Not sure if this is the right section, but here it goes... I need your help. I'm writing an urban fantasy novel about vampires and I'm struggling with my title. It's going to be a series and I want the titles to have a common 'thing', but will need to give me enough options for around eight novels. Eventually I narrowed it down to the following two options: 1) the word 'bloody' and then some form of bond as the sequels come, (so bloody Kindred, bloody relationships etc etc.) It's a kind of wordplay, since bloody is obviously a give away to vampires, but also because the MC is swearing a lot. or option 2: 2) a meal + time of day that is opposite of the normal time for such a meal. (So breakfast at dusk, Dinner at noon, Tea at midnight etc.) So what do you guys feel? Or do you think both suck? (no pun intended)
I've learn that, with my own writing, titles evolve as the story evolves. So, I keep in mind that whatever titles I come up with are not final but bread crumbs that lead to a better title as the work progresses. So, use whatever inspiration you have at the time, and don't let it frustrate you that its not perfect. The perfect title will come to you eventually, just keep writing. Godspeed!
I like the second option, the first one is done to death and sound like a cheap rehash of familiar stories.
I like the second. It sounds better, and there are way more than three options. I think you'd run out of times of day before meals, snacks, drinks and courses. You can also use things like "Feast" and "Hors D'oeuvres". Don't name one of them "Brunch" though. Or do. Whatever. That would depend on the tone of the books, I suppose. Ooh, something about "Cocktail Hour"! Fun.
Despite I like the second option, however, Stormburn have a point. When you are in doubt about a title for your story just writ it down and surely the title will come .
Speak for yourself . How about Second Breakfast? Elevenses? Midnight Snack? Afternoon Tea? The 5 O'Clock? Gin Time?
THIS! I have changed titles of my books several times during the writing process as I found the story changed along the way. a better description presented it's self from that. Don't box yourself into a title that may not fit later.
Both are true enough, but this stuff is fun, and semi-important in a case like this (if admittedly, potentially premature). If you want a theme to the titles in a series, you can't wait until they're all written to name the first one, and you can't name the first one without that theme established with room to grow. There's no way Stephenie Meyer waited until Twilight was finished before she had all four titles in mind. I would modify these statements to "don't commit entirely"; you have until the first book goes to presses to make the final decision, and "don't write to the title". In other words, let the theme fit the work, not the other way around. Part of staying stoked about a project as big and daunting as this is enjoying planning little details long ahead of time. So go nuts, @Masli. Also, see what you think about dropping "at" from that title option, as in "Evening Breakfast", "Midnight Lunch", etc. or mix and match with titles like "Blood Feast" (probably already taken), "Blood Banquet", "Arterial Cocktails", "Sanguine Smorgasbord" or "A Vampire's Guide to Culinary Delights, Book 7: Sundae, Bloody Sundae!" Maybe go from appetizers to meal courses to desert to cocktails.
thank you all for your advice! The book is already done, so yes, the title does fit, in fact my MC even questions himeslf whether a meal can still be called breakfast if it's in the evening. So I think it does fit in perfectly. ANd I agree with Rzero, I can't wait till I've written all books in the series before naming the first one.
Hey, Well if you are still struggling for a title. Heres my advice! The first books I wrote were a vampire series and The overall title was based on the town in which they lived, then I broke the individual books down into a catchy word that symbolised something within that book. I.e book one was titled Affliction and book two Infection, all the way upto five where I stopped writing. Maybe you could do something similar? I liked your idea of Breakfast at midnight, but personally not sure about the bloody seems a little cliche. Hope you find a title soon!
There might be one thing to consider and that is if it is self-published you would want to use a word that would show up on a search. https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/ When I look at a title I get a feeling (if you will) about the content, so I would say; will the title evoke that it is a Vampire book and not Breakfast at Tiffany's
I advise against this. Google, Amazon, et al know that some people try to gain advantage in the system like this, so weigh engagement factors such as number of backlinks, reviews, etc. more highly than keyword matching. It should suffice to put keywords inside the product description, so that you do appear on the right search. But your #1 focus in getting customers should be making an enticing product. And a catchy title is a huge part of this.
Once you've become successful, write a steamy erotica spin-off, call it Sausage for Lunch Break and explore the sexual needs of two working-class vampires who just can't wait for the end of their shift anymore.
I had a 'placeholder' title on my last one until about two weeks before publication, that was the first of a series as well. I wouldn't sweat on it too much until you need to. Keeping your options open is much nice as the thing develops anyway. Maybe just chuck some ideas around, try going a bit 'out of the box' as well, good luck.
I didn't come up with a title until years after I came up with the story idea. Personally, I went with option three, but I feel that, seeing as it's your story, you probably will come up with a good title that will suit it.
TITLE: Twisted Fangs, Thirst, midnight stalkers 1. Brunch by dawn(I like that one) 2. The evening snack or An evening snack 3. Fastfood for lunch 4. Biscuits and blood (shows vampires having a tea party) 5. Late night munchies 6. Moonlight dinner 7. Catching breakfast
