I have developed a series of grief recovery talks that build and expand on the books I have written. One talk has been received really well, so well I decided to expand it into a book. I wrote a draft of the outline, revised the draft, found resources, and started the actual writing. The book was progressing so well I decided to contact my publisher. The executive director listened patiently to my two-minute pitch, paused a moment and replied, "We already carry a book with that title." What a disappointment. Still, I did not let this disappointment slow me down and resumed my search for a good title. I brainstormed for a day, started a list of possible titles, and kept adding to it. Then I put a star by the one I liked best and logged into Amazon. To my dismay, this title was there on the screen, and worse, there were nine books with this title and different sub-titles. Sheesh! It was back to brainstorming.
Not only did I have to find a title that represented the book, I had to find one that matche the book's structure. Again, I made a list of potential titles. I entered these titles into the computer and tried out different fonts to see how they would look in print. I ranked the titles and chose the simplest one. When I logged into Amazon I was thrilled to see ththe message, "We cannot find a book with this title." The title was mine! I logged into a royalty-free website and looked at thousands of photos that might represent this title.
After printing out eight photos, I discarded several because they were too busy, and several others because they were obtuse. I kept discarding until I was down to one photo, an ideal match for the title. Now that these tasks are done I am back writing and loving every minute of it. But I have some advice for other free: Check Amazon before you choose your title.