that summarizes your labor in a few short words. And choosing the perfect title, like choosing the perfect baby name, can be stressful. Titles are the book’s intro—a hook to lure publishers toward your work and, ultimately, a tool to pique reader interest. Authors who create a short, catchy title that’s unique and appropriate to the book’s content can usually rest assured that their work will carry and keep its unique name throughout the publication process. Some titles, however, are changed during the publishing process because they’re considered unmarketable. Too long, too similar to another title, or just plain wrong, as proclaimed at BookRiot. Which leads us to an author’s worst-case title scenario, once potentially faced by F. Scott Fitzgerald. What if the publisher had accepted The Great Gatsby under its original title—Trimalchio in West Egg!? Yep. One wrong word-choice, and I could join the Awful Original Titles list. Revised from a previously post at: A Book Lover's Library