I’ve been known to ask a few rhetorical questions in my blog. Why should this one be any different?
Remember, back in school, such a long, long time ago for some of us, when we took those tests: Which title is the best title for the following story?
Midnight Street
That Changes Everything
A Portrait of Trust
Who Is Lily White?
Over the past year, my novel, which I love, has undergone all of the above titles. The novel hasn’t changed, just my personal opinion on the best title from a marketing standpoint. When it’s sitting on a display shelf at Barnes & Noble, which one will most intrigue the most readers?
Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself?
Midnight Street is a line from a song, from which this story grew into a novel, and was the original title. A Portrait of Trust was the briefest, albeit a darn good title. I have queried agents with the other two titles. After hours and hours of thought and research and comparisons, I have rewritten my query letter and reverted to my original title. My gut tells me this is the best one. (A secret to share with you, Faithful Reader: All of the pivotal scenes take place outside, on a street, in the dark.)
So there you have it. The explanation, schizophrenic as it makes my novel sound, for the name change game. For the record, I, myself, have had three last names in my lifetime ~ actually, in the last ten years. It’s no wonder my book has an identity crisis! But, I am still me, and my novel is still my novel.
What do you think about that?