The power of a name

I’ve always thought deciding the title of a book is for an author like naming a child: It’s not an easy task. It’s a blessing, but could easily become a curse.

Let me explain you why.

A few days ago, I was discussing with a fellow writer options on choosing the title of his upcoming book. He did something really smart. He submitted over a dozen different book titles to a group of fellow writers (myself included) and asked for feedback.

We voted, and he had a clear winner.

Unfortunately, he found out that the winning title already had about ten books on Amazon.

That was a bummer.

He was frustrated and disconcerted. He had put hours of work to choose a title and then had to stop and re-test. Somebody else had already snatched the title he wanted for his book.

I feel his pain.

‘Lord of Time’ was a title that did not come easily either.

Honestly, choosing the title for my dark fantasy novel was a real pain in the shady place, so to speak.

Here’s what I think about choosing book titles: Sometimes one wants to go for original or different but finds out that the spot has already been taken by another half-dozen books.

Tough shit.

The original title for my book was 'Wicked Time'. Back then, I thought the title was clever. I soon found out I was wrong. It turns out 'wicked' is a word mostly used in romance books. People who came across the title were 110% sure my book was a M/M romance with a dark twist.

My reaction was close to shock. I did not see that coming.

I was so much into my head that I had decided a million years before the title was brilliant before even asking a living soul what she/he thought about it.

After that, the search for the 'perfect' title began.

It was not a fun ride.

I spent something like twelve afternoons (mind you, I’m talking full 3-4 hours sessions that I could have used writing) pondering about the title that conveyed EVERYTHING I needed.

It needed to be original, of course. It needed to stand out, be witty, present my genre and be simple.

I went on and on in a full circle, writing something like 80 different titles and were nowhere closer to getting the title I wanted. I was drifting and losing time.

My problem was that I did not have enough feedback. And I had an even bigger problem. I thought I didn't need it.

I was just telling myself a story.

The truth was that I really did not understand what kind of title I needed.

Before crushing my skull on the nearest wall I turned to a group of fellow writers for help (I’m waving at the folks at the Creative Academy, here).

I also asked my critique group and a bunch of other fellow writers from the Vancouver Genre Writers companionship for feedback.

I opened up the door for critique and listened.

In the end (thanks to these feedbacks) I chose the title 'Lord of Time'.

This title is generic. It's not clever or original, but it does the job of putting the elements I wanted for the reader to see right in front of them. CJ Hunt, a fellow writer who empowers authors like myself, gave me a great deal of help on this front in one of her strategic hours sessions.

She told me to focus on the message of the story, to deliver it in 2, maximum 3 words. She told me to be specific and to settle for ‘viable’ and ‘simple’, not for ‘perfect’.

She was right. Nailed it. And thanks to her advice now my book has a name I’m proud of.

“Names are powerful things few people know how to handle.”

That is the beginning sentence of ‘Lord of Time’. I believe in these words now more than ever.

The title of every book has a meaning. This meaning has a power that can’t be figured out at the first trial. Or second. Or tenth.

It’s a journey; an important part of writing a book.

And it takes time.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. I know it for a fact. I’m from there.

:D

I hope you enjoyed the story of how the title of my latest book came to be.

If you have read and enjoyed the book, you are awesome!

If you want to become master awesome on a mind-blowing level, you can now review it on Amazon or Goodreads and let me know your thoughts.

You words have power too. So let me read them.

Thank you for your support!

REVIEW LORD OF TIME ON AMAZON

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Time-Michele-Amitrani/dp/1988770084

REVIEW LORD OF TIME ON GOODREADS

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47562881-lord-of-time

(First wrote on September 17th, 2019)