So I'm thinking that I need to start looking for an agent again. Problem is, I'm not sure I'm happy with the title(s) I came up with for the guy I submitted to before. He said that titles were about 60% of what agents look for. Just because that's what grabs the reader. So as long and hard as I worked coming up with titles for my work, I wonder if I don't need some better ones.
This particular series consists of light-hearted mysteries (I wouldn't say cozy, but they aren't exactly hard crime) My main character is Thomas Nakamatsu, a college professor and how-to book author living in a small town in Northwest Ohio. He's a southern boy from Tennessee of Japanese descent who gets pretty annoyed when people laugh at his accent. In the first book he meets the woman who will eventually become his wife a few books down the road, investigates embezzlement at the university and solves the murder of a good friend. The title I suffered to come up with was "Confesisons of a Redneck Samauri." thinking that would be the theme for the other titles and I came up with a few, "Memories of a Titanium Magnolia", "Adventures of a Virgin Vigilante." But I don't know. I wish I could feel that these were the titles I wanted, but I don't have that feeling.
8 comments:
Maybe you're giving that one agent too much power. It's only 1 person's opinion. Another agent might respond differently.
No, it's not that I'm discouraged he didn't pick me right up. I think he was right about the title business. He was quite nice and talked to me for about twenty minutes. I was just never sure about the title, but I rushed to pick something because I promised him I'd have the manuscript out to him by a certain date. I really should have followed up with him. I forgot to include a SASE, which is probably why I didn't get a response, since he was talking to me as a favor to his niece. But I waited so long to follow up, I just got too embarrassed to do it. But I'm just not sure about that title. Marketing is my thing and I think I know a really great name for something when I hear it. I feel like I need to call the series something and then draw the titles from that. And I don't know what to call the series since it's not one of those cozy things where everything happens in a tea shop or has to do with a quilting group or even a detective taking cases. I'm happy with my stories, but not happy with anything I've come up with to describe them. And I know I can brand and sell stuff! I came up with a promo and approach that tripled our rating between one and four pm. I just don't know if I've found the IT that will convey all that I feel these books are.
I think "Memories of a Titanium Magnolia", and "Adventures of a Virgin Vigilante" are good, attenton-grabbing titles, though I can't judge whether they're good for the stories they're meant for, since I haven't read them.
The "redneck samurai" title has 2 problems that I can see. One, a lot of people probably consider "redneck" a derogatory term, and so it might not give a good first impression. Two, I'm not sure how "samurai" fits, other than that he's Japanese (and this one I have read.) I think the word "reluctant" might be good in the title, because he didn't actually want to solve crimes. I think of Bruce Wilis's character in the DIEHARD series as a reluctant action hero, because he just wanted to show up on time to his wife's office Xmas party.
PS: my comment about 1 person's opinion didn't make sense, because you were talking about YOUR opinion of the titles, not anyone else's. Mea culpa.
Actually I did work the Redneck Samauri thing into a Couple of places. Since you've read the story, I'll show you.
At the start:
He shot me. I can't believe the stupid bastard shot me. Right after he called me a redneck samurai. What does that even mean? Is it anything like a NASCAR Ninja? It was the very definition of adding insult to injury. Okay, if I was thinking this, apparently I was still alive. And it smelled like a hospital. That awful combination of sickness and disinfectant.
At the end:
He held tightly to the gun and his hands started shaking. I didn't know if he could shoot or not. If I could just start running, his chances of actually hitting me would diminish. What had I heard? If you run, odds are they won't shoot. If they shoot, odds are they won't hit you. If they hit you, odds are it won't be critical.
"Why did you have to do this? Why did you have to come galloping in like some redneck samurai to save the day. Somebody was missing four dollars out of his financial aid check and you have to fix it. You gotta make everything all better. Why are you like that? Why do you have to fix everything?"
“Put the damn gun away.” I couldn’t run. Why couldn’t I run? And just what the hell was a redneck samurai?
Oops, I forgot about that! It does work as part of the title.
It's weird, but in the process of semi-defending it as a title. I think I'm starting to like it again. AAAAAHHHHHH! I'm trying to picture browing the mystery aisle at Barnes & Noble's or Borders, where I'm just seeing the spines of the paperback books... What's going to make me pick that up and see what it's about? I guess Snakes on a Plane is taken... Not kidding, though. Snakes on a Plane may be the best title ever. It tells you everything you need to know about whether you want to see that movie or not. "Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson" can pretty much make up anybody's mine whether they want to see the film or not. Me, I'm there.
Me too. Snakes on a plane. Samuel L. Jackson. What else does a movie need?
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