Of Mules in Horse Harness

I must be missing that chromosome that allows me to come up with book titles. It’s one of my great struggles as a writer. Some writers come up with a great title, which spawns an idea, but they never seem to finish the book.

I’m the opposite, because my book is sitting here staring at me, and I can’t figure out a name for my baby.

Of course, I could just call it what I’ve called it all along––The Panama Hotel. It’s a real place. It’s where the story begins. But the book takes place in Chinatown, Japantown and various internment camps. The Panama Hotel, while I’m used to it, sounds like a place Manuel Noriega would go for spa treatment.

Plus, Kristin (agent) wasn’t crazy about it, and neither were the other agents that offered representation. And when Kristin did some pre-submission pumping of the book in NYC, the name was a bit confusing.

So after much hair-pulling, hand-wringing and Diet-Pepsi drinking, I’ve sent a mondo list to Kristin for her input. We’ll see…

In the meantime, here are some books you know, and their original titles. Nice to see I’m not the only one who has this problem.

First Impressions - Pride and Prejudice
The Copperfield Survey of the World As It Rolled – David Copperfield
The Sea-Cook - Treasure Island
Stephen Hero - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Under the Red White and Blue - The Great Gatsby
The Old Leaven - The Sun Also Rises
Tenderness - Lady Chatterley's Lover
Twilight - The Sound and the Fury
Catch-18 - Catch-22
Salinas Valley - East of Eden
Mules in Horse Harness - Gone With the Wind
Proud Flesh - All the King's Men
Come and Go - The Happy Hooker
Bar-B-Q - The Postman Always Rings Twice

And my personal favorite, Something That Happened eventually became Of Mice and Men. (Steinbeck must have let Lennie come up with that one).

Comments

[Jaye Wells]

Proud Flesh sounds like an erotic romance. Good luck finding the perfect title. I like Panama Hotel, but I understand the confusion. Let us know when you reach a verdict.

[jamie]

I'll keep ya'll posted. I've been going back and forth with Kristin on titles for two weeks now. Since I'm an art director by trade, I just went ahead and designed a bunch of covers (thumb-nail comps) just so we could kind of look at 'em in context. At some point I'll probably post those ideas here.

And how do you go from Bar-B-Q to The Postman Always Rings Twice???

[Maryke]

Mules in Horse Harness could be a S&M novel.....That would be awesome if you're able to design your own book cover! Are you allowed to share any of your title ideas?

[jamie]

Hi Maryke--I've come up with a bazillion title ideas and Kristin's had a few as well. Once we settle on what we're going to call it when we submit it, I'll post a top-10 list or something.

I really had no idea what kind of input I'd be allowed to have on the cover. I'd always heard that once it's under contract, it's really in the hands of the marketing folks at the publisher since they know what jumps off the shelf. But I guess we can always suggest ideas--what they do from that point is a bit unknown...

[Gillian Polack]

Names are so hard. My best names come after I finish. I read the story or novel back and a phrase or idea hits me. Up to that stage, though, I get through any number of useless working titles. Except... every now and again a name is just perfect from the start. This is when I need to spend forever revising the novel itself. I just can't win...

[Doug]

Surprisingly, you left off one of the more influential title changes...."War, What is it Good For," which of course ended up as "War and Peace." (I'll never out grow Seinfeld)

Seriously, I am one of those who can think of a title but can't write the book...Funny how things work out that way...I have a ton of ideas, but can never follow through with any of them...

Good luck on your search.

[JLB]

Wow - where'd you find that list? Some of those just crack me up.... good luck with your title-selection. I myself sometimes struggle with titles of obscurity and banality... big word clouds can be a useful tool - sorry I can't help you brainstorm!

[Kelly]

I never come up with good titles either, in fact Kristin usually rejects my attempts. haha. The only one she has liked has been Graffiti Girl and how easy was that to come up with? :)

[Tasmin]

Titles are the bane of my existence. Right now, one work in progress remains untitled, and the other languishes with the working title for lack of inspiration. If you ever find the title secret, be sure to let me in on it.

[jamie]

Nice to know I'm not the only one with this problem.

JLB--here's a page with more titles:

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=638378

I found a bunch of 'em on various pages, but this was a nice compendium.

[Talia Mana]

Well, on the plus side, you have representation so the title can come later.

I think Panama Hotel would be better than The Panama Hotel. Good luck with your books. Let us know the final title!

[jamie]

Thanks Talia. Speaking of representation, I got another call yesterday. I thought I'd emailed everyone that I'd queried, but I lost track a bit. Yesterday another agent called asking for the full. I'd sent them 100 pages and they finally got around to reading it. I felt bad...but they were nice about it.

[asorum]

Catch 18? It just isn't right :) I do agree that the best title doesn't come until much later in the writing process. A good time for input from your friends!

[Memoirista]

Thinking over your examples and the problem, I was drawn to the metamorphosis of Salinas Valley ==>> East of Eden. Could I suggest North of Hades? or whatever.

[Bhaswati]

Mules in Horse Harness?? What's that supposed to mean? I am trying hard to relate it to the story, but can't figure. LOL

Will be following your title trail. Here's wishing it turns out as terrific as Of Mice and Men. :-)

[Jim Melvin]

I spent years as a journalist thinking up hundreds and hundreds of headlines, but I still find it difficult to name my own work.

[Jim Melvin]

I spent years as a journalist thinking up hundreds and hundreds of headlines, but I still find it difficult to name my own work.

[Marilyn Braun]

I have to say that I really like The Panama Hotel. Strange as it may sound, it has an elegant feel to it. I don't know why I think that but it's the feeling I get.

[Openchannel]

Wow, great list. Some of those titles boggle me... it seems impossible they came from such creative minds. Titles are rough, but I'm careful of what I call something, because it usually sticks.

I was so intrigued by Catch-18 that I looked up this information on the Wikipedia:

"A magazine excerpt from the novel was originally published as Catch-18, but Heller's publisher requested that he change the title of the novel so it would not be confused with another recently published World War II novel, Leon Uris's Mila 18. The number 18 has special meaning in Judaism and was relevant to early drafts of the novel which had a somewhat greater Jewish emphasis.[3]

There was a suggestion for the title Catch-11, with the duplicated 1 in parallel to the repetition found in a number of character exchanges in the novel, but due to the release of the 1960 movie Ocean's Eleven this was also rejected. Catch-14 was also rejected apparently because the publisher did not feel that 14 was a "funny number". Catch-17 was also rejected so as not to be confused with the WWII film Stalag 17 So eventually the title came to be Catch-22, which like 11 has a duplicated digit with the 2 also referring to a number of déjà vu like events common in the novel.[3] "

I love the idea that certain numbers are funnier than others. Yeah, 14, you're just not funny enough.

[Amra Pajalic]

Can so relate. If my novel gets published I know for a fact that the title will change and I'm okay with it. Cause I suck. I go for the obvious and spend less than two minutes thinking about it. Good luck with the submission.

[kathie]

OMG, Jamie, I didn't you got representation! Awesome...