Monday, June 11, 2007

I Finished My WIP And Titles

Woo hooo! I finished.
Grin. I finished my MS last week and I sit anxiously awaiting for my editor to tell me how much is sucks! LoL I know it doesn’t suck but that fear is still there. Do all authors feel that way when they turn in a MS?

This group of stories are about 4 brothers. My Ursus. The blurb that I submitted to my editor was this…

Long ago the clan of Ursus was cursed with the blood of a bear. To all outward appearance they remained human. However, each one possessed powerful mystic abilities and hearty sexual appetites. Only one thing brings out the beast within: being provoked by a male threatening a mate. When this happens, only the strongest can control the animal that lives inside.


When Kensington purchased this book I called it UNTAMED SINS. My editor, knowing I really suck at titles, changed it to ANIMAL LUST. Still not sure how I feel about that name. Hummm... I defer to those who know what sells.

I am horrid at titles. Never know what to call a story. For my first book I submitted 50 titles for WHAT SHE CRAVES. None of them my editor liked. So he picked one… and I LOVE it.

Finding a title that is historical and sexy is extremely hard. Or at least I think it is! You need a combination of sexy yet subtlety. I pull out the thesaurus and my list of historic terms. I think of the theme of my book… and then I laugh, because the titles I come up with are soooo cheesy!

Here are some of the ones that didn’t make it for the title of WHAT SHE CRAVES…

Garters and Lace
A Glimpse of Sin
Intimate Whispers

They aren’t too bad, but some…

Wanton Abandon
Tales of Blush

Shake head!

And then they just get worse…
Wantons and Wickeds
Scandalous Views
Intimate Regards (this reminds me of a feminine product!)

The next story I am working on is titled Blushing Temptations… eeek!
Horrid name. I wonder what my editor will replace that name with...

How do you come up with names for your books?
What is the worst title for a book you have seen in print?


Hugs and Kisses,
Lacy.

5 comments:

Pam Rosenthal said...

It's important for me to give my books titles. Even if they're not the titles I wind up with, just having a title brings me closer to what I think I'm saying, usually some kind of double meaning, parallax view, phrase that asks a question.

I don't know how I find them -- perhaps the girls in the attic think them up for me.

The worst title? Well, this is getting into Smart Bitches territory -- how about Thong on Fire?

Celia May Hart said...

Like, Pam, my titles focus on the theme. They never ever make the cut. (Except once)

I'm trying to come up with a high concept/sexy/historical title and so far it's come pretty close to "Wanton Abandon."

*sigh*

Sharon Page said...

I also have to give my story a title, even though I know my title might not make the cut. But I don't feel I know my story until I have a title I like. My original title for "Sin" was "A Fallen Woman" but it was felt to be too judgemental, and I agree. Both "Black Silk" and "Hot Silk", my 2008 books were my titles, though I had a list of about a dozen awful ones. I think, in sheer desperation, the last one was "Sproing". Appalling, I know.

JRMullany said...

Congrats on finishing!
Aaargh! Titles!
Pam came up with a brilliant title for "Forbidden Shores" that was rejected as being "not sexy enough." Meanwhile I was off on a tangent trying to feed in quotes from William Cowper's abolitionist poetry (is that boy ever quotable), also "not sexy enough."
The book is also known unofficially as "Ass Bandits of the Caribbean," and, my current favorite, "Forbidden Shoes," (thanks to a friend's typo)--the foot fetishists' version.

Pam Rosenthal said...

I didn't come up with that most excellent title, Jane, just one of the words. The phrase was yours; someday you'll use it.

I've gotten to keep all my titles so far -- tho my current in-progress one might not be so great; if a better one comes to me it'll probably be because I'm further along in understanding the book.

And then there was an excellent one for a misconceived book (I might have given up on the book sooner without that cool title).

What I like about creating a title is finding a phrase, like Safe Word that means something both inside and outside the story, and that helps me focus my writing, by keeping me asking the questions what do I MEAN by that? and hmmm, doesn't it also suggest THIS?

For me, a good working title is a goad and a promise.