I know if you plan to publish traditionally, the publisher will probably change the title. However, I like to have a catchy title before that, to stick in an agent/editor's memory, or if I decide to self-publish, one that will catch a reader's attention. 

...but I suck at titles. 

I've been lucky with a couple of mine, which I think fit wonderfully. Pride & Purgatory is one of them (and the 2nd and 3rd in this series are Purgatory & Punishment and War & Purgatory; the story is an urban fantasy that partially takes place in...you guessed it, Purgatory. ). I'm also pretty happy with Rain Over Me, which is an erotic romance where the heroine has a water fetish (NOT watersports--hers is more of a "gets turned on by rain" sort of thing). 

But my historical romances are trickier. The stories are based on constellation myths or meaning (where there aren't myths associated with it), and I'd originally chosen Frank Sinatra song titles and altered them to things like Fly Me to the Stars, Reaching for the Moon, Stars in the Night, In the Still of the Night...etc. Recently, though, someone suggested I make a play on relationship self-help books in the title of Reaching for the Moon, since my heroine uses self-help books to "fix" her marriage of convenience.

So how do you come up with titles?

Noelle

P.S. If you're good at this sort of thing, I'd LOVE to know if you have any ideas for me. I'm playing with the following, but they all seem "okay" to me so far (please note that these are Regency romances!), but I'm open to suggestions:

Gentlemen are from Mars, Ladies are from Venus

The Marriage Manual

The Joy of Marriage

Hmm. I don't exactly think I'm an expert on titles. But I do my best to create catchy 'working' titles for my manuscripts, to orientate what it's about and to draw in potential reviewers on Book Country.

For instance, this is the title for my WIP Traditional Fantasy series: the Dark Destinies Trilogy

Titles for the individual manuscripts are:

Destiny's Bond (Currently writing)

Bound by Destiny (Haven't started)

Threads of Destiny; Drugara's Heart (Haven't started)

I like to think those titles are creative--they came to me easily.

Other titles--which I have yet to write the stories for--are:

Lover's Last Breath

Lover Forgotten

A Mommy for Christmas

Blood Secrets

Fates Be Damned

Dark Angel

Deadly Intent

Storm Clouds

Taming the Wild Heart

Each of those titles has a summary behind it explaining my vision for the future manuscript they revolve around. Others have most likely used these titles before me, but I feel they fit the story ideas I've pinned them to.

As for yours, I like 'The Marriage Manual'--sounds enticing, so long as I'm coming across it in the fiction section. Otherwise I'd think this is a manual for marriages and ignore it, lol.

I can't think of any titles that would fit Regency--maybe because I don't write in that Genre. But I'll do some research and list some titles I thought sounded good tomorrow.

Amber

P.S. I read Rain Over Me and left a review a couple months ago. Really loved the story

I loved your titles, and Lover's Last Breath and Fates Be Damned have me intrigued. 

x♥x

Noelle

Thanks, Noelle

I'm doing research on Regency titles now--sorry I haven't posted yet. My internet's dial-up slow, and I slept the day away. I'm hoping to have a list some time in the next few hours. Then I'll scuttle down to the library and post them for you.

Just didn't want you to think I'm a liar . . .

P.S., I really did love Rain Over Me. Are you planning to upload more chapters for peer review? I'd love to check out how the story's going

Oh, and if you'd like to use some of those titles of mine, I won't mind--I'm pretty certain others before me have used them, so it's not like they're 'my creations'. Except for Threads of Destiny; Drugara's Heart. That's mine

Amber

All right. I'm here to deliver the list of Regency Romance titles I promised. Found some that I thought sounded intriguing to me.

They are:

An Offer From a Gentleman

Just Like Heaven

It's in His Kiss

Devil in Winter

When He Was Wicked

What Happens in London

Devil's Bride

A Rogue By Any Other Name

Secrets of a Summer Night

Scandal in Spring

Seduce Me at Sunrise

A Night Like This

It Happened One Autumn

Married by Morning

Dreaming of You

How to Marry a Marquis

When Beauty Tamed the Beast

Tempt Me at Twilight

Everything and the Moon

Long list, I know. But they popped out at me as I was scanning a Regency Romance site. I don't know whether they'll help you, but you could take some of the titles and twist them to suit your needs. Like maybe take Tempt me at Twilight and Everything and the Moon and combine them into: Twilight and the Moon? Or something like that. Maybe put your own twist on them.

Hope that helps.

Amber

Amber,

I had to smile at those titles...they're from some of my favorite books by my favorite authors!

I'm wondering if I should keep the constellation theme in the titles. Part of me wants to, because I've thought of these books as "The Constellation Series" for years, but the other part of me is thinking I should let go of that (at least in title-land...the premises are going to remain based on the myths). 

As far as Rain Over Me...I just uploaded the newest version (first 50 pages' worth) tonight. It's got some rewriting in terms of what Audra's goals are, and I took out some of the things that started to seem creepy/rapey to me (the first time the guys corner her after her little exhibitionism, for example) and made it more fantasy than reality. I also added a short scene at the end to show what happens after the pool game. 

x♥x

Noelle

P.S. I plan to return the favor, by the way. Might be after my kids are back to school after Spring Break this week. 

Wow, my picking titles you're familiar with is quite a coincidence

I'm going to be reading the newest version of Rain Over Me, and leaving a review--this one, I promise, will be much more detailed than my previous. I was kind of tired when I wrote that review, and couldn't strain my brain to be too nitpicky. So it wasn't a very good review in the first place, seeing as I didn't really write much of assistance . . . Not one of my proudest moments as a reviewer. It might take me a while to finish the review, though, since my internet's dial-up and takes forever to load manuscripts. But expect a review from me--hopefully--sometime this month.

As for returning the favor, I'd really love some feedback on my Traditional Fantasy WIP Destiny's Bond--it's the manuscript I'm focusing all my energy on at the moment. It's also my first attempt at fiction, and as I'm still learning the ropes of Craft, feedback from other writers is most appreciated. You don't have to read it all, since it's kind of long--some thoughts on the first few chapters would be superb. Of course, if you wanted to read more, that'd be wonderful for my blooming writer's confidence, lol.

Take your time on reciprocating--I understand that others have a life outside of Book Country. Just knowing I have someone checking the manuscript out is enough to keep me patient.

Amber

P.S. I think you should go with your heart when it comes to changing the titles of your Series. If you're really struggling between keeping them and changing them, you could experiment with some other titles to see if they fit. If you decide they don't, then maybe you should keep them as they are--your subconscious will take care of the problem for you, in the end. Especially if all of a sudden a title pops into your mind that you think fits the manuscripts perfectly

--edited by Amber Wolfe on 4/5/2015, 7:35 AM--

Titles are tough.  I work in a genre different enough from yours that my ideas may not work for you, and I don't know familiar titles in your area (things you might want to avoid) but given your desire to use "Constellations"  if you can, why not go with the constellation names themselves...with some hint that you're linking the constellation by that name to your story.  (Are you sticking to Zodiac constellations, or additional ones?)  

So for instance  Hunter in the Stars, or Hunter by Night (for Orion),  A Blaze of Sisters (for Pleiades, if a story has sisters in it),  Scorpion's Sting (betrayal?),  Lion's Jaws,  Bringer of Water,  Like a Fish in the Sea,  Bear with Me, Poles Apart,

But then...not an expert at titles.  Titles that form a connected theme for a series are generally a good idea, though. 

I love the constellation idea, those titles sound intriguing -- always good thing!

I think it's fun thinking up titles. For my series, a cozy mystery with a bead theme, I'm sticking to bead-oriented titles: High Strung (first book), A Bead in the Hand (currently on BC for review), Still My Beading Heart, Off the Beadin' Path, To Bead on Not to Bead, At Loose Ends. I could go on and on.  

Just my 2 centavos,

JP

Elizabeth,

That's a great idea. I hadn't thought to do that with my titles. My novel-length books are based on the zodiac (Gemini and Libra for starters, with premises for more), and the novellas are on the other constellations (I have Andromeda's and Cassiopeia's stories written and being edited, and the plot for the Pegasus story is poking me in the head fairly constantly). As you can imagine, I have an unending supply of inspiration.  

Noelle

Jan, those are fabulous titles!!! I would pick up those books from the titles alone.

Noelle