tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post8079001140699124948..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: I Suck At Picking Book TitlesLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-81285399503473874332012-06-28T16:20:04.086-04:002012-06-28T16:20:04.086-04:00I'm laughing aloud at this discussion! It soun...I'm laughing aloud at this discussion! It sounds like from all your experiences the titles are extremely important. My book is very personal, since it is based on the death of a very dear friend of mine, and I felt I could only call it "Marsha's Story" named after her. Now that I'm reading your discussion, I wish I could have run it by some other authors first! :)Tressa Armsteadhttp://tressaarmstead.authorsxpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-41387453044642462262012-06-26T23:46:25.492-04:002012-06-26T23:46:25.492-04:00Sometimes the perfect title jumps into my head, bu...Sometimes the perfect title jumps into my head, but much more often I too suck at titles! Thank goodness some people are much more skilled at it.Kathleen Ernsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009876100214388898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-67424607283489431492012-06-25T21:25:21.804-04:002012-06-25T21:25:21.804-04:00Good to hear from you, Sally, Sheila, Heidi and Gl...Good to hear from you, Sally, Sheila, Heidi and Gloria! You know, I think it's often good for someone who has a more distant perspective than the author but who has read the work (such as a critique partner, agent, or editor) to come up with a title that conveys what the book is really all about.Beth Groundwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13999372882748655834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-91994759551202885072012-06-25T20:46:47.657-04:002012-06-25T20:46:47.657-04:00I thought I needed to include murder in the title ...I thought I needed to include murder in the title of my first book. However, when I went to Seascape last year, during a group discussion, Hallie Ephron suggested another title, and everyone in the group, including me, like it so I've gone with it.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-15536797544282725762012-06-25T20:23:01.353-04:002012-06-25T20:23:01.353-04:00Good one, Beth. My first book, Cowgirl Dreams, sta...Good one, Beth. My first book, Cowgirl Dreams, started out as "Memoirs of a Cowgirl." But I like the shorter one I ended up with much better!Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-420975918338618232012-06-25T18:33:38.903-04:002012-06-25T18:33:38.903-04:00I had what I considered to be the perfect title fo...I had what I considered to be the perfect title for the fourth book in my series, but got a new editor who said Unholy Writ sounded like a historical or religious mystery. I thought that was like saying the DaVinci Code sounds like an art book. Besides, it's about a religious cult. But she disagreed, so that's how it came to be Last Writes. Of course, I was unhappy with the cover, too...Sheila Lowehttp://www.claudiaroseseries.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-3639697628291652502012-06-25T16:33:32.430-04:002012-06-25T16:33:32.430-04:00My publisher let me get away with the title "...My publisher let me get away with the title "The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper," a cozy set at a Beatles fan convention. I love alliteration too. I wanted that title so that readers who searched for "Beatles" on Amazon would find the book. All the titles in the series will have alliteration and the word "caper" as the brand. <br /><br />A good title is an important marketing tool. I liked your story of how your book titles were created. <br />Sally CarpenterSally Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00068827626295000653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-17788891462469554512012-06-25T15:52:14.742-04:002012-06-25T15:52:14.742-04:00Thanks for the comments and title stories, folks! ...Thanks for the comments and title stories, folks! I laughed, Rob, at your run-in with books about vampires in Antarctica! Velda, I hadn't thought of searching game titles for conflicts/similaries, but it makes sense. Steve, from your book description, Cherry Bomb, seems like an appropriate title. I don't get any idea from the title, though, what Run Straight Down is about.<br /><br />I'd like to hear from readers, too. Any titles that particularly caught your eye and were appropriate for the story? Any that sucked? ;-)Beth Groundwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13999372882748655834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-61669999590821626302012-06-25T14:58:54.347-04:002012-06-25T14:58:54.347-04:00I bet ever writer has book title woes. One of my n...I bet ever writer has book title woes. One of my new titles for a back list book which I thought so clever, has so many problems. I didn't know there were games by the title Dream Walker, so you can guess the outcome. I'd love to change it. But alas, what to?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-52529075004183513632012-06-25T14:24:54.306-04:002012-06-25T14:24:54.306-04:00I would have picked a bad title for my third Warbo...I would have picked a bad title for my third Warbonnet mystery, "Blood and Ice." The front cover was all done before I remembered to check Amazon for similar titles. It turns out there have been two books with that title publsihed within 18 months and both dealt with (drumroll, please) vampires in Antartica! So now the book will come out in October entitled Death's Icy Hand.Rob Kresgehttp://www.robertkresge.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-3835692473133483982012-06-25T14:00:11.122-04:002012-06-25T14:00:11.122-04:00I, too, suck at titles. Sometimes, they come to me...I, too, suck at titles. Sometimes, they come to me, but mostly they just don't, or hang just outside of the reach of my conscious mind. Good for you, Beth, for having successful folks working with you!TheaHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14717148321662608212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-61080646519940705352012-06-25T13:36:15.281-04:002012-06-25T13:36:15.281-04:00Beth, I agree that titles are hard, and I know peo...Beth, I agree that titles are hard, and I know people will pass on a title they don't like. <br /><br />Most of my titles are songs or parodies of song titles because I was originally trying to sell a series with a former guitar player as a PI. Right now, I have a list of over 160 (mostly song) titles, some of which beg for oblivion. That's where the series is now, too.<br /><br />My first pubbed novel, Who Wrote The Book of Death?, got 68 rejections before my wife convinced me to dump its earlier title, at which point it got picked up immediately. I was calling it Ghost Writers in the Sky.<br /><br />Most people don't get my second title, The Whammer Jammers, until they actually read the book. It's a J. Geils song, but also the name of a fictitious roller derby team (Jammers are the only skaters who can score points). <br /><br />One author who blurbed Cherry Bomb, my book about teen trafficking, told me she didn't think the title did the book justice, but I thought it conveyed the point and kept it.<br /><br />My upcoming book, Run Straight Down, is still under debate. I like it, but a few people are luke-warm. My cover artist has a great graphic and image to work with it, though, so I'm keeping it.<br /><br />So far, everyone seems to like my next two titles. Now all I have to do is write the books.Steve Liskowhttp://www.steveliskow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-53351789145555925172012-06-25T13:18:59.731-04:002012-06-25T13:18:59.731-04:00Beth, I suck at titles, too. Assault With a Deadly...Beth, I suck at titles, too. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun was the first title I was able to keep. Both of my previously published books went through title changes. The working title of my second Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery was Mop Doll Murders. MI thought the cadence should match the first book in the series. So the title was changed to Death By Killer Mop Doll. I got with the program and came up with the third title in the series. It will be Revenge of the Crafty Corpse.Lois Winstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01866423986250423199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-19738462180203049982012-06-25T12:21:29.206-04:002012-06-25T12:21:29.206-04:00I'm really bad at titles but had the perfect o...I'm really bad at titles but had the perfect one for my first book with MI. They changed it, though, because it sounded like one of their metaphysical books. I'm trying to get used to the new title, which isn't bad. But it's like calling your son Michael until he was 12, then changing to Bill. Haven't titled the second book. Just calling it book 2.Shannon Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10540336783142324746noreply@blogger.com