Since I'm about 2/3 or 3/4 done with my first draft, it's high time my book got a title. I know it's likely that whatever I choose will be overruled by an agent or editor, but hey, I gotta try. After all, even an agent or editor might be drawn in by the just-right title of a manuscript that lands on their desk.
Like everything else for kids, there are different trends for different age groups. Picture book titles are almost a story in themselves, like Don't let the pigeon drive the bus! or Diary of a worm. Middle grade books tend to have titles brimming with middle school sensibilities. Your mother was a Neanderthal or Gossip times three probably won't appeal to an adult, but those titles speak to the heart of a 10-year old. The target audience for my novel is young adult, ages 14 +, and with any luck and a lot of prayer, it'll go into the 'cross-over' world of also appealing to adults. Titles for YA books tend to be snappy and dramatic. Speak. Twilight. You get the idea.
My working title is The Focus. It defines both what Sophie wants to avoid, the attention of other people, and what she eventually uses to tell the truth of what's happening around her, her camera. What do you think?
I think I would drop the 'the' and just use Focus, but I am a bit of a nut for one-word titles. Still, Focus by itself has a narrowing and sharpening side to it... you look carefully at one thing, thereby not looking at all at the rest, which could go with her avoiding (or trying) being the focus BY directing the focus...
ReplyDeleteOf course all I know of your story is what you have here, but that is what my gut says...