Choosing a title by J.S. Marlo

J. S. Marlo BWL Author Page

Many years ago, I wrote a three-book series. Though I didn't have any intention of adding a fourth book, I grew attached to a minor character in the third book. I figured if I ever write a fourth book, he would be my main character. Well, over the winter, a story line worthy of him popped into my head, so I wrote a fourth and last book to that series. The first three books are being re-edited and the series will be given a new life, but--I didn't expect a but--I was asked to come up with a new title for the first book. The old one wasn't catchy enough.

To be honest, I really liked that title. I thought it fitted the story to a T. For days I brainstormed a new title, something that would match with the other three titles. When I hit a brick wall, I began searching for four new titles instead of just one. That didn't yield any results either. Actually I came up with four new titles, but my publisher thought they sounded even worse than the title of my first book. In the end, I borrowed a title I had reserved for my next series, Unraveled. I have to admit I really like it, which is the reason I had chosen it for my next series, so now I have to come up with a new series title. At least I have a few months to think about this one...

Choosing the right title is hard. It has to reflect the story, but it also needs to be exciting, suspenseful, easy to remember, and capture the reader's interest. Is there a magical formula that gets you the best title? No, there isn't. I list every word I think is related to my story, then I try combining them even though I favor titles with only one word, and sounding them aloud. I also ask my friends for their opinion or suggestions even if they didn't read the draft of my story to see which one appeals to them. Out of nine books, it was the only title that got rejected. I guess my record isn't that bad after all.

Happy reading!

JS

 J. S. Marlo's Website