What’s in a name?

I never imagined that the hardest part of getting my first novel ready would be picking a name for it. When I first started, I had a name in mind. That was chosen from the heart, and it seemed perfect until a reviewer pointed out that it was the name of a reputed organization. I would have kept it still if it did not recall sectarian overtones that I just could not shake off my mind. So, out it went into the recycle bin.

I then decided to have the name of my protagonist in the title. I was planning to write a series and I wanted to start building a recognition of my heroine’s name. The tail end of the title was harder to land. Should I highlight the motif used in the series, or maybe a central theme? Should I share a key instrument that is used in the book, something that drives the plot forward? Or would that end up being too much of a reveal?

SIGH!!!

Sometimes, I just want to get to my worktable and write stories. Writing is fun. The rest – naming, putting together a cover, getting a marketing plan together, is fun but not as much as bringing characters into life. But, like so many others before me, I persist. Oh what a journey this has been.