I heard it eighty-seven times at least: “Don’t get too attached to your title!” Every time I took a workshop or attended a writers’ conference, someone reinforced this idea that writers have very little control over the ultimate titles of their books. “Once you sign with an agent, she’ll change it anyway. And then your publisher will change it again.” Fellow writers – I think you know what I’m talking…
This week the Debs are talking about titles and covers! How we came up with our book names and/or the process we went through with our publishers for our covers. I love the name FEAST OF SORROW. Love love it. From the first moment I saw the title I knew that it was the right one for my book. But here’s the thing; I didn’t come up with it. When I…
The first draft of my novel UPTOWN THIEF was originally titled THE MANHATTAN TRICK HEISTS. As I look back at old drafts, many are called TMTH. However, a sex worker beta reader explained two things to me. 1) the word “trick” was dated and out of touch. 2) It was a terrible stereotype that sex workers were always wanting to rob their clients. As I’ve mentioned before, the workers robbing…
When you sell your book to a traditional publisher, it quickly becomes apparent that the story you lavished for years with the meticulous attention of a cat licking its fur doesn’t belong wholly to you any more. It’s now the foster child of an entire consortium of professionals whose sole purpose is to bring it into the world and sell as many copies of it as possible. Of course, this…
I’ve heard the horror stories. I’ve been in Facebook groups where writers have bemoaned how much they hate their covers. Titles have been mangled. Everyone is unhappy. In my contract, I was given “consultation” rights, which I was told means basically nothing. The publishing house can consult me and say, “Okay, now we’re going to do what we want.” I was prepared. I would employ my family motto—”Suck it up”—and…
I read a lot of blogs about publishing on my quest to learn as much as possible about what comes next. It was on a blog that I came across this important fact: Book covers and titles are marketing tools. Book covers and titles are marketing tools—I said this to myself like a mantra all though out the publishing process, so I would be prepared when the time came. I had…
I love revisions, and couldn’t wait to write about the revision process – how many drafts I write, and how my novels change from start to finish. But when I looked at it seriously, I realized that topic called for a lot of explanation, and Emperor Maximus Angryfish disapproves of lengthy blog posts: Back to the drawing board. I thought I’d write about how I revise – first drafts on…
