Yesterday afternoon I reached the sixty-first page of my newest manuscript — and the point at which I was officially sick of calling it by my protagonist’s name. Honestly, where’s the inspiration in Winifred—Book?
Since I’d already written my daily allotment of six hundred of words (716, actually), I decided a new title was the next order of business. After a half hour of puttering I came up with a list of titles, all rejects. Granted, I hadn’t given it a lot of time, but I called in reinforcements anyway. My husband took on the challenge, armed with enthusiasm and a dictionary of international slang. The former was helpful; the latter, not so much.
The story is a middle-grade novel with fairy tale elements, which is why we (very inaccurately) became stuck on the princess theme. Here are a few of the results, some suggested in earnest, some in fits of hilarity, many inspired by that blasted slang dictionary I could not wrest from my husband’s hands:
Your Basic, Everyday, Standard Princess
The Princess and the Peace
Pretty, Pretty Princess
Pretty, Gritty Princess
Pretty Ugly Princess
The Vainglorious Princess
Proto-Princess
The end result is that I’m no closer to a title, and the word “princess” has begun to sound strained and strange from repetition, but at least I can say I gave it a shot. Titles are usually fun, so I’m sure I’ll come up with something eventually.
Many of you write — books, blogs, etc. How do you come up with your titles? What, in your opinion, makes a good — or bad! — one?
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c said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 2:25 pm
When i title things, i usually pick a line or piece of a line in the work that i especially love. i have just smashed words together or titled first and used the writing to explain the title rather than the other way around.
Maybe you could drop princess and get a word from an aspect of princess-ness like ‘royal’, ‘regal’, ‘fairytale’ or something like that? Still, i kind of like Pretty, Gritty Princess.
i like unusual titles, strange words together. Short titles. Anyway, good luck!
Alex Pearmain said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 3:23 pm
A bit of word association never goes amiss, starting with core values/themes. Having said that, by the time you’ve gone past a few degrees of separation, things can begin to get a bit ropey…
Caryn said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 6:13 pm
C, I looked for lines I liked for a title, but nothing stood out. I’ve noticed lines like that seem to come from the last 1/3 of the work, and I’m definitely not there yet, so maybe in a while.
LOL, Alex! Sounds like something you’d do with a high school English class–webbing or some such thing. Could be helpful, though.
sarah said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 8:34 pm
pretty gritty princess is my fave.
Titles make me crazy! For the last title I needed I sent a list of my favorite 10 to everyone I knew and counted votes. Not helpful.
Good luck.
Melissa Blue said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Don’t get me started on titles. I was reduced to scouring Amazon to see what I could re-word that would fit my book. I haven’t gone low enough to use someone else’s title though, but the week is still young.
Christina Phillips said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I’m hopeless at titles, although I always need a title before I can begin a new book. And then after al that angst (and believe me, it’s a very angsty process!!), my cps and I end up giving every ms a nickname in any case!
Barrie Summy said,
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Winifred-Book. I laughed out loud!
(Of course, my current wip is unnamed as well. So, I feel your pain). Here’s my prediction: now that you’ve started the title juices flowing, a title will just pop into your mind. And it will be perfect. Let me know. 
Trish said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 6:06 am
Hey, thanks for letting me know what you think of my site design
As far as titles go, I kind of stink at thinking of them. For the longest time Unbecoming was called The Trip. Original. It wasn’t until I looked at MC’s behavior one day and said, “You know, she’s really got an unbecoming personality.” that it clicked. The only problem now is that most younger teens I ask have no idea what unbecoming means… yikes.
ellenbooraem said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 6:15 am
As someone whose last manuscript was called Medford and the Goatman for 15 years, and who is now working on one called The Filioli, I guess I’d be stuck with “Winnifred.” Harcourt renamed M&G “The Unnameables,” which is fine with me although I’ll be interested to see how it plays with the 10-14 crowd. Harcourt certainly knows this stuff better than I do. At least one of my pals in the Class of 2k8 also had a “protagonist’s name” title changed by marketing folks who said they just couldn’t sell “name” titles.
I like Pretty, Gritty Princess, too.
By the way, thanks for commenting on my blog, Caryn! I’m new at this game (no idea how to make myself a sidebar, for instance) but I’m learning.
lainey said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:15 am
You don’t want my input. I have a file called Johnny.doc.
Not sure if my intention was to write about an outhouse???
I do know it doesn’t pay to obsess about a title and fall too deeply in love with it because more often than not a publisher will change it. So there ya go.
Caryn said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:18 am
You know, the good thing that a lot of you are saying, and that I’ve heard other places, is that a title is often changed anyway, which means that it only has so much bearing on whether a manuscript is accepted for publication/representation or not. That said, I loved Sarah’s idea of a vote and Melissa’s idea of getting inspiration from other titles. Though, Barrie, you may just be right–I’ll let you know if something come to me now that I’ve started thinking about it. Titles for books always seem to be harder to procure than ones for blog entries, which should not be a shock.
Tena Russ said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:21 am
Hi Booklady,
Thanks for stopping by my blog
Your post is on a topic dear to my heart. I LOVE naming things. Naming something is the process of condensation or distillation that’s a bit like poetry. You have to get right to the heart of the matter in as few words as possible.
I have changed the name of my WIP a couple of times and I’m still not sure what it should be. So, I’m putting it on hold until the book is done. Having said that, I think I just thought of the perfect title. Well, perfect until a more perfect one comes along.
I like the idea of taking a line or a quote from the book. As Alex says above, the title should reflect the theme. Better yet if it’s a metaphor.
Also I love punny stuff, especially for kidlit. Make ‘em giggle.
Best,
Tena
Aparna said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 8:11 am
i love naming things too!
i love puns too!
i love being ridiculously unhelpful too!
i do think naming something is a kind of personal process so i would be the first to refuse to take the honors away from you!
Jess said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:39 am
I read poetry that has the same feel as what I’m writing (or themes, at least) and see if any bits of it stick out or inspire my own turn of phrase. (Or I just read OLD poetry so copyright is no issue.)
I’m bad at titles though.
no milk said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:51 am
naming a book is pretty hard. i hope you find the right one.
77free said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 11:08 am
Hi!
I really aim at feeling my way through. Sometimes titles come with meaning and we don’t realize it until after the fact. If princess is sticking with you for some reason don’t let it go. Play around with the title until you are able to release the cliche or familiar about it. Princess and the Peace was cool and I liked the first one too. As another commenter said, try to distill in a few words what you need to say and then play around with making it pithy, catchy and attracting.
But most of all, don’t stress it will come when you are least thinking of it.
Thanks for the post to my blog and the questions too!
Caryn said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Tena, glad I could help with the title.
I like the idea of thinking of it as a metaphor.
LOL, Aparna! Thanks for your consideration…
Jess, I love that idea! Maybe I’ll have to give that a try. And since it has historical elements, finding older poetry shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks, no milk. I’m only 61 pages in, so I still have time.
Good point, 77free. I’ll have to think about why the Princess thing keeps standing out. And a lot of ideas seem to crop up when we don’t think about them, don’t they?
Heather* said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I let my CP title my books. She’s WAY better at it than me. I suck at titles.
Ello said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I’m just not good with titles – but I’m voting for pretty ugly princess! THat one rocks!
Liz said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Gritty Royalty? Gritty Princess?
I also suck at titles. That is probably why I’m not a writer.
patti said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 5:29 pm
MY TITLES
my titles happen as my thoughts…by happenstance and sheer luck. although i have yet to sell anything officially titled, so what do i know…
Caryn said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Heather*, think I could pass the book on to your CP when I’m done and she can give it a title if it still needs one?
Thanks Ello! That one is my husband’s. (Actually, I think all of the ones I listed were from him.) I’ll let him know you liked it.
Liz, you blog–and well, too. That’s writing.
Patti, I know what you mean! Good luck to you!
emily said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 9:22 pm
hmm. i’m not a writer, BUT i thought i’d give you some input on the ones you mentioned! my favorite is the ‘your basic, standard, everyday princess’. cute!
Mizzz_K said,
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Maybe it’s time to turn it around. I read a book called The Frog Prince, by Jane Porter. The book is neither her or there, but the title is a play on fairy tales, slightly off kilter and the oposite of what you’d normally think of for a fairy tale. Sort of. I could list all sorts of titles, but my other writer friends generally use them as elimination rounds and not anything serious.
Good luck. You could stop calling it Winifred – Book, and try calling it’ “Win’s Story” for a while, just so you’ve changed the feel for a bit.
Jill S. said,
Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 8:40 am
I wrack my brain to come up with titles, sometimes throw contests on my blog, and in the end it never matters. My editor usually has her own ideas . . .
Larramie said,
Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Caryn, how about “You Can Call Me Princess” or “Just Call Me Princess.” Both sound beautifully vain!
)
Caryn said,
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 9:04 am
Emily, I kind of like that one, too. It’s actually my favorite of the lot.
Mizzz_K, great suggestion! Depending on how I did it, it would probably even fit the mood of the book, which is crucial.
Jill, I’ve heard that editors usually just end up having them changed anyway. Once I have an editor, maybe I won’t worry so much about titles in the future. I’m just afraid it will affect the chances of them wanting to look at the manuscript if the title is off-putting.
LOL, Larramie! Very true. And if I decided to write a sequel (which I probably won’t), the book would fit that chosen character very nicely. (Yes, I already know which character would “star” in the sequel.)
Absolute Vanilla (and Atyllah) said,
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 12:03 pm
My titles just seem to come up by themselves. I don’t think I’ve ever spent time getting anxious over a title – they just appear – when they’re ready to. I’m inclined to think, that rather like the words of the story themselves, titles must be allowed to make their appearance when they’re good and ready. Did you get that, Princess?
veronicaromm said,
Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Congratulations on getting so far in your manuscript. The titles are interesting, some funny some silly. I sometimes write a title first and then the poem. Usually I write the title after completion. Sometimes, however, when in the shower (where my best ideas arise) a title will just come to me. Good luck.
ps. thanks for reading my blog and your comments are always appreciated. Veronica
When Good Brainstorms Go Bad « The Book Lady said,
Monday, March 10, 2008 at 3:52 pm
[...] always interesting, because he and I have wildly different views on writing. (You may remember the Great Title Search of 2008.) To my everlasting amazement, however, it’s often productive. You see, as I try to find ways [...]