Hello, dreamers. So, I did it: I entered the query trenches. Now, the waiting game begins. It will likely be at least a month and change before I receive my first responses, all of which are likely to be rejections. But I’m going to keep at it. I’m in this for the long haul, and I only need one “yes”.

In the meantime, readers may have noticed that in my latest “Writer’s Desk” I changed the title of my novel. It’s far from the first time, and in fact may not even be the last. So, why all the back-and-forth on something so simple? Well, here’s the story behind choosing a title for a modern novel:

What’s in a Name

So, it used to be that, when you wrote a book, you chose a title simply because it sounded right to you. Could be simple, could be complex. Could relate directly to the story, or not. Maybe you just like the words. Could be a single word.

The annals of science fiction are filled with book titles that have become iconic, to the point where even those unfamiliar with the genre can probably recognize many of them instantly. Some of them are eye-catching all by themselves (Flowers for Algernon, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World). Some carry deep meaning, like Fahrenheit 451 (named for the temperature at which paper books combust). But there are also some incredibly simple ones in there: Sphere, Dune, The Foundation.

Choosing a title in today’s literary market isn’t as simple as it once was, however, for one reason above all: ebooks. Modern readers are more likely to buy works digitally. That means two things:

1) They won’t be seeing the novel on a physical shelf, surrounded by other books in its genre, and

2) They’ll probably be searching for your book in particular.

What that means is that it’s more important than ever that your title be eye-catching and unique. If you’re writing science fiction, for instance, you’ll want your title to sound otherworldly, to set it apart from books in other genres. And if your title isn’t overly distinctive (The Pioneers, for instance), readers searching for your particular book might have to sift through pages of books they don’t want, and may ultimately lose interest and give up.

As such, literary agents are looking for a catchy title, and also something that stands out in a crowd. They want to be as certain as possible that, when readers hop on Amazon and search for your book by its title, your novel is at the top of the resultant list. Make no mistake; I still think Pioneers is a cool title. If I had my druthers, that would still be the name of this novel. But I need to at least start with something more interesting (and ideally not something likely to divert would-be readers into pages and pages of nonfictions works regarding the Oregon Trail).

So, just prior to sending out my first queries, I made my decision. So long, Pioneers. And welcome to The Ursa Frontier. – MK