An agent recently suggested that I find a more memorable title for GUARDIAN. When I started writing, single word titles were all the rage (Twilight, Shiver, etc.) and I've always liked simplicity. I found a cover image for inspiration and I was good to go.
In all honesty, I'm not all that attached to GUARDIAN. It is a very powerful title, for me at least, and, shockingly, it has not been used as a stand alone title (The Guardian has, as well as a few other variations, but alone, there's nothing on Amazon). I can see the agent's point. If I want my title to stand out, I think a single word, with a lot of connotations attached to it (maybe not all ones I like), isn't the best way to go.
RIVERS UNDERNEATH comes from a favorite song. For this book, it references the river flowing through the center of the town and the role it plays in the characters' live, but it also references the undercurrent of the paranormal running through the story. I like titles with a lot of meaning ;)
So what do you think? Is GUARDIAN a better title? Do you like my cover mockup? Would you pick it up based on the cover alone? All thoughts are welcome!
Rivers Underneath is very cool. It's simple (although not as simple as GUARDIAN) but has enough intrigue in it that the person who sees it will be like: What ABOUT the rivers underneath? And want to see what it's about. That's my opinion anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd the cover mockup is very lovely. I love the detail/lighting of the hair and the butterfly.
Thanks, Lyla! It's so hard to figure out how readers will react to a title! Thus far, the response has been really good. How are things going for you post-WriteOnCon?
ReplyDeleteNo problem, Jenny. I've been bogged down in my non-writer life for the past week or so...which sucks because I haven't done any work on my novel. I sent out my requested partial last week and am waiting for a response for that. I guess being busy is good for something (ie: I'm not constantly pressing the 'refresh' button to see if the agent responded yet. lol). How about you? How have you been?
ReplyDeleteMy non-writer life has taken over too! My husband is leaving for six days, starting tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get some querying done. It is so hard to know hit that refresh button, isn't it? The agent who requested a partial from me passed, but she encouraged me to query widely. It's hard to gather up the courage to hit 'send' but it's exciting too. I want an agent who is as excited about my book as I am and I absolutely think there is one out there. And one of these days, we'll both see our books on the shelves of bookstores and libraries :)
ReplyDeleteSadly I think I almost always decide whether to read a book based on its cover. I think a lot of people do. But I buy 90% if my books on Amazon, so unless its got that nifty little peek inside, I'm going to decide on synopsis and cover alone.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I LOVE Rivers Underneath, and that combined with your cover... I'd definitely pick it up. It would be up to the synopsis to send me to checkout, but the cover alone is enough to interest me.
:-)
- Your newest follower.
Thank you, Megan! I definitely judge books by their covers - that's why I do mock ups! Glad you like it and welcome to my blog :)
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