What do you all do during that time between sending your newly revised manuscript back to your agent and the time he/she reads it and gets back to you? I’ve been knitting, cooking, actually writing for pay (copywriting), walking, listening to baseball games on the internet radio (Go Cubs!), and trying not to think about my book while also trying to come up with a new title. That’s a tricky one – thinking about a title, but not worrying about the book. I’m taking title tips right now. I usually don’t have trouble with this, but after a month of thinking about it, I’m still at a loss. How do you figure out a title?
I was thinking about the book Honey, Baby, Sweetheart… If you’ve read the book, you know that it is one line – three words, in the entire book. It’s not like it’s a tag line or anything. The line is just part of the text, really. Words you wouldn’t even notice if it weren’t the title, right? So how in the world did the author know to choose those words for an excellent title? I’m about to just pick three random words out of my book and see what I get! Help!
oooh titles can be tricky. I find I either WHAM know the title right away or struggle with it. It’s never in the middle. Can’t wait to hear what your agent thinks.
I’m waiting to hear back from an agent right now, too. I’m in a different situation than you are in, though. I’m waiting to hear whether or not this agent’s initial interest is going to result in an offer of representation. While waiting to hear from him, I’ve been outlining more books, trying not to check my email every ten minutes, and going on lots of walks in the warm sunshine with my daughter (hooray, spring has sprung!). The title I’ve chosen for my own novel is long, but I think I am attracted to long titles. It all started with picking up Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery medal-winning book, “The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread.” I love that book! And I think the title works really well for the voice of the novel, which is a quirky, heartwarming adventure story. I’ve noticed that longer-titled novels tend to be humorous and are usually geared to a younger YA audience–or at least, there’s nothing gritty in them, you know? Or perhaps they have a more literary feel than commercial. For action-packed novels, I’ve noticed that one or two-worders seem to be the way to go, which matches the quick pacing of the story. Of course, this isn’t a hard rule by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just what I’ve noticed. It’s interesting to read the titles of the Newbery medalists on the ALA website: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.cfm. Good luck deciding on a title, Joelle. You’ll pick the right one.