Titles Make Me Crazy! syndicated from @toithomas
I don’t like coming up with titles, but not nearly as much I as I don’t like writing a synopsis; that’s a topic for another day. Titles are very important in many ways, but are also not import in many ways. As much as it seems to be the way to go these days, I just can’t make myself into one of those authors who comes up with the perfect title to either shock or entice an audience.
Toi Thomas
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So many people have told me about the misconception they believe the title of my current book gives. Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel has been perceived as a dark horror story by so many that I often regret the title, though in retrospect, the title is very fitting to the actual story. I have nothing against horror, but so many people haven’t bothered to learn more about the book, simply because they think they know what it’s about already. They only reason a few people have moved beyond this is because of my tiny web presence on multiple social media channels.
I have received several emails from people who have read my bio, seen interviews, and read samples of my work who stated that they’d seen my book before and overlooked it, simply because they weren’t in the mood for horror at the time. To their surprise, while my book isn’t a light hearted fairy tale targeted at children, it’s also not a horror tale. The thing that worries me now, is that the people who’ve picked up my book expecting it to be horror, maybe disappointed, but at least they are getting a fair share of demons and nightmares.
It’s so hard to tell what it is people expect from a book these days. Several people have told me that they liked the premise of my book, but that they are avid YA readers. So, my book isn’t written as a YA novel, that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t like it…And on top of all this, I have to start thinking of titles for my next few releases. At least the companion guide for ECGA already had a title that I’m not about to change. It will be a free ebook anyway. I don’t know that the title will be much of an issue for it.
Then there is the collection of short stories I’m working on and my new romance. I have no idea what I’m going to call them. My mind is so twisted with the notation of coming up with new titles, I’ve even started to question the use of titled chapters in my book, but again, that’s a topic for another day. It’s just too bad that ideas can’t serve as titles. A gray man meets a woman online who helps him discover his true purpose in the world, only to realize that he’s not of this world, doesn’t really make for an easily searchable title.
