No, the title of this blog post is not a mistake. Titles are one of many things I struggle with in my writing. How do I solve it? Uh... Obviously it isn't solved today and is one of the reasons my post is late. (Tardiness being another problem I haven't come to terms with, not only in writing but in life. Let's save that for another time.)
It's the title of a piece of fiction or non-fiction that invites and entices a person to read what's been written. A perfect example is Reese's title on Thursday. Or Pat's. Or Joan's. Each of those had an element that pique a reader's interest.
While my title above has no enticement, except to wonder why I didn't title my post, it pretty much conveys my struggle. I hate trying to think of titles.
Of my twelve published books, only two have kept my original titles. His Queen of Hearts (Sil. Romance 4/2006 and Family by Design (Harlequin American Romance 1/2008) miraculously made it through the editorial process. Which is not to say the original titles of the others were bad. Personally, I think Darlin' in Disguise has a better ring to it than The Truth About Plain Jane, but someone with more experience didn't agree. And, in truth, the official title isn't far off from one of probably fifteen or so others that I later suggested.
Fifteen? Yeah, fifteen. Because authors are given the chance to suggest more titles.
With the last six books--part of a series--I made it a habit not to give them a title. Not a real title, anyway. The original titles included the name of the hero or heroine and a key word that told me something about the story. Here's the list of my working titles and the books' published titles:
Tanner's Prize - The Rodeo Rider
Taming Kate - Bachelor Cowboy
Morgan's Pride - The Lawman's Little Surprise
Nikki's Secret - The Reluctant Wrangler
Tucker's Homecoming - The Maverick's Reward
Garrett's Woman - Bachelor Dad
130 titles total were sent. 5 of the suggested were chosen. But I have to be honest. I didn't think of all 130. I'm part of a great group of authors with a talent for titles, so thanks to the Ditzy Chix, my books haven't gone untitled...like this post.
And now you know the whole story, at least about this particular struggle. One down and an infinite number to go. ☺
