Finding Titles

[Ann]

Are the titles of your books something that come quick or are they as stressful as writing the book themselves?

[G.G.]

STRESSFUL!!!! I had almost finished the sequel before I finally found my title, and then I realized it was more the title of the series and not the book, it took me forever to decide on each individual. I ended up having the title for the unfinished sequel before I found what to call the first. Nightmare!!!

[Ann]

Hahaha G.G :P Ohh I've not had that much trouble before! I did have another title for A Dance with Fury, but my friend told me it sounded stupid (not the exact word she used LOL) so I changed it. #HonestFriends :P

[G.G.]

I love the title A Dance with Fury. I hope you're not thinking of changing it!

[David]

Agreed - A Dance with Fury is a great title!

It's funny, I usually have no problem with my titles - something pops up early that just seems obvious. But for my new work, I stressed over it for about a month. I ended up throwing out dozens of ideas before settling on something.

[Hamid]

I had chosen ((the lost king)) for my story's title first, but I received a massage from the publisher that was better to change it, so I changed it to ((the king not lost)). Some tell me this isn't a good title, I chose it because itwas odd. Can sb tell me if it is a good and meaningful title or not. thank you

[G.G.]

Hamid, if I may say so: it's a strange title. What I don't understand is that your original title said the kind was lost, and the new one he isn't lost anymore AND the wording is rather strange. (I hope that someone whose mother tongue is English will be able to advise you. It could be just me.)

[Ann]

I didn't mean I'm changing the title, I meant it had a title before I settled on A Dance with Fury :p

Hamid, maybe you can explain more about the book? Then we might get a better idea which title would suit :]

[Hamid]

Thanks all for your help. Of course my book has already been published but I'm always in doubt About its title. (the king not lost) is about a shepherd whom a minister reported he should be the king because the king of the country had been lost, but then it would be revealed that is a lie and the king in fact has changed his place with the shepherd since an upcoming disaster would come toward him; the shepherd had to be sacrificed instead of the real king.

[Samantha]

I am horrible at choosing names for things. (No, don't fear for my baby; my husband is involved in that decision.) I generally pick something and then go with it with the full intention of changing it. For GUARDING ANGEL, I also had my developmental editor do some marketing work. She wrote the keyword-rich blurb and came up with titles. It's a simple title, descriptive and keyword-y. So that's why we decided on it.

I was really proud of finding the title EXORCIST'S ASSISTANT, until I said it out loud. Talk about a tongue twister. I give up.

[Brian]

I'm usually pretty good at coming up with names for things, but I usually put a lot of thought into it before settling on one. Some titles are obvious and others can take a few days to come up with while outlining the story. Box of Crayons came to me while writing the second chapter for it. Liquid Perception came to me while shortly after I started outlining. The title Virtual Wars came when I decided to name the sporting league the same thing. It's a major theme of the first book in the series.

[J. David]

Usually I have the title before I ever start writing, the title is generally the first thing that pops into my head. Once in a while I get the story without the title and I have to kinda sit and word associate to generate the title but it usually comes to me after a bit.

[Cassandra]

A Dance With Fury is such a great title. I was jealous as I worked on my poor untitled book, later to become Raven's Blood. Oh, and then while Vampires Prefer Blondes sat untitled.

Titles are really hard for me. I usually force myself to seriously consider the title when I need to start working on the cover and blurb. The only one I had early in the process was Safe Hex With a Vampire, and that title created a big problem for the series. Now, I have to come up with something fun and catchy for the Psy-Vamp books.

I need to stop replying to things. I am babbling today.

[G.G.]

Why did Safe Hex with a Vampire cause problem?

[Cassandra]

G.G. wrote: "Why did Safe Hex with a Vampire cause problem?"

It's part of a series and now I feel like each new title in that series has to be a clever play on words.

[G.G.]

Oh I see...

Well.. I guess you could just stick with the X pattern. I mean... Vampires and Vixens and Safe Hex with a Vampire both have a prominent X in it. Maybe you could find another sexy/cool word with an X. ;)

So when is the third one coming out? (drooling!)

[Cassandra]

G.G. wrote: "Oh I see...

Well.. I guess you could just stick with the X pattern. I mean... Vampires and Vixens and Safe Hex with a Vampire both have a prominent X in it. Maybe you could find another sexy/cool..."

July 24th. I went with Vampires Prefer Blondes, kind of a play on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.