Ask A Wench--Are Titles Important?

Pat here, hosting this month's Ask-A-Wench...

How do the wenches choose their titles and are they as important as the covers? 

I had so much fun reading your comments when I answered this question last month, that I asked it of the wenches to see what they had to say. Quantum, we owe you another book!

Let the other wenches speak for themselves:

Christina:

I think titles and covers are of equal importance and as I’m slightly OCD, personally I am drawn to the ones that match – Susanna Kearsley’s Sourcebooks covers  are a case in point. (I liked them so much I had to buy even the ones I already had in another format!).

When my first book was published, I thought I had come up with the perfect title for it – The Tiger Gate. It was set partly in 17^th century China and I envisaged a bright cover with a snarling Chinese tiger motif. Sadly, my publisher disagreed and instead chose Trade Winds. I trusted that they knew the market though, so for the two books that followed in that series I tried to find something similar and they became Highland Storms and Monsoon Mists. (I still think my original title was better though!).

My second trilogy, partly set in Japan, became The Scarlet Kimono, The Gilded Fan and The Jade Lioness. I loved the covers (particularly The Gilded Fan), but although the first one is beautiful, I would have liked if it had actually featured a scarlet kimono. (What do you think? Here’s a mock-up my daughter created next to the real thing). The next book I wrote was completely different, a time slip novel (and not a pure historical like the others). For this I wanted something reflecting the ghostly, atmospheric side of this sub-genre, and played around with various words like shadows, haunted, etc. Eventually I looked at old poems and found the phrase “The Silent Touch of Shadows” – bingo! Luckily my publisher agreed. There were three more timeslip novels after that, and for each one I kept to the same sort of “rhythm” of words. They became The Secret Kiss of Darkness, The Soft Whisper of Dreams and The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight.

Then I changed publishers and began to concentrate on the Viking era, so naturally my titles had to reflect that. My agent and her boss came up with Echoes of the Runes, which I loved, and I am carrying on with the rune theme. The second book will be The Runes of Destiny and very soon I’ll be able to reveal the title of the third. It’s great fun trying to think of something that will show readers that this is a series, even though the books are standalone, and I’m very much enjoying the process. I’m also really pleased that the covers match – can’t wait to see what the third one will look like!

 

 

Mary Jo saying TITLES MATTER!

for a writer who is established, the most important thing on the cover is the author's name, but one always wants to reach new readers, so the cover image and the title are really important.  If the cover image is good, it should be clear that the book is a romance, but titles are tricky because there's only room for a few words. Ideally, the essence of a story can be described and made to sound enticing (as in "Pick me up! Pick me up!")  in just a few words.  This ranges from “difficult” to "crazy making."

 In general, experienced editors have a better feel for this than new authors.  For my first book, my working title was "The Musical Lady," which sounds vaguely Regency-ish.  Then a friend suggested "Lady of Note," a mild pun on the heroine's passion for music.  When the book sold, my editor suggested a phrase used in the book: The Diabolical Baron. It was certainly more interesting than my suggestions, and that became the book's title even though there were not actual demons. <G>

Sometimes a book is hard to name, and author, editor, and office assistants all try to figure something out.  That's how I ended up with Petals in the Storm.  I added that phrase to the book, though I wasn't blown away by the title.  But I hadn't a better suggestion that time. 

Series are easier after you come up with a theme.  For my Rogues Redeemed, I came up with the "Once a…." start and then just had to add a relevant noun. Hence Once a Soldier, Once a Rebel, Once a Scoundrel, Once a Spy--and coming up soon, Once Dishonored.  I was several books in before I realized that in each book, the hero was at a point of transition, working toward becoming something else--and sometimes being called back to a previous place in life, as happened with Once a Soldier and Once a Spy. 

 The downside of a series is if the titles all start to sound alike!  It's a constant struggle to come up with a title that captures the essence, and friends are frequently press-ganged into helping. Susan King is particularly good at titles; she gave me The Burning Point for my first contemporary over lunch one day.  Pat Rice keeps lists and then plays mix and match.  Poetry can provide some great choices.  I sometime go for an object that resonates with the story, like Shattered Rainbows or One Perfect Rose. 

 And like writing itself, finding good titles never gets easier!

Anne’s bit:

 A good title is a wonderful thing, but is often hard to come by. Sometimes while I'm writing a book a title will jump out at me, and in my head, that's what I'll call it. But in traditional publishing (ie: with big publishers) the final decision is made by the editor, sometimes with input from the marketing dept. In my experience a lot depends on the editor. Mostly I've been lucky in that the editor and I have similar views on the title and we come to an amicable agreement.

Generally with my titles I try to signal that they're part of a series, as well as indicating something about the story. But you have to be careful with that — some titles are very easy to get mixed up. One of my books was a finalist in an award, and the coordinator emailed me to tell me, and wrote the wrong title — the previous title. And I didn't notice! LOL.

Covers however are much more the luck of the draw, and will depend a lot on the editor, as well as the cover art dept. Here is what I consider my worst ever cover — To Catch A Bride. I tried to have it changed, but my editor liked it. This was a story partly set in regency-era Egypt, and apart from the romance there are crocodiles, slavers, cats and more — none of which made it onto the bland and uninteresting cover. The story was listed in Library Journal's Best Books of 2009 but it has the worst sales of any of my books, and I blame the cover. However thankfully there was a change in attitude for the next book —

The Accidental Wedding — and the result was one of my nicest covers. Not only that, but my sales bounced right back up, and my career was saved.

Don't let anyone tell you that covers don't matter — they really do.

Susan says:

I love playing around with titles, my own and while title-storming with friends (most often Mary Jo and Pat), or just making lists of titles. So I have more titles than I have books at this point—for each book, I'll spin out a dozen or more titles, and then have to choose one. When things go well, the title pops right up and sticks. Other times, the book will be called one thing, then another. Sometimes the title is one of the first things to emerge and helps create the tone of the book. And sometimes the publisher has a better idea for your title, even if you don't particularly agree. Most of my titles are my own, and there are some I'm very fond of, including Laird of the Wind, and the series that includes The Stone Maiden, The Swan Maiden, and The Sword Maiden. For me, those titles work well, evoking a sense of the story and the atmosphere. A few of my titles are publisher titles, not my idea, and I was glad for a chance to change them when I could convert them to e-books and edit and retitle the new editions. 

One book in particular went through a series of titles between author and editor. Lady Macbeth began as just that, but the publisher was a bit nervous about The Scottish Play, and wanted something different, so I suggested The Last Celtic Queen, which some liked and others said maybe we shouldn't have King (me), Queen (book), and Crown (publisher) on the same cover. So we came up with Rue of the Sorrows (her short name in the novel is Rue, and it echoes Deirdre of the Sorrows). That one lasted through the writing and final edits and even cover proofs--until the editorial committee decided what the heck, let's take a chance, and we were back to Lady Macbeth: A Novel.

Queen Hereafter, the sequel about Margaret of Scotland, came in quickly, just a play on Shakespeare's "king hereafter" quote in Macbeth. Now, when I need to find a file from Lady Macbeth for other projects, I have to sort through files with different book titles, though it tells me if it's an early or a late draft! 

Nicola here:

I think titles are hugely important. As a reader I am definitely influenced by a good title. If I don’t like the title of a book it won’t necessarily put me off buying it but it might make me less keen. As an author I try to bear that in mind when choosing the titles of my own books. The problem is that I don’t have the final say – my editor and the marketing team are the ones who make the final decision. The process can sometimes be a bit contentious but we all compromise at times! This doesn’t mean that I think the titles are bad, just that in my mind I may have called the book something else when I was working on it.

I called my very first Regency True Colours in homage to Georgette Heyer. Lord Greville’s Captive, my 17^th century-set romance was my own choice of title as well. Many of my others have been adapted in some way. Miss Verey’s Stratagem became Miss Verey’s Proposal. The choice of title is often heavily influenced by the fashion at the time a book is being published. I started off writing sweet Regencies and the titles reflected this: The Larkswood Legacy, Lady Polly… Later on, when the books became sexier, so did the titles like Desired and Forbidden. The Scottish books, of course, focused on the word “Laird.”

With my timeslip books, the intention has been to give them all slightly-spooky sounding titles and covers to portray that particular genre as well as indicate something of the story line. The US and the UK marketing teams have taken different angles on the cover art but have kept the same titles. One interesting change with these books was The Woman in the Lake; for whatever reason, this book simply did not sell in the UK. Then we changed the title to The Woman in the Golden Dress and the cover to show a woman in a golden dress, and it sold much better!

Andrea here:

Titles and covers . . . echoing the other Wenches in agreeing that they are VERY important in selling books. The trouble is, it’s often not easy agreeing on a “good” one of either. I think all authors have horror stories of being stuck with awful ones by their publishers. (Just so you know, authors have surprisingly little say in the final choices for either title or cover. Example: “Ummm . . .but there is no tiger or garden in the book!” an author says, looking at a cover that shows a tiger lying on a bench in an exotic garden. “”Oh, but it’s such a pretty image” responds the editor. “Readers will love it!” The book is printed with a tiger cover.) But often it’s a give and take.

For the first book of my Wrexford & Sloane mystery, I wanted to call it The Philosopher’s Stone, as it was about alchemy. That got nixed as too esoteric and intellectual. My editor then told me that the formula “Murder at/on . . .” worked very well, so she wanted to go with that. We just had to figure out how to fill in the blank. As the books are set in London, we came up with the idea of very British-sounding street or locations. I pored over a historic map, and came up with Black Swan Lane, which we all liked. As for the cover, the art department came up with a wonderful concept. There was just one problem—the major architectural feature was Big Ben, which wasn’t built until the 1850s. Definitely not a Regency street scene! I pleaded with them to change it and sent them lots of picture of St. Paul’s the iconic Sir Christopher Wren church built in the 1600s. Thankfully, they agreed, and the final cover is one of my favorites. 

 

We’ve continued the “Murder at/on . . .” template and my upcoming September release is Murder at Queen’s Landing (I confess, we played a little of Game of Thrones for that one when we were brainstorming a name for the dockland area.) And I have to say the art department has outdone themselves on the cover. I really adore this one!

 

Pat again!

Now that you have just a very tiny insight into the melodrama behind the scenes of our titles and covers, do you mind quite as much when the faces don't match the description inside? And keep in mind, we're experienced authors with lots of clout, so we know how to shout and kick our heels when a cover isn't right. But input from editors, marketing, and yes, even bookstores, make the final decision in traditional publishing. Do you have a favorite cover or one you think should have gone back to marketing?

Comments

[Quantum]

It seems that Mammon in the guise of publisher largely takes control of presentation. If the cover or title misleads a gullible reader, they may regret the purchase with consequences for future buys. On the other hand, buying on the basis of a (possibly false) impression may lead to discovery of a fabulous new author. As with all of life there has to be an element of chance or serendipity and this can be part of the fun!

Looking at some of the examples I am very impressed with the way that some pictures and titles can leave a strong impression of content.For example Christina's Japanese trilogy titles and covers leave no doubt that Japan will feature strongly .... I think the cover showing the red kimono is better. The time slip titles including 'Silent touch of Shadows' are brilliant in creating that feel of paranormal mystery. Genius idea to look at old poems for inspiration. I must read some of these titles .... especially as all that creativity is bubbling away just a short distance from where I live!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Quantum, I'm so glad you like them! As the other Wenches have said, titles can be so tricky but when you hit on one that feels right it's a wonderful feeling! Covers are so subjective and I'm always fascinated to see the difference between for example US and UK covers for the same books. And I agree, there's definitely serendipity involved!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Christina--your daughter's Scarlet Kimono was definitely superior! You need to keep her around in case you do some indie books. *G*

[Kareni]

Christina, I like your daughter's Red Kimono cover; it's eye-catching.
Mary Jo, I appreciate the cleverness of Lady of Note. I would definitely take a close look at a book titled Pick Me Up!
Anne Gracie, The Accidental Wedding does indeed have an attractive cover.
Pat, Susan, Nicola, and Andrea, thank you for a fascinating discussion.

[Marianne McA]

For me, the title 'The Woman in the Lake' would sound vaguely Arthurian, and I can imagine not picking it up.

While I buy far fewer actual books now, as I read a lot on the Kindle, I think covers are much more beautiful than they used to be.

As for titles, I think I have most problems with longer series - I stopped reading the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series at some point, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but the covers all looked very similar, and the titles have a similar feel (The Dedicated Housekeeper of the Octagonal Henhouse) and at some point I lost track of where I was. The same thing happened with Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary, and I know I also missed out chunks of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series.

The thing is, I do like sets of books that match, so the similarity is a selling point for me: but after the fifth or sixth book, I'm an unreliable consumer.

[Patricia Rice]

in these hot days of August, a simple fun discussion just seems the ticket!

[Patricia Rice]

I'm with you. It's hard enough to keep up with my own books after six in a row. Expecting a reader to keep up is asking too much--unless one does the alphabet or numbers, I suppose. But that's kind of been done.

[Jenny Wilcox]

I seem to have taken a strong dislike to regency books that have a "gentleman" on the cover who is sporting a face with 2 or 3 days growth on it. From what I have read and believe, a gentleman of the ton would never be seen like this. I read one book with this sort of cover, to see what the author was like, and I was so disappointed with the setting saying it was regency, but the behaviour and speech within the book screamed contemporary.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Mary Jo! Yes, it's very useful having an artist in the family :-)

[Christina Courtenay]

Many thanks, Kareni, so glad you like it! Cover discussions are always fun as we all love different things.

[Maryellen Webber]

I really enjoyed reading today's post. I love knowing what goes on behind the scenes of how books are titled. It used to really matter to me what the title says and what the cover portrays, but after reading the previous posts on titles, I usually read the blurb first to make a decision. Thanks very much for sharing your experience and insight!

[Lil]

I love it when the title and cover fit the book, but that is something I discover after I've read the book. I've gotten so accustomed to covers that having nothing to do with the contents that I don't pay them much attention at the start. I loathe the cutesy pop culture titles, and all the clinch covers look pretty much alike, so I do my book buying based on authors and reviews.

That said, I do cherish a truly attractive cover.

[Teresa Broderick]

I LOVE book covers and they're very important to me when buying. I like to go into the book shop, scan the shelves and see what stands out for me.
I don't let it put me off a book if I really want to read it, if the cover characters don't match the story but I find it an irritant!! Why can't they produce the character as written? Laziness and maybe ego come into it I think.
This is a great post!

Andrea, love the cover of your new book. Looking forward to reading it!

[Annette N]

Thanks for this post. I have to say the Red Kimona cover done by your daughter is beautiful as well as eye catching.

I must be honest....author is as important to me as title.

But, that said, title does make a difference to me. And yes, I loved Amelia Peabody books, but after awhile when I would find one somewhere, I would have to go upstairs and see if I already had that book. I have most of hers now, and I have been guilty of buying one - getting home and finding out I bought the same book before.

I am not crazy about a beautiful blond being on the cover and the heroine is described over and over as a redhead. I realize it makes no difference to the story, but it seems as though along the line someone did not care very much.

And I don't like the covers which have the hero with a shirt hanging off his arms. It is as though he was caught changing to go to the gym. And a day's growth of beard is as though, the next thing I will expect to see him standing in front of a Harley with a black leather jacket hanging on the handle bars.

I am not saying that a handsome guy on the cover is a bad thing, but I prefer the covers look a wee bit more realistic for time and place.

I do not expect perfection. Unless an author actually has lived during the Regency, or some important era, they are not going to know every bit of speech. But,books with speech which is obviously from current times, are sad.

Which brings me back to, there are some covers which are done so beautifully to show the time and place they draw me in. Looking at this post, I see covers which give the reader not only an idea of the story, but also the quality of the writing....'cause I cannot imagine any publisher putting a beautiful cover on a yucky story.

Because I do not want to hurt anyone's feelings, I will not give you my list of the best covers on this post, but I am sure you authors know who you are.

[Margaret]

I know (from a professional and sales viewpoint) that covers and titles matter, but to me as a reader, they're totally irrelevant. Probably because I feel that way, I always have a very hard time remembering book titles! ("You know . . . the one where she fell in love with her sister's boyfriend . . . ") And again, from both a professional and a reader's viewpoint, I'm interested in how much our perspectives change as more and more authors chose to self-publish. Cover and title decisions are then up to the writer, which both increases the author's power of expression but also adds to the weighty responsibility of not making a poor choice!

[Quantum]

There is a lot to digest here and a lot of work from wenches to set it up .... thanks for such fascinating insights!

Pat ... thanks also for the book prize.... am I the first to win two books for one question?
I like your book cover. A picture that seems enigmatic or raises questions in my mind always attracts me. If the ladies finger was more upright it could be a 'come hither' signal but as it is she seems to be assessing me as reader ... am I good enough for the school of magic? So much info can be there in a picture, even in the position of one finger!

Andrea's cover has a similar effect, leaving me wondering why a sailing ship is coming to dock in sight of a cathedral on a stormy night. Together with the title the scene seems set for some dirty work at the docks!

Nicola's cover is attractive but for me lacks the enigmatic quality that would make it stand out. I think the original title 'Woman in the Lake' would have raised my interest. Just shows that different qualities appeal to different audiences.

Susan's 'Laird of the wind' title and cover do have the enigmatic qualities that attract me .... if only there were audio versions! Not so attracted to 'Lady Macbeth'

I love Anne's books but the covers and titles though very attractive don't really stand out for me by raising questions in my mind. It doesn't matter as I generally buy by authors and she is now an auto-buy

With MJP I find the covers and titles informative and "for a writer who is established, the most important thing on the cover is the author's name" . I first read MJP many years ago following recommendations and she is now high on my fav list. But trying to see the covers through a new reader's eyes, I don't think they would immediately grab me, but are sufficient to encourage further investigation I think.

Man city are about to kick off in the European soccer championships so gotta go..... will bookmark this blog!

[Patricia Rice]

One assumes they are attempting to give a "bad boy" appearance, which would be perfectly within the bounds of human behavior in any era. But I fear those of who read the early Regencies with actual historical research are spoiled and will never be able to read some of the newer ones without saying "wait a minute..."

[Patricia Rice]

Enlightenment and entertainment all in one!

[Patricia Rice]

A truly attractive cover is a credit to the artist and should be appreciated!

[Patricia Rice]

I wish I still had the big display of books I used to have in every store. Driving to the only bookstore around here is too difficult. So you are fortunate to be able to see all the covers at once!

[Patricia Rice]

Love the description about the guy looking as if he was changing for the gym! As you can tell from the post, we don't have much say in our covers, so we're very happy that you buy by author name!

[Patricia Rice]

I'm awful about remembering titles too. And I'm not good at organizing my e-shelves across devices so I frequently end up buying the same book--usually because of author name.

Choosing covers for indy publishing is probably a whole different blog. Writers aren't always graphic-wise!

[Patricia Rice]

As always, a thoughtful reply, thank you! I'm not sure if you're the only one who earned two prizes. We've been doing this a long time and my memory isn't what it once was.

I'm in the minority in that I get input into my covers--the downside being that I'm very limited in the models and images I can choose from. I fell in love with this one just because of that expression!

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks so much, Teresa. I was really thrilled with it. (And loved that we switched up and gave Charlotte a cover!)

[Andrea Penrose]

Quantum, so glad you find the cover mysterious!
(There are definitely "dirty work" going on at the docks!)

[Anne Gracie]

Quantum, a good question, especially if it sparks several posts, is certainly deserving of several books.

Thanks for your very kind comments on my books. Having been burned a few times with bad covers, I'm more philosophical, and as long as they look pretty and pickable-up, I'm okay with them. But I thank goodness for readers who buy by authors.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you very much, Annette, I'm so glad you like the red kimono cover! And I agree about covers with a blonde when the heroine is a red-head - that is so irritating!

[Christina Courtenay]

I guess it just shows how subjective this all is because I really like Nicola's cover and it would definitely make me buy the book.

The one thing we didn't talk much about is colour - there are certain cover colours that always attract me (I am VERY partial to lilac/purple!) and combinations of colours that work really well together, while others don't. But as Pat said, it's often not up to the authors although I have been very lucky to be asked for my opinion on most of my covers.

[Quantum]

"I guess it just shows how subjective this all is"

Absolutely agree.I also wonder whether gender may have an influence.

I should say that I have listened to Nicola's 'Phantom Tree' and was totally captivated .... a wonderful author and my introduction to time slip novels! Curiously there are two covers for the audio book. Both title and covers grabbed me when I bought it.

Interestingly there are also two covers of Nicola's 'The Woman in the Lake' available on Audible UK. One has a cover similar to the one displayed here but with the lady in a red dress, the other seems to show a lady walking on the sea shore. The latter appealed to me more .... maybe my attraction to wild areas ....it is now in my wish list.

[Karin]

It was very interesting to look at all the covers and read about how covers and titles are chosen. I also agree that the scarlet kimono cover that Cristina's daughter designed is beautiful, and better than the published cover.
The "Petals in the Storm" cover is very attractive and striking, with its rich jewel tones, but to be honest, that title didn't do anything for me, and "Shattered Rainbows" and "Thunder and Roses" didn't make a lot of sense either. I only wanted to read them all because I knew they were part of the Fallen Angel series, which I love.
And I well remember the era when covers had some sort of object on them, like "To Catch a Bride". If I remember correctly, the Devil Riders and Anne's "Perfect" books all had those covers. Although some of them are attractive, they don't convey anything about the story.
But Nicola's time slip books, and Andrea's Wrexford & Sloane books, both have hit the jackpot with some gorgeous atmospheric covers and good titles too.

[Alison Y]

I wonder, do publishers ever ask the public what they think of cover art, before publishing? I realize you would need to read a book to see if the title correlated with the contents, but the artwork seems on a different level. I agree with Anne and do not like ,"To Catch a Bride", cover. If they had asked some readers ahead of time, if they would buy it, maybe a different cover would been chosen.

[Patricia Rice]

Do you think we might hope that publishers have figured out they need to put a little time and effort and imagination into covers these days?

[Patricia Rice]

Sadly,publishers asks bookstores and salesmen-what kind of cover will sell? If they don't like the cover the publisher is showing them, they'll suggest changes--without ever having read the book. It's an...interesting...process

[Anne Gracie]

Karin, I did love my first Berkley Cover — The Perfect Rake, which was so pretty. And I was pleased not to have the kind of cover when everyone's clothes seem to be falling off. But then the covers that followed were kind of 'meh'.

I well remember when I got my first human on the cover -- wild excitement here. LOL And so far I only have a hero on one cover -- and it's the the back view. And in the first draft he wore a bottle green coat. I begged for it to be changed to dark blue or black, which, thank goodness, they did.

[Anne Gracie]

Alison, I think they were worried about having Egyptian-type things on the cover, as they were worried that readers would not like that kind of setting for a Regency. But we'll never know . . .

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Karin, so glad you like the red cover! And there are of course fashions in covers just like in everything else - different styles come and go.

[Karin]

I'm afraid te publishers may be right. Although I loved "To Catch a Bride", Regency England is familiar to romance readers and a foreign setting might be a harder sell. In spite of the fact that Loretta Chase's much beloved "Mr. Impossible" is set in Egypt also.

[Anne Gracie]

Yes, I accept that the readership might hesitate over a "foreign" setting, but surely there could have been a better, more interesting cover than a bunch of roses on a browny background.