I had a debate with my editor because he told me someone didn't like the first title I chose for my novel on the Durant family - The Adirondack Seduction. What, I asked him, can you really discern from the title of a book?
Is it supposed to be catchy? snappy? or convey the whole story in one soundbite? Is it supposed to be an elevator pitch?
I chose the title because it conveys an underlying theme of characters seduced by love, greed, power, and fame. Dr. Durant (and many others) was seduced by the belief that Adirondack land speculation would return his fortunes. His son William was seduced by the artistic inspiration the forest provided. And if the stories of his affair with Minnie Kirby are even remotely true, he was in pursuit of a love that was beyond his reach. In addition, to the Durants, people flocked to the Adirondacks in the mid-1800s looking for a miracle cure for tuberculosis. And there are other, modern-day seductions in my story.
Getting back to the point. Is my title going to work? Well I asked some colleagues what they thought. And we pondered. How many books have we read where the title doesn't tell you what the story is about until you are a few chapters in? This is what we came up with over the office coffee/tea Keurig machine:
Gone with the Wind
The Shawshank Redemption
Cutting for Stone
The Lovely Bones
Good Will Hunting - is that a book or just a movie? We weren't sure.
Moby Dick
I presume there are many more. Maybe you have some in mind. I like my title though.
Is it supposed to be catchy? snappy? or convey the whole story in one soundbite? Is it supposed to be an elevator pitch?
I chose the title because it conveys an underlying theme of characters seduced by love, greed, power, and fame. Dr. Durant (and many others) was seduced by the belief that Adirondack land speculation would return his fortunes. His son William was seduced by the artistic inspiration the forest provided. And if the stories of his affair with Minnie Kirby are even remotely true, he was in pursuit of a love that was beyond his reach. In addition, to the Durants, people flocked to the Adirondacks in the mid-1800s looking for a miracle cure for tuberculosis. And there are other, modern-day seductions in my story.
Getting back to the point. Is my title going to work? Well I asked some colleagues what they thought. And we pondered. How many books have we read where the title doesn't tell you what the story is about until you are a few chapters in? This is what we came up with over the office coffee/tea Keurig machine:
Gone with the Wind
The Shawshank Redemption
Cutting for Stone
The Lovely Bones
Good Will Hunting - is that a book or just a movie? We weren't sure.
Moby Dick
I presume there are many more. Maybe you have some in mind. I like my title though.
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