Capture Me has gone back to the title drawing board, and the winner is…Satisfaction Guaranteed. I love it! I went through the book looking for recurring phrases, key words, themes, etc. I searched my thesaurus. I brainstormed and wrote all manner of title ideas, most of which I never forwarded to my editor because, um, argh. But I came up with 8 I thought were decent, 3 of which I thought were good candidates, and 1 I loved, and she agreed that Satisfaction Guaranteed is best.
Titles are tough, they really are. A good title can hook a reader. The combination of title and cover are what will prompt a browser to pick up a book and take a closer look. Title sold me on Samantha Hunter’s latest Blaze: Untouched. That title with the cover made me say, “I must know MORE!” And when I read the blurb, well, honestly I was already sold without the incredibly cool plot. The title hooked me.
So I don’t mind going back to the drawing board if a title needs work. I know how important it is. And I’m thrilled with this change. Satisfaction Guaranteed!
I love your new title! That’s one that would grab me, for sure. Although The Gripping Beast did, too — once I saw it, I couldn’t get it out of my mind — I had to keep wondering, what is the Gripping Beast? What will I find inside of this book? So I had to get it, and can’t wait to read it.
Mutual admiration society here, but hey, that’s what life’s about. 😉
You’re completely right on about cover and title working together. Sharon Long just did a blog on that over at WriteMinded (she mentioned Untouched, too, bless her) and that was my thing — the title and cover working together makes the magic.
Thanks for the kind words on Untouched — I’m proud to say that out of 8 books, I’ve only had two retitled, Hide and Seek (which was Secret Agenda to begin with) and Pick Me Up (upcoming August) which was Surprise Me as the original title. They wanted something more literal, and asked me if I liked The Pick-Up, since it’s about a heroine who picks up a guy stranded on the side of the road, and I have to admit, I didn’t like The Pick-Up at all — hit me as the truck sitting out in my driveway. But Pick Me Up was a compromise — I came up with it, they agreed, and in the end it’s grown on me, since I like the double meaning of a book title telling a potential reader to “pick me up.”
Titles are weird, though — funny how we can write tens of thousands of words and then struggle with two or three, LOL.
Sam
No, it makes sense that it’s way harder because you have an entire NOVEL to get your point across, and then you have to sum it up in a couple of words. They have to be the right words, the perfect words, and the image on the cover has to be the visual representation. Packaging is tough!
I like Pick Me Up, too, it sounds playful.
Untouched is a great example of title and cover working together to sell the book. No wonder Sharon used it! It’s sad but true that you can have a wonderful book that doesn’t find its audience because the packaging isn’t right.
The Gripping Beast is very central to the plot, you’ll see when you read. I originally had a horrible working title for this book (something to do with time, since it’s time travel) but when I got into it it was obvious that The Gripping Beast was THE title. Love when it’s obvious.
Love the new title, Charli. Satisfaction Guaranteed says it all. 🙂
Thank you, NJ! I love it, too. It wasn’t the first (or second or third…) idea that came to me, but it’s got that ring to it.
Great title, Charli!
I struggle with titles, too. Thank goodness my publishers have come up with great suggestions.
🙂
Thanks, Julia! And yes, it’s wonderful when your editor or publisher suggests just the right thing.