What’s in name? Funny you should ask…

So. I’m sitting at my computer quietly tearing my hair out over my latest overdue manuscript—Married in Haste, a Bravo family story, coming from Silhouette Special Edition in September—and I get a call from my incredible, wonderful and thoroughly long-suffering editor. I’m sure she’s going to tell me to get that book in, or else.

But surprise! It’s about Ralphie’s Wives, my mainstream romantic suspense story coming out from HQN Books in April of 2007. The team assigned to the cover concept can’t find a way to make the title work. They can’t come up with a cover image that’s going to fit the title and not give readers the idea that this is a book about polygamy.

Eeek. Just to clarify: Ralphie’s dead. He dies in the prologue. He had four much-younger wives, including his child-bride widow, Darla Jo. Our heroine, Phoebe, was the first wife. So yes, he had four wives. But not all at once. And okay, technically, they’re all Ralphie’s ex-Wives. Well, except for Darla Jo, who was still married to him at the time of his totally suspicious demise.

So anyway, just so we’re clear. This is not a book about polygamy. I promise. It’s a hot, sexy romantic suspense and the design team is afraid they can’t get that across with the title, Ralphie’s Wives. I happen to love this particular title. But, you know, I do feel the team’s pain. I can understand it might be difficult to come up with a truly romance-y hot cover using a title like Ralphie’s Wives.

Which means that my job, whether I want it or not, is to come up with some alternative titles for HQN’s executive editor to offer to the design team. I rack my brain. I rack all my friends’ brains. I rack my dh’s brain. I rack my agent’s and editor’s brains.

We—and yes, I am eternally grateful to everyone who brainstormed madly for the sake of this title—come up with several options, none of which I really like: Closing Time, Risky Business, Set Up, Bottoms Up, Last Call, So Shoot Me, The Prairie Queen’s Guide to Life. All these titles are submitted, with me moaning the whole time that nothing is quite right. The moaning part, of course, makes me all the later on Married in Haste. Breaks of the business. What can I say?

And where was I? Oh, yeah. I submit the alternate titles. In publishing, after the submitting comes the waiting. I just know they’re going to choose So Shoot Me, which I never should have submitted in the first place, but hey. Desperation is desperation. It can make a woman do really strange things. Like submit a title that’s one word off from Just Shoot Me, a sitcom starring David Spade. Don’t get me wrong. David Spade is a very funny man. But he’s not the man I want my readers thinking of when they see the cover of my first mainstream romance.

So, did I mention, I wait? It really isn’t that long. Six days. It only seems like eternity. I actually finish Married in Haste and send it in, which makes my wonderful editor so relieved. And then, the next day, I get the news…

After considering the alternatives, the team decides that Ralphie’s Wives is the best title for the book, after all! And no, I am not the least upset. I am ecstatic. I have the title I love. And after trying to work with the other titles, the design team has come around and loves it, too.

Maybe suggesting So Shoot Me wasn’t such a bad idea. And no, I don’t really mean that. When it comes to giving your publisher title options for your book, NEVER suggest a title you couldn’t live with. Because that, very possibly, will be the one they choose. Which is why I was so very, very afraid…

Seriously, though. In this case, all the not-quite-right titles actually helped the team realize that Ralphie’s Wives was the right one, after all.

As HQN’s executive editor wrote so wisely, “Sometimes it takes pulling back and looking at alternatives to bring everybody on board. I'm really glad we get to keep the name. I hope you are too.”

Oh, I am. I definitely am.

And about that Bravo Family Tree. I’m workin’ on it. Truly.

Till next time,

Christine

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