Hi friends. I love coming up with book titles. I would even consider it a hobby. I keep running lists of titles from each year. They are mostly titles of books I would never write but could still see existing. I find it keeps my mind sharp to brainstorm them; it entertains me to think of the plot and cover that might match the title. It’s also a way of practicing something that is a specific craft.
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!
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.
I'm always here for a reference to The Hours. <3