My new book is coming out in a few months. As you can see, the title of this book is The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby. When you see it like that, all by itself it looks rather….didactic. Cliche. Tropistic – which isn’t really a word but should be. Meaning, covering all the romantic tropes. Cowboy. Baby. Christmas. Put them all together and what do you have? A title of a romance novel.
When I first started writing I often had the title of my book in mind before I even wrote the story. It was my way of anchoring the story. A precis of what to expect. I remember getting together with other writers and many of them had the same reaction. The title was a the theme of the story encapsulated. I would spend hours rearranging words, struggling with themes all in an attempt to find the perfect title
When I first published with Love Inspired, the titles were a bit more mainstream. Homecoming. Ever Faithful. But I’m pretty sure the marketing department started looking at numbers and realized, they don’t sell as well as the usuals. So my next book, even though there was no hint of a wedding in it, was called A Bride at Last. Next up, The Cowboy’s Bride. Now I got some teasing tossed at me at one of the writing conferences I used to attend regularly about my titles and I used to cringe just a bit when I had to tell people what my latest story was going to be called. I fought against it for awhile, pitching story titles like Her Hearts Yearning and A Burden Shared. I though these were pretty meaningful. And some of my ideas came to fruition. Love is Patient. A Silence in the Heart. This last one was supposed to be a mainstream women’s fiction novel for a new line that Steeple Hill started. It was to be my breakout novel but when the numbers on other women’s fiction tanked, it was heavily cut and edited and turned into a Love Inspired romance novel. So the women’s fictiony title stayed. But soon it was back to business and Finally a Family and a Family for Luke.
I’ve had to learn a few lessons along the path of publication. One is that romance novels, spy novels, legal thrillers, all have certain tropes and rhythms that belong to their particular genre. And with those tropes and rhythms comes short-hand titles that let the reader know immediately what to expect. If you were to pick up a book called Murder by Death, you know you’re going to get a vastly different reading experience than if you were to grab Hyperion Tribute as opposed to All she Ever Knew. Shadow Spell, Dark Witch and Blood Magick are another experience altogether. So is Masters of Rome and Imperium. Book titles, I’ve come to realize, are a quick shorthand way of identifying, to a busy reader, what they can expect. It’s a sales pitch.
So when you pick up The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby I think you have a pretty good idea of what will be between the covers. Now the book is Love Inspired, so you already know it’s going to be a romance. But the title breaks it down just a bit further for you.
Like I said I used to fuss about the title but I’ve learned a lot since I started writing all those years ago. One is that cover trumps title. A least with romance novels. And Harlequin has given me some fantastic covers since I started for them. I love this one because it looks happy, welcoming and…… cowboy! Good looking cowboy! I had an editor explain it to me once. The cover catches their attention, like a yellow light. The title makes them stop to want to find out more. And once they pick up the book, the cover and turn it over to read the back, the title and cover have done their job.
So I don’t bother about the title anymore. When they ask me for new titles I take the tropes in my book and work them. So my next book, coming out in February, will be Courting the Cowboy. And when I pitched titles for the one after that I knew they were looking for a theme. And since many of my books take place on a ranch, I know enough to either plant Cowboy or Rancher in the title.
I’m good with it. As long as they keep giving me such adorable covers, I don’t care what they call it. It’s simply a way of catching people’s attention. And letting them know what’s inside.
Carolyne Aarsen, originally a city girl, was transplanted to the country when she married her dear husband Richard. While raising four children, foster children, and various animals Carolyne’s résumé gained some unique entries. Growing a garden, sewing blue jeans, baking, pickling and preserving. She learned how to handle cows, drive tractors, snow machines, ride a horse, and train a colt. Somewhere in all this she learned to write. Her first novel sold in 1997 and since then has sold almost fifty novels to three different publishers. Her stories show a love of open spaces, the fellowship of her Christian community and the gift God has given us in Christ.
This was really interesting to read, thought provoking as well. Sometimes life throws things at us that we cannot control/may not choose etc. yet we roll with it, keeping our focus on what we know, the bigger picture. Thanks Carolyne, this is a very timely reminder, whether you intended it that way or not!! Much appreciated:)
I enjoy brainstorming titles, Carolyne, even thought many get rejected. :) Oh my, your cover is fabulous! That baby is so adorable…and looks so life like!
The way you come up with titles reminds me of how my daughter comes up with names for the characters in her writing. One beautiful sunny afternoon this past summer we walked around a cemetery and looked at the graves. My daughter would combine one name from one and another name from another. I was amazed at her ability to combine the names in such a way that you could with a little imagination actually see the character she was creating. The names gave you a bit of a glimpse of what they would look like or at least why kind of personality they might have. It was really a lot of fun and I hope we get the chance to do that again next summer.
Thanks for sharing Carolyne your publishing journey. I agree that the cover trumps the title or the blurb. Just as your editor explained to you, I judge a book by its cover. As a Midwesterner cowboy romances are not my first choice, but this cover (picture) is worth a thousand words. The contrast between a male cowboy holding and looking with adoration at a little girl in pink is striking. The snow and the light over the mountains with the red gives the cover a Christmasy feel. Life is full of enough darkness, that is why I am skip over dark gloomy covers. (Sorry about the cliches.) Happy writing!
Robin L. Pugh fascinating way to select character names. Cemeteries are intriguing places. Your post reminds me of the American poet Edgar Lee Masters, who wrote Spoon River Anthology (1915), a collection of short free form poems that collectively narrates the epitaphs of the residents of Spoon River, a fictional small town named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters’ home town. The aim of the poems is to demystify the rural, small town American life. (I am a retired high school American Literature teacher.)
I love your title and the adorable cover. I would definitely pick it up and turn it over. I avoid dark covers because I don’t do scary well. ( I babysit grandkids,while my husband and kids go watch the latest action movie. ) Thanks for writing!
Had no idea all that went into the title of a story. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment. And yes, it was also a bit of a reminder to pick what is important.
Thanks Jill. And yes, I LOVE my cover. Love Inspired had done amazing covers for me and I’m so thankful for the hard work of the artists and designers.
thanks Robin. And yes, choosing names is another challenge. I love your daughter’s idea. Another one I use is checking out the credits on television shows and movies.
Hey Renate, thanks for your comment. I remember the Spoon River Anthology! I think we studied it in high school. I’ll have to check those poems out again.
Hey Renate, much as we are told not to judge a book by it’s cover, we do! It’s how a book catches our attention. That and the author’s name. And yes, this cover made me smile the first time I saw it and it still does. Like you said, I love the juxtaposition between cowboy and the little girl. It’s a great cover.
I don’t do scary very well either! I like suspense though. I’m hoping this cover makes a lot more people pick up the book and check it out and then buy it of course!
Hey Sally, you are welcome. Choosing titles is always a bit of a challenge but I’m learning!
Yep I agree, a good cover will capture my attention first, then I’ll see who the author is, read the back cover blurb and lastly read the first page prologue. And if the title matches the cover, even better!
Thanks for sharing your thought process for choosing a title. Sometimes I’ve said I’m not persuaded by a title or cover (I look straight for genres and authors’ names), but I can see how you can get new readers with a good combination of those.