Thursday, 8 October 2009

Name that book!

Is it wrong to want to outsource the naming of my book? I have come to the conclusion that no, it is not.

Parents effectively outsource the naming of children -- baby name books! mothers' maiden names! wealthy relatives! the Bible! People magazine! -- even before said child is born. Using this logic, I see no reason why you can't name my book before reading it.

To give you at least something to work with, here is what I say my book is about:
When a woman discovers a fortune hidden in the attic of her new house, she begins a pilgrimage that takes her to the knife-edge between blessing and curse. Two fatherless children think Mr. Crisander is nothing more than the creepy next-door neighbour -- until they nearly kill his pot-bellied pig and learn the poignant secrets of his past. A sassy young girl gives her take on what it means to be in grade six, how to steal cigarettes, and her sister's no-food diet, all while being photographed by an internet pornographer.

The twelve stories of THE UNNAMED BOOK are fresh and haunting, resonant with the bitter beauty of lives derailed, reclaimed, celebrated, and questioned. By turns funny and absurd, unexpected and devastating, these stories reveal the strange and often tenuous bonds between people in love, marriage, and friendship.
Ready to go? Let's get naming!!!

The book used to be called...
The Haze of All Our Exhalations
(too airy, too long)

Then I changed it to...
A Cat Starving Its Way Through Winter
(too long)

Now I am debating...
A Lot Like Blood
and
Way Back the Road


Good titles are, I think, memorable, unique, not too long (I have problems here), and image-driven.

Of course, the important thing to remember is we need a catchy name that will sell me lots of books and make me superfamous and rich. Any thoughts, my little bookworms?

11 comments:

  1. I'm not finished re-reading the manuscript but I think the book is about "the hole(s) in all our lives". That may be too maudlin a title but it speaks to the content of the book.

    Great book by the way. I expect all Swiss Miss readers to buy at least one copy

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  2. At LEAST one book each!

    So that should equal, what, about 3 books? ;)

    Prove your love, Bloggership. I am waiting...

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  3. "Alice, The Cartoon Donkey, Will Totally Do It"

    Too wordy, by half.

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  4. "Dead Things In The Air And Elsewhere"

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  6. Not sure how, but I deleted my post!

    "The Exchange (or Osmosis) of Blood"
    "When Blood Transpires"

    Can blood transpire? I eagerly await the book!

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  7. "Poo, pee, and other human truths"

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  8. So far, Train Wrecks is winning...

    ;)

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  9. Jon -- once upon a time, that story was called "Dead Things in the Air and Elsewhere." Then it got changed to "Problem in the Hamburger Room."

    I also like your Alice title. ;)

    Sina -- I am not sure if blood can transpire. Paging Dr. Kathleen...

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  10. "Dead Things In The Air And Elsewhere" is still a superior title.

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