A New Title Reveal

“Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.” ~Stephen King

Maybe neither do titles of those books. But a book needs a good title. Maybe even better than good. Something catchy. Something that makes a reader wonder and yet know at the same time. The right title can entice you to open the cover.

I’ve had over forty books published. That’s a lot of titles. Many times I’ve had a working title that often changes when I reach the end of the book. With the story finished, I try to come up with not just a good title, but the perfect title. Sometimes I can do that. Sometimes when I think I’ve done that, the publishers aren’t quite ready to agree. Publishers know the power of a good title. They have team meetings to brainstorm and throw around titles. Some the writer may have suggested. Some they come up with on their own.

And sometimes they agree that the writer has already picked that perfect title. That has happened with my books a few times. Angel Sister was the title that I thought fit my first Rosey Corner story perfectly. And it is right there on a beautiful cover that perfectly ties in with the title.

Another title I picked that made it onto the cover was When the Meadow Blooms. I didn’t have that title in mind when I wrote the first line of the novel. It showed up several chapters in and seemed to hold a longing and a promise at the same time.

Other titles that I’ve loved have been adjusted or changed to better fit the story. I don’t even remember some of my working titles. They had never really grabbed me. Others I do remember and still have a little regret that they didn’t turn out to be the right titles for the stories. One was Words of Fire. Another was The Shaker Widow.  I thought the first one would stick and knew the second one would not, but they helped me keep my focus on the story. That’s what a working title needs to do.

And now, next year I will have a new book out for readers and a title has been chosen for the story. So, as Stephen King says about a book not giving up all its secrets too soon, I’m giving up the secret of my title a few words at a time.

Where – yes, where indeed? Where is this story going to take place? Is that a place? An emotion? A challenge?

the – an almost invisible word that just gets us to the next words.

Wild – Who or what is wild?

Roots – Roots go deep in the ground for trees. Some plants have shallow roots. But people can have deep or shallow roots too. So, what roots? And why wild roots?

Grow – More to know about this story to come. What or who needs to let those wild roots grow or perhaps tame those roots. And where are they growing?

A new cover will be revealed first in my newsletter this fall. And this title will fit right on it. So if you aren’t signed up for my newsletter, now would be a good time to check out the form in the margin here on my website and sign up.

Do you like the title? Does it or my pictures give you an idea of what kind of story is coming your way next spring?