December 15 – 21: “Did your editor insist on a title change?”

52 Responses

1. Yes, I’ve endured the back and forth of title changes. The first of each of my series were titled designed by the publisher in lieu of what I offered. Frankly, I have no problem with it, usually. They have their pulse on the market a little more firmly than I do, and they are seeking marketability. I get that. They changed “Hog-Tied” to “Lowcountry Bribe” and in hindsight, I get it. They changed “Edisto Diamond” to “Murder on Edisto,” and that title has served that book well, too.

   Titles are absolutely critical these day with so much competition. As writers we have to be careful that we don’t get so insightful that the title means something to only us, and it’s not obvious to the reader. We often emphasize aspects that are overkill. I’ve seen titles that just made me wince.

   I used to love the Perry Mason titles, “The Case of the Drowning Duck,” “The Case of the Crooked Candle,” and so on. Like the Sherlock Holmes titles, “The Adventure of the Second Stain” and “The Adventure of the Final Problem.” Based upon this mindset, I’d suggested “The Papa Beach Murder” for my latest release “Murder on Edisto,” but my editor wasn’t as fond of such titles as I was.

   But it gets hard to be original, especially in today’s world of one and two-word titles. In looking at the latest best sellers, I’m disappointed with some of the titles. Harlan Coben’s “The Stranger.” Lisa Scottoline’s “Betrayed.” I just want more than that. I know that the author in those cases can sell just about anything and the title isn’t quite as important, but I still want snap in a title. For the rest of up, I think that snap is crucial for attention and sales.

   1. Hope, I feel the same about some one and two-word titles. Do you think this trend is new or more prevalent in certain genres? Is it a reflection of our attention-deficit society that the shorter title is preferable?

      1. Hi Tiffany. I feel that one or two-word titles definitely lend themselves to Thrillers in particular, and in many cases horror and sci-fi. Is it a reflection of our attention-deficit society, possibly. Thriller and high-octane action movies are definitely the younger audience’s choice.

      2. Absolutely. It’s a combination of memory (one and two-words are simply to recall), and being easily searchable (don’t forget Google’s influence on us), and an attempt to be punchy. But it loses its effect with so many of them, IMHO. And some are repeated!

2. Before the first sentence, the first paragraph, the first page is read, it’s the all-important title that is the key to getting a reader to pick up a book and open its cover. Fortunately, I’ve never been asked to change a title of mine. Would I do it if the editor wanted me to? Probably. But the new title would have to be significantly more engaging, not just different. Before I type the first word of a manuscript, I have a title in mind—one that tells the tale—and an idea of how I will work it into the story. For me it’s the title that kick-starts the entire creative process.

   Why are some titles magic and what are some of your favorites? And interesting double question. I’m sure the answer varies from reader to reader. But I believe we all would agree the truly magical ones are the titles that make the reader pick up a book and open it to that first page. A favorite one for me is Peter Benchley’s Jaws. That one word says it all. Some others are Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell, Harvest by Tess Gerritsen, The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, and of course my own. There are so many great titles it is impossible to list them all. But they all have one common element, they draw you in. When it comes to writers and readers, I can think of no greater shame than having a good book left unread because of a bad title.

   1. I like The Pillars of the Earth too, William. I’m finding that I like titles that evoke strong, specific images and a layer of meaning beneath. Even if you never open the book, you hear a phrase like “Pillars of the Earth,” and it leads your thoughts someplace new.

      1. Exactly, Jaden. I strive for that in my titles. Though they are not as strong as THE PILLERS OF THE EARTH. That was definitely a home run.

3. My favorite title ever is: Sarah Shankman’s “I still miss my man but my aim is getting better.” It really works for that book but I have to say, it’s true Hope. We aren’t always good judges of our own titles.

   My first, third and fourth books were my original titles (and my fifth book coming out next year is likely to keep my title). But my second book was a real struggle. I knew what my publisher would want to call the book: “Flashover.” The book was an FDNY thriller about a fire condition called a “Flashover.” So of course, that’s what they wanted the title to be. But it just felt sort of–obvious. So I resisted and resisted. They finally won me over and it was probably the right title though I’ve always hated obvious titles.

   My new series, because it’s a little more literary and involves Latin culture, has been able to borrow titles from Spanish poetry. I have my sixth book title in mind already. The only problem with these new title is that they involve getting permission for text use–and that’s a whole level of grief in itself! I can’t tell you what I went through for my book that’s coming out next November: A Blossom of Bright Light. I had to get permission from the Order of Franciscans in Chile–no easy feat!

4. The title of each of my Baby Boomer mysteries — Retirement Can Be Murder, Moving Can Be Murder, Marriage Can Be Murder, and Class Reunions Can Be Murder — are where each of the books start in my mind. Long before the plotting, the setting, the characters. Each title reflects something the 78.2 million Baby Boomers are dealing with in their own lives. And then — gulp — came Book 5. I titled it Funerals Can Be Murder because, of course, each of us will have one. Someday. In the distant future. I tested the title on the editors of Suspense Publishing, and they loved it. Then I tested it on readers at a few book talks early in 2014. Oy vey. Imagine the air being sucked out of a room. What to do? I went back to the fictional drawing board and came up with “Meddling Can Be Murder.” (My chief protagonist, Carol Andrews, had a black belt in meddling.) The editors at Suspense encouraged me to continue to road test the title at other book events. So, I did. And an amazing thing happened — people started to laugh at the original title. And said they couldn’t wait to read it. So, Funerals Can Be Murder is book 5 title. And we all have to go sometime, right?

5. I am loving these answers! I waited until the book was completed and then struggled to find an appropriate title that sounded right. Because I’m with a small press my editor gave me more of an opinion in the matter but also had her own suggestions. We worked together and tossed ideas back and forth and finally arrived at the simple, The Feathers. I liked it since it not only reflected the feathers adorning my murderer’s mask (on the cover) but it also has a heavier, weightier meaning by the end of the book. Once the reader finishes the novel they see that the title carries more than just the feathers on a mask. There are so many wonderful titles but one of my favorite of All time is: The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Love this. And others are: Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Stone Diaries, If on a Winters Night, a Traveler. All of these carry a heavier weight to me than just the words on the cover of the book.

6. The Feathers sounds intriguing, Cynthia. And I like the titles you love in other books. I agree, when a title carries a heavier weight than the words on the book, it can have real resonance. That’s actually how I started using Latin poetry lines for my second mystery series which takes place in the world of the undocumented. The title of my book that just came out, “Land of Careful Shadows” takes its cue from a Mexican poem about people displaced by the Mexican revolution. The poet, Jaime Torres Bodet, talks of people who “come without rancor, without thinking, forming a long centipede of careful shadows. Suprised at…not finding a kind smile, a pair of eyes to look into without mistrust” As soon as I saw that stanza of the poem (I’m condensing here) I knew I had my title.

7. Thank you, Suzanne. I love how you came up with your most recent title. One of my first loves was poetry and I love it when fictional/novel authors carry the world of poetry into their own work, whether it be in the way they use words or in a title or various phrases throughout the book. See…with a title like that and the meaning behind it, now I Really want to read it even more! Weaving poetry or showing how we have been inspired by it creates a richer, deeper story sometimes. Land of Careful Shadows is a great title…one has to be protective, aware of their own shadow and the shadows of others. Beautiful.

   1. It’s interesting hearing how other authors come up with titles for their books. In my case the original title usually changes. My agent suggested a title change for my latest novel, which was originally titled The Last Child from Brzezinka and then it became The Last Child, before we went with The Last Witness. The story is about the last living survivor of the Holocaust in the year 2039. Brzezinka refers to the Polish translation of Birkenau (from the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp), but an editor pointed out that using the name of a Polish town may not be such a good idea, and he was right. My problem was trying to do too much with the title. The Last Witness works much better and tells you what the novel is about. One of my favorite titles, and one of my all-time favorite thrillers, is Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. Those four words sum it up perfectly and that’s what a title should do.

      1. Jerry-

         The Last Witness is a great title. It comes with a curiosity and an unspoken story. Good choice.

8. I personally love The Last Witness. Sometimes we over think the title and it becomes more complicated than it needs to be. Having met a number of Holocaust survivors in the 1990s, this novel sounds intriguing to me. My first book title idea was Birds of a Feather but that just didn’t have a ring for me and it seemed that there were lots of other books entitled that. I like how you went from The Last Child to The Last Witness. I’m sure we are all so very thankful to have people say, “Ummm, no, that title is not going to work” before we decided on the first one or two in our minds.

   1. Thanks Cynthia, but we should give credit to my wife (who between you and me is much better at titles than I am – I just write the book!). It was my agent who finally gave me an ultimatum – The Last Child or The Last Witness. Choose. I gave way to my wife who opted for the latter, to which my agent concluded that she is obviously a lot smarter than I am.

      1. HA HA! Please tell your wife how much all of us on here really liked it. 🙂

9. Cynthia, I’m more like you in that most often I wait until a book is completed before I title it. I love titles in a series that have the same theme, like JD Robb’s “In Death” series. Or Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries where each title uses the word “Dead.”

   My Kathleen Turner series focused on a heroine of that name, so each book had a form of the word “Turn” in the title: No Turning Back, Turning Point, Out of Turn, etc. My latest series, the Tangled Ivy Trilogy, used the word “Shadow”–In His Shadow and Shadow of a Doubt are the first two titles.

   My biggest difficulty with titles was a series I have coming out next summer where my editor and I went back and forth with several ideas before finally settling on the Risky Business Trilogy–Power Play, Playing Dirty, and Play to Win. It must’ve taken us three months of tossing around ideas before we were both happy.

   I try not to get too tied to a title because for one, I don’t think titling a book is my strength so any help or better ideas an editor or publisher may have are always welcome. Secondly, I’m always experiencing Title Envy…browsing the book lists and thinking, “Now why didn’t I think of that title?!” lol

   I love the titles that we see in Romantic Suspense, the genre I write, such as Cynthia Eden’s Die for Me, Fear for Me, Scream for Me. Or Melinda Leigh’s “She Can” series: She Can Run, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, She Can Tell. Clever and readers know they’re all part of the same series.

   1. Tiffany,

      Series do come with their own issues. I fought series titles more than the book titles. I had one editor not fond of having Edisto in each book title, while I thought it was a uniting theme. But then we couldn’t come up with a series title that did NOT have Edisto in it. We went around for three months about it. Finally, they decided since setting is very key to these mysteries, the series could be The Edisto Island Mysteries with each book carrying Edisto in the title. Murder on Edisto, Edisto Jinx, Edisto Affair. It’s easy for readers to find them.

   2. Tiffany, I’m with you in that I prefer to wait until the project is finished and then re-visit the title. But I must be the world’s worst title craftsman. Honestly, every book I’ve ever done, including non-fiction books, underwent a title change at some point

10. I love how your titles reflect the character, Kathleen Turner. That is very clever. The play on words is always fun and eye catching especially to a reader who wants to decipher the collection in a series. It’s wise to distinguish each series with its own word play and theme. I like that. My second novel (my WIP) will be the next book in the series but again, I won’t know the title until I’m finished. HA! And since more books following that one will be part of the series, I need to come up with a series title. Right now I’m calling it a Thriller/Paranormal series but eventually I’m going to need something more concrete so my editor and I will work on that when the second book is done. It’s very similar to naming a baby…a person produces this part of themselves and what to name it? 🙂 One has to look at all characteristics of that novel, underlying themes, one word meanings…it’s not easy.

11. I really love the title, “The Last Witness” too. It promises so much–my favorite titles always do. Does anyone remember the story about Judith Krantz going to war with her publisher to name her novel, “Scruples”? She won–and the title helped sell the book. But I have to say, if she’d run that title by me, I might have paused too. I like common place words rearranged in an uncommon way. I never use the word, scruples and would have found it awkward in a book.

12. Suzanne, I love your title, Land of Careful Shadows, and the quote you got it from. It evokes an intriguing image even before you read a page of the book. It definitely makes me want to read it.

    Cynthia, I love how you came to your final title. It sounds much more thoughtful than Birds of a Feather, and knowing there’s a deeper meaning makes it all the sweeter.

    I agree that The Last Witness is a great title. It raises all kinds of questions: What was witnessed? Who were the other witnesses, and why is there only one left? Even without knowing anything else about the book, you want to pick it up and see what it all means.

    Tiffany, I like the way you weave your character’s name into each of your titles, and Hope, since the setting is so key to your series, using the name of the place in each one tells the reader that they all belong together. The only pitfall in the “linked” titles is making sure they don’t start to run together. I absolutely love John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport “prey” books, but after so many, it’s hard to tell them apart by the titles. I’m always picking them up and asking, “Have I read this one yet? Is the one where…?” I’m pretty sure I’ve missed some that way.
    This is why I’m of mixed mind about the one- or two-word titles. I like them because they’re punchy, but they can also seem interchangeable. There’s a limited number of words that work for this genre, and if everyone is trying to use them, it can start to get confusing.

    My publisher asked me to change the title of my third (and most recent) book because he thought it was too similar to the first one–they both had the word “devil” in the title. The first was called Racing the Devil, and the third was to be called Prayers the Devil Answers. I still love that title and plan to use it again someday, but we settled on River of Glass (which was actually my third choice.) I’m glad we picked it, though, because the artist came up with an absolutely amazing cover for it that wouldn’t have worked for either of the other two titles.

    The title for my second one came to me after I read a quote in a Wayne Dyer book about how God is like a great sea of light, and you can dip out as much as you want in your cup without diminishing the ocean at all. I loved that. And being a mystery writer, I immediately thought, what if someone was dipping out of a different ocean–a midnight-dark one. The title, A Cup Full of Midnight, sprang into my mind, and it was the perfect descriptor of a key character in the book. That one went through with no objections on anyone’s part.

    Some of my favorite titles are: Winter’s Bone, A Fine and Private Place, Ordinary Grace, and The Winter King.

    1. Speaking of bones, Kathy Reichs does all right by getting the word ‘bones’ into every one of her titles. But I guess you can do that after selling a few million books.

       1. I agree with Jaden, though. When the titles get too similar, they CAN get confusing. Also, the reader may say, “yeah, I liked the first book but is this just more of the same?” In a series especially, I think it’s hard to come up with titles that strike the right balance between letting the reader know it’s part of a series and at the same time, promising something more and different.
          You guys are all great titlers. I think the next time I’m stumped, I’ll just throw some stuff out to all of you!

    2. I agree, Jaden, it can get confusing for the reader if a series uses the same word. It’s like a Catch-22. It’s clever and signals a message to the reader that “hey, you liked this one, so chances are you’ll like this other book in the series.” But if order is important and there are a lot of books, it’s confusing. Pick your poison, I suppose!

       1. “Pick your poison” is the perfect analogy, Tiffany. There are upsides and downsides to both choices. If I do ever decide to go the “thematic title” route, I’ll be sure to try to choose a word or theme that’s really versatile so you can make a lot of original titles with clues about what each book is about.

          Donna Andrews does a great job with this, in that all of her titles have bird-related puns or wordplays, but they all relate directly to important events in the book, so it’s easy for the reader to remember what each one is about.

13. See! This whole discussion is so helpful for me when it comes time to name my series, which I haven’t done yet. Once the second book is completed, my editor and I will brainstorm. I love listening to all of your opinions and input…this is why I enjoy author interviews and conversations like this. I learn an awful lot. 🙂

    1. Cynthia, I agree with Suzanne and Tiffany that Jaden has brought up a very interesting point regarding repetitive titles causing confusion with readers. I’m currently five books into my Jack Ferrell Adventure series with three of the titles containing the word Gold: GLIMMER OF GOLD, MURRIETA GOLD, and my new novel BLOOD GOLD. The publisher has already suggested I shy from its overuse.

       That said, I suppose the matter becomes more of an issue as the series grows in number the way James Patterson’s Alex Cross series and John Sanford’s Prey books have. If that is where your series is headed number wise, perhaps a better course of action would be to resist temptation and to vary your titles the way other successful series authors have. James Rollins’ Sigma Force series, Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series, and Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series are good examples of this. Be creative.

       1. I always have thought one of the cleverest ideas for titles was the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Using actual numbers in the titles which also signal which order the books come in was absolutely brilliant, in my opinion. Though now that she’s up to twenty-one I think(?) titles must be difficult to think of that keep with the theme.

          One of the most confusing series titles I’ve come across lately that almost turns this same idea on its head is the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore that began with “I Am Number Four.” The titles get confusing with the order as book two is “The Power of Six”, book three is “The Rise of Nine,” book four is “The Fall of Five,” etc. A hugely successful series, but I think a cautionary tale for using numbers in book titles.

14. William, that is a great idea. I was thinking that the second novel would be two words like The Feathers but not an “F” word but “The..” Something. Then I could call the series a title that includes these names. I’m letting my editor have a first go at it and then we’ll discuss and see what sounds good. I remember walking through a wooded park when I lived in London (where I was the year I wrote my novel) and pondered my whole way, wondering what to name my first book. I was looking up at birds and feathers and thinking about everything that could remotely sound right. It’s such a process and yet a fun and satisfying one.

    1. Cynthia, it sounds to me like you are on the right track. We all know a series can grow beyond what we initially intend. What started out to be a short three-book series where repetitive titles may not be an issue can become a twenty-book series. It’s good that you are planning ahead. Good luck with THE FEATHERS.

       1. Thank you, William! I appreciate that. 🙂

15. Sorry, a series title that reflects the collection, not that includes both the titles. 🙂

16. My first mystery, Alaska Gray, was submitted as A Hundred Shades of Gray. The editor said it sounded too much like a Civil War novel.

17. Oh wow, Susan, and now that might have been confused with the notorious, Fifty Shades of Grey. 🙂 I like Alaska Gray a lot better.

18. Susan–that is too funny. I’m assuming Alaska Gray was published before notorious 50 Shades? Funny how associations change. Here your editor thought “civil war” and now all anyone thinks is “S&M.” I have to laugh! Just shows what happens with word associations.

    1. Susan, if you’d gone with A Hundred Shades of Gray, people would be thinking, “Wow. Twice as many shades! This, I gotta see.”

       I like Alaska Gray.

       1. I was thinking the same thing.

19. I wanted to take part in this Roundtable because changing the title was something I had to do with my second novel Firefall.
    Since its inception, I had referred to the novel as “Highland Creek.” The place is real and it is located on the road to Tela, a beach town in my home country of Honduras. Although Spanish is the native language here, the place got its name in English during the time of influence of the banana corporations of old.
    The fact that a native Spanish speaker wrote thriller novels in English and set them in Spanish speaking country with a real location with a named in English was something I couldn’t resist at the time of working on my WIP.
    When my publisher bought the novel, it was still named Highland Creek, and it stayed that way for the first couple of editing rounds. The issue of the name sounding akin Irish whiskey—I guess the “highland” part of the title—didn’t come up until a few months before release.
    In retrospect I now agree with my editor for forcing me to change it. Well, perhaps “forcing” is a strong word; she talked me into it would be a more accurate description.
    At least we agreed on something, given the theme and references in Firefall (where the main character is a former member of New York’s Bravest) the word “fire” had to be a part of the new title.
    All through the story, fire is a recurrent theme, in both situations and even means of torture as depicted near the end.
    So Highland Creek became Firefall.

    PS: The setting didn’t change and the climax still takes place in that remote location near the best beaches in Honduras.

    1. Wow, Jose. I read your entry with interest. My first series was all about the FDNY and I love the title Firefall. I have to say, in all the “fire” titles I played with, I never thought of that one and I really love it. But I do feel for you because it’s tough when you know something to be true and accurate and your editor says, “yes, but the readers don’t know that.”
       How funny that our experiences as writers are sort of mirror images of one another. I’m a non-Spanish speaking woman writing thrillers about a Puerto Rican detective in upstate New York navigating the world of the undocumented. I write in English, set my stories in the US but nearly ALL the characters are Latin-Americans or of Latin-American decent. And my first series (not this one) was about the FDNY (my husband is a deputy chief in the FDNY). I’m going to check out your novel now.

       1. Thank you,Suzanne.
          Let me know if I can help you with any Spanish on your next book. I’d be delighted to.

          1. I will definitely take you up on that, Jose! And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to everyone!

    2. Jose, Firefall is a great title. I’ve been trying to come up with fire-related titles for my fourth one, but I didn’t think of that one either.

       1. Tank you, Jaden.
          It looks like I forgot to mention that I didn’t come up with the title Firefall. I’m a member of an online writer’s group named Backspace. I went to them with a plea and a fellow thriller writer from New Zealand suggest Firefall.I thanked Catherine Lea in the acknowledgements because of it.

    3. I certainly would have looked twice at a book called Highland Creek because that’s where I live in the east end of Toronto. The area is known as Highland Creek and has been for well over 150 years. But I think Firefall is more in tune with the content of your novel.

       1. And I didn’t know that about Canada! I think I could live there. lol.
          Thank you,

20. Great discussion. Happy holidays everyone.

21. Happy Holidays and a Fabulous New Year!

22. Happy Holidays, everyone! May 2015 be your best year yet.

23. Happy Holidays to all my fellow Roundtable Writers.
    Here’s to a Great New Year.
    Thanks to J. H. Bogran for helping us out this past year.

    1. All the best to all and a great year in 2015.