Working Titles

Having struggled with titling a book (and subtitling it!), I appreciated today’s post by writer Lance Schaubert on Writer Unboxed, and his “quick manual on how to title a work.”

If writing a novel is like having a baby, then titling it is like naming your kid. And parents fret over the names of their children. Big time. Have you seen the sheer number and size of baby name …

Source: Working Titles

4 thoughts on “Working Titles

    1. Hi Norah. I wrote about the difficulty of finding an appropriate book title some time back, and even put out a survey on my blog for readers to vote on the subtitle of my client’s medical memoir, Backbone.It turned out to be a real exercise in brainstorming. We didn’t settle on the subtitle until the very last moment before the book went to the printer. Still trying to let it go, as I preferred a different one! I really liked the strategies presented here. Glad you found it interesting!

  1. Fantastic share Jeanne. I love coming up with my book’s titles. They kind of strike me halfway into writing the book. I try to extract the heart of the story and simplify it in a few words.
    Happy holidays. 🙂

    1. I think it can be a very enjoyable brainstorming activity Debby,but also sort of maddening at times. I had about 30 different titles at one point. Of course I was working with my client, the “author” of the book. And as I said in the post, the subtitle turned out to be the real challenge. In my own WIPs, I have found it easier perhaps, but still deciding on that one perfect title takes time. Do you find yourself changing the title along the way, according to what happens in the story?

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