Name That Book
Want to help choose the title of a book that will be in print in December 2010? Then you could show the cover to everyone at your Christmas party and say, “hey, I helped name this!” A difficult task, yes, to name a book you’ve never read, but your parents probably named you before they met you and they got your name decently right.
Right?
Like most books, the title of my book needs to be changed (Navigating the Land of If wasn’t the original title of my first book either. A lot of publishers ask you to change your title after the sale) and I’ve been brainstorming with the publisher. The following are some of the possible titles we’re batting around. Meaning, I may do this a second time in the next few days as we narrow down the list and possibly even add new ones to it.
What I want to know from you is what the titles make you think if you saw them on a book with a chicklit-y cover (something like this, for example), what the title says to you–in other words, your general reaction to the list of titles (how many times can I use the word “titles”?). Which ones grab you. Which ones you’d never touch. Which ones don’t give you a clue even with the cover that this is a good piece of women’s fiction (for instance, the title In Defense of Food sounds like a non-fiction title. I would never hear that and think “I bet that’s a great vampire romance novel!”).
Feel free to tweak any of these or suggest something that’s not on the list (which…er…is probably difficult since you haven’t read the book yet, but still feel free once you see the words I’m keeping in mind as I dream up titles).
What you need to know–it’s about a blogger, rebuilding her life in the year after her divorce and can be summed up with one sentence: it’s the story of a woman who stops waiting for happiness to find her and starts cooking it herself.
Here are the key words: cooking…blogging…marriage…divorce…love…
- Desserted
- Pots and Plans
- Love Bites
- Sunny Side Down
- Dinner for One
- Eating Words
- Stirred
66 comments
I like Sunny Side Down, myself. I’ll be thinking of other things…If I get anything good I’ll let you know 😉
I’m liking “Love Bites” and “Sunny Side Down”. I just thought of “For the Love of One”, using the words you gave.. but not sure how that sounds. If I think of anything else, I’ll come back.
I like “Pots and Plans” and “Sunny Side Down”! I think they’re both attention-grabbing if you enjoy chick-lit and cooking 😀 Congrats on the book, Mel!
I like “Eating Words” because of the play on words. It just jumped out at me off the list.
True to research I’ll pick up a book before reading the title if I am attracted to the cover color/art and font, so depending on the color of the cover – and the font: 1. Too depressing; 2. I keep wanting to add an L in ‘Pots’ and turn it into a murder mystery; 3. Vampires?; 4. Meh; 5. Cookbook?; 6. I like this one; 7. Seems incomplete – Stirring Up Happiness might appeal to me more.
How about “Shaken. And Stirred”
I like Sunny Side Down and Pots & Plans as well.
So excited to read this!
“Love Bites” – there is already a book out there by that title, and it is (surprisingly enough) about Vamps…which is what I immediately thought of when I read this title. Since there are no Vamps, I would not suggest this one.
I do like “Pots and Plans” and “Sunny Side Down”. I was also thinking of something like “Banana Split”…food and divorce. 🙂 If a title is unusual enough, I will at least pick up the book to see what it’s about. Something that doesn’t exactly tell me what the book IS in the title…that I have to look at for myself.
Also, I know it’s hard to not repeat names with so many books being published, but “Love Bites” was actually used for a vampire book by Lynsay Sands (2004). I think I read it in the past couple years, so no wonder it seemed familiar and vampiric to me.
I like Sunny Side Down, and also Eating Words. You’re right, this is really tricky not having read the book yet! I’m excited to read it!
“Love Bites” seems to be a fairly overdone catchphrase. I LOVE Pots and Plans.
Sunny side down is awesome.
Broiled and Blogged?
Poach and Posted?
I like #1 and #4. I can’t wait to read it!!
1. Desserted – sounds too much like she has been left all alone
2. Pots and Plans – LIKE THIS
3. Love Bites – sounds too much like a vampire story title
4. Sunny Side Down – sounds a bit to depressing
5. Dinner for One – this one is ok
6. Eating Words – this one doesn’t grab me
7. Stirred – how about Shaken and Stirred
I like the title “Desserted,” but mostly if the types of dishes that the protagonist ends up mostly cooking are desserts. It’s a good play on having been deserted in the beginning, but then reclaims her life by “desserting” it with some tasty pastries, etc. This is my first choice if she’s mostly into pastry/dessert making.
If she’s not primarily whipping up eclairs and the like, then I like “Pots and Plans” the most. I do love a good pun, and it gives the idea of your protagonist actively working towards getting herself back on track instead of wallowing in what’s happened to her.
I least like “Sunny Side Down” and “Dinner for One,” as both of these strike me as being somewhat pessimistic, even though I’m sure she’ll end up on top.
I can’t wait to read it!
You should name it Stirred UP—which is kind of like Stirrup, which is funny because, um, well…that’s, like, the name of your blog !
I’m so not good at naming things.
“For Butter or For Words”
I favorite among your suggested titles is “Pots and Plans”.
I should be My… slightly dyslectic today.
I like ‘Pots & Plans’…
Oooh, fun!!! No-think reactions:
1. Desserted – Love it! Yes.
2. Pots and Plans – meh.
3. Love Bites – vampire novel?
4. Sunny Side Down – Intriguing!
5. Dinner for One – thoughtful – makes me think of loneliness
6. Eating Words – excellent – I’m a verbivore!
7. Stirred – sounds delicious, sexy, urbane – with hint of emotional undercurrents.
***
Went back and read other comments – I LOVE the suggestions from Heather and Circus Princess – love all the puns 🙂
I think I didn’t like “Pots and Plans” as much because it sounds less fun. To me.
Congrats on selling the book and I’ll be looking for it when it comes out 🙂
Eating Words. Definitely. 🙂
pots and plans rocks!
I think I like pLots and Pans.
Pots and plans is my choice. Love the artwork, hope that stays as it is very eye-catching. I want to suggest a title and will come back in a few hopefully. Got to get my brain workin.
You should know that headline/title writing is NOT my forte. I will have to e-mail you privately sometime about one of my all-time classic gaffes at work, involving my attempt at cutesy headline writing.
That said — would Eating My Words (slight variation) work with the content?
Love Heather’s suggestion of “Stirred Up” too!
Diane Davidson writes a series of mysteries with titles that are word plays involving food (e.g., “Death by Chocolate”) — you could check a few of those out for ideas too.
Cooking up Happiness
The first one I’d grab off the shelf is “Dinner for One” – it fits the topic for me and with a good cover wouldn’t be to much of a downer. “Sunny Side Down” and some variation on “Eating Words” (“Eating Her Words”, “Eating With Words”, “Words Were Made for Eating”) would be next choices.
Then again, I don’t read much chick lit, so maybe you want to avoid the ones I would like!
Desserted
Pots and Plans
Love Bites
Sunny Side Down
Dinner for One
Eating Words
Stirred
I like Sunny Side Down. I also thought 360 Degrees. It ties in with the cooking theme and the character coming “full circle”. No matter what title I can’t wait to read it.
i like Pots and Plans — the wordplay is very nice — but it is a bit awkward in the mouth and the wordplay itself might make it hard to remember (“Pots and Plans”? “Plots and Pans”? Oh dear.)
Love Bites is my second favorite. Can’t think of anything negative to say about it, in fact, so it’s the one I’d go with.
Dinner for One and Desserted are my favorites.
How about –
Recipes for Life
Blogging, Baking and Boys
Pages and Pastry
Food: A love story
This is fun!
My first thought was “Cooking Up Happiness.” How exciting!!
I like Desserted.
I like Tigger’s Banana Split, but I think Stirred is my favorite.
I like Pots and Plans best. Sunny Side Down sounds like the opposite of what you’re going for to me. Desserted might be ok, unless she’s the one who chose the divorce (which would actually be my preferred plot line, just so you know). I like Stirred, but I don’t know if it would grab people.
Maybe:
Second Course
From Scratch
I really like Sunny Side Down, I think it is catchy.
I really like Stirred and Heidi’s suggestion of Plots and Pans rather than Pots and Plans.
I like Dinner For One but I think it needs to have a positive twist to it, maybe Scrumptious Dinner for One? or I Prefer Dinner for One? or something.
Very cool!!
I love Dinner for One, too, but also Banana Split (though I originally spelled it ‘Banana Slit’, which I think you’ll agree gives an entirely different notion of what the plot might be).
How about:
Dinner For One, With a Side of Love
?
Shaken and Stirred
Reduced to Simmer
A Plate of Fate
Mincing Words
I like Plots and Pans too. I’m big on plays with words. Darn, I could go all day with this. 😉
I like Dinner for One and Sunny Side Down 🙂 Desserted has a certain ring to it though.
Love Eating Words.
I like the word Yolk, I like the way it can sub for the word ‘joke.’
Hell hath no fury like a woman sconed. Kidding. What the heck is this book about, come on?! Give!!!!
Pancakes something something (who doesn’t like pancakes?)
Catch up and Mustard (baaaad)
Cooking Love
deleted by author (too baad to leave in)
love conversion calculator
ok, now I am getting embarrassing. I’ll stop.
@a (comment 34)
duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude- I was totally about to suggest “Second Course”!
Here are my other bits of random:
No More Takeaway
Crumb Catching
Having her cake and writing it too
From your list I REALLY like Eating Words
(& seriously? Did you SEE the plaid on the cake in the linked book image?? swoon)
I like Pots and Plans the best. It is the one that jumped out at me.
Dinner For One & Desserted- too lonely
Love Bites – I am withothers it sounds like a vampire book
Sunny Side Down – Ehh maybe what about Sunny Side Up?
Eating Words – is OK
Stirred – sounds to plain. I think this would get lost amongst the other books.
I do like the suggestion someone made – Stirred Up
Suggestions that popped into my head:
Cooking Something Up
A Watched Pot Never Boils
Out of the Frying pan and into the fire
Oooh I really like Eating Words! I can’t wait to read it! Good luck with the title!
*HUGS*
I like Sunny Side Down, it’s my kind of play on words and I would assume the book has a real funny streak and if it does that’s the one I’d go with.
I love “Pots and Plans”! It sounds so optimistic, unlike some of the other choices.
My favorites – Pots and Plans & Sunny Side Down
I think I like Desserted best, but I’ll keep thinking. Sunny Side Down sounds almost like it’s going to be depressing, although it’s a clever play on words. Dinner for One and Love Bites – not exciting enough… Sorry, I’m shooting everything down, but I’m thinking it needs to be really Delicious. Like sex and food are the two most fabulous things on the planet and the name should scream both! Have you read Aphrodite by Isabel Allende? It’s about food and love (a recipe book actually but full of sexy ingredients and stories). I’ll keep thinking on this one…
I don’t tend to read chicklit, so this might be an anti-list of reactions, but here goes:
1. Desserted – cringe. This is a really bad pun. I enjoy good puns, too – this one is just rubbing me the wrong way for some reason. I think maybe the book is going to be like listening to my Dad make bad jokes for the entire Christmas holidays. I mean, bless his cotton socks, but I wouldn’t buy him in paperback.
2. Pots and Plans – not bad. Obviously also a pun, but for some reason not grating like the first one. I am intrigued to know what sort of plans the pots are cooking up. Heh. I think I prefer it because you mangled a cliche instead of an actual word (mangled in a good way – I loves me a good english-language-mangle). Somehow classier.
3. Love Bites – sounds too much like it should be about a group of gen-X-er housemates, one of which is played by Winona Ryder. Liked it the first time around, but it feels kind of pitifully derivative at this point.
4. Sunny Side Down – sounds like a tearjerker. I am not into tear jerkers either, and don’t know if that’s exactly what the book is supposed to be (but I’m thinking not).
5. Dinner for One – I don’t mind this one per se, but I don’t like it either. I think I would gloss right over a book called “Dinner For One”, hardly even registering its existence.
6. Eating Words – jars with me. Doesn’t seem to fit your description, for one. Seems like a book about someone who realises she was wrong, wrong, wrong, and ends up having to apologise to everyone about it. Isn’t an intriguing play on words, either. It just seems a little artless.
7. Stirred – I’m not one hundred percent sure what this book would be about. That may be a good thing. I may have to read the back cover to find out.
I have been told I can be a bit brutal when invited to share my opinion. And hey! Looks like those people were right. So… I don’t hate you, or your work, it’s just my way. Hope this is helping!
Bea
my favorite is Pots and Plans, then Desserted (I guess I like bad puns 🙂 ). I think Dinner for One is too lonely and Sunny Side Down is a bit depressing. I like Stirred, maybe Stirred But Not Shaken? Just blagh about Eating Words. I can’t wait to read it!!!