Thanks for this post, Jami. I struggled mightily with titling my book. I called it SAINT JOSEPH'S DAY and placed as a finalist in the 2019 Faulkner-Wisdom novel-in-progress competition, but beta readers (even the local NOLA Sicilians) thought it was "too Catholic." Nobody liked it but me. I settled on THE ITALIAN PRISONER, and I'm currently casting query letters into the void trying to hook an agent. So I'm glad to see your advice on the "the-blankety-blank" as a potentially successful title format!
I came late to Heavy; only read it last month. It is absolutely studded with single words and short phrases I had to make note of. Words you've heard a million times and somehow never used but suddenly seem like they can manage a humungous lift, like "meager". OMG MEAGER. What an amazing book.
Thanks for this post, Jami. I struggled mightily with titling my book. I called it SAINT JOSEPH'S DAY and placed as a finalist in the 2019 Faulkner-Wisdom novel-in-progress competition, but beta readers (even the local NOLA Sicilians) thought it was "too Catholic." Nobody liked it but me. I settled on THE ITALIAN PRISONER, and I'm currently casting query letters into the void trying to hook an agent. So I'm glad to see your advice on the "the-blankety-blank" as a potentially successful title format!
That does seem much stronger and more intriguing for sure! Good luck with it!
Love "The Italian Prisoner"!
I came late to Heavy; only read it last month. It is absolutely studded with single words and short phrases I had to make note of. Words you've heard a million times and somehow never used but suddenly seem like they can manage a humungous lift, like "meager". OMG MEAGER. What an amazing book.
That book is absolutely a poem.
I'm always here for a reference to The Hours. <3