Great Titles
As I am playing with my untitled story in an unnamed town, I’m listening to the RWA CDs. One was on crafting a good proposal (Karen Kendall was the presenter) and the other was on Titles and Premise with Leah Hultenschmidt and … the author’s last name was Ashley.
Anyway, both are talking about the importance of titles, which frankly, I stink at.
So I was thinking about some really good titles.
Chris Fletcher finalled in the Golden Heart with a book called NEVER TRUST A MAN WITH YOUR BRA IN HIS HAND, and with another called THE CALL OF THE WILDER.
Published books:
THE GIVENCHY CODE
VENUS ENVY
TO LOVE A DARK LORD
WHAT AN EARL WANTS
TOUCH OF DARKNESS
THE HEIR AND THE SPARE
THE RULES OF GENTILITY
COMING UNDONE
THE UNFORTUNATE MISS FORTUNES
THE REST FALLS AWAY
LORD OF THE FADING LANDS
LUSH
What are some of your favorite titles? And how do you pick your own?
Goodreads
Good Reads
About Me
- MJFredrick
- I'm a mom, a wife, a teacher and a writer. I have five cats and a dog to keep me company. I love bookstores and libraries and Netflix - movies are my greatest weakness.
Beneath the Surface
Breaking Daylight
Breaking Daylight Review
Where There's Smoke
Where There's Smoke Review
Bull by the Horns
Hot Shot Reviews
Hot Shot
8 comments:
Most of my titles come from songs-an easy route to take but it works. I've come up with a couple of my own that I like (and hope to use one day) but I try not to fall in love with any of my titles because I know that you don't always get to keep them when you publish the book.
Ugh. I stink at titles, too.
Somebody posted this title generator on their blog:
http://wordsmiths.net/Maygra/RTG.htm
I really like Ally Carter's YA novel titles, "I'd Tell You I Love You but then I'd Have to Kill You" and "Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy"
I struggle with titles, too.
Some of my favorites, though, are:
Dead Days of Summer
High Rhymes and Misdemeanors
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
No Nest for the Wicket
Carpe Demon
Disappearing Nightly
Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool(which just make me giggle)
Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Between a Wok and a Hard Place
Once Upon Stilettos
Damsel Under Stress
and the soon to be released Don't Hex with Texas
PROM DATES FROM HELL by Rosemary Clement Moore. I love catchy titles! And one word titles that convey a lot. Dixie Cash gets a lot of great titles too--My Heart May Be Broken But My Hair Still Looks Great :)
I've always been title blessed--usually it's pretty easy for me to come up with good titles. The title for the proposal my agent is shopping now came to me while I was writing it--FORBIDDEN--and it really fits the story to a T. I even gave the two other stories in the series F names--Forsaken and Forgiven.
Make U Sweat is probably the hardest title I've had to come up with --because I haven't written the book but my editor needed a blurb and a title ASAP. Hands On and Nailed were fun, tongue-in-cheek titles that fit the blue collar themes so not so hard to come up with--I actually have about 10 blue collar titles tucked away in case any of them fits something I come up with.
If I don't come up with a title right away, I'll usually give my goals group a brief summary of what the book is about and let them fire titles at me in the hopes something sticks. I'm awful at titles.
I hate doing titles. I don't want to say I'm totally bad at them, because I'm usually happy with what I come up with. For example, the book currently being shopped is The Color of Courage, featuring an empath superhero heroine who isn't sure she belongs in the superhero world. It's perfect! But I didn't come up with it until well after the book was written, edited, polished, and synopsized, and it took an hour and a thesaurus.
I swear, I'm DREADING an editor telling me to come up with a list of 25 alternates. LOL
I've thought of using songs....trouble is, I don't know that many. I'm with you - I thought editors liked to change titles, but according to this workshop, good titles grab their attention.
I like those Ally Carter titles too.
Those are GREAT, Tori! I thought about Carpe Demon after I posted. But I LOVE Don't Hex with Texas!!
Those are great (and apropos) titles, Amie! I really love Hot Shot because it absolutely captures the book, even though it's simple, so I know what you mean.
Kelly, I use others a lot, too. Stacy Dawn actually named Breaking Daylight.
Natalie, that's a GREAT title! And sounds like a great story!
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