(my brainstorming board)
I absolutely love cool book titles. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is still my all-time favorite. If you've read the book, you know that not only is this title beautiful, it's totally appropriate.

When I write a first draft, I create a working title--one that just sort of comes to me at the time. But I'm always open to alternate titles. My first book, The Boy Who Loved Fire, was Redemption until an editor suggested the change. But the title of my second book, The Summer of Crossing Lines, never changed. As a matter of fact, I wrote the book around the title. There's some useless trivia for you.

Anyway, the manuscript I'm editing now had a working title that was a bit too romance-y. There's a romance subplot, but the story is more thriller-ish.

My writer buddies and I were on our mini-retreat, when Leslie Rose came up with a great idea. She wanted to give her manuscript a new title, and so began the fun (and sometimes frustrating) game of re-naming a book.

Boy, was it worth it. Leslie's new title is amazing. I won't share it now, but I'll shout it to everyone when--not if--it's published. It's that good.

Since then, we've also re-named my next book. Mine started out as "Follow My Heart" and became "Bound By The Heart." Subtle difference, but not so subtle once you've read the book. More about this book later.

I'll share our process in case it helps with your own "better book title" mission
Bring on the blank slate. Legal pad, notebook paper, cocktail napkin--anything that's blank and ready for brainstorming. Leslie bought this really cool dry erase poster board and dry erase markers. Coolest office supplies ever.Begin writing everything. Start with the theme of your book and/or the characters and work out from there. Don't skimp on what you write, even if you think it's stupid. That stupid word could lead to another stupid word which could lead to the word. Just start writing.Make connections. Once your blank slate is filled with not-so-random words, look for associations. Could the character details connect with the theme? Could words from one title connect with a different train of thought?Throw out cliches. If there's anything that sounds obvious, cross it out. If it doesn't match the tone of your book, cross it out. Narrow your words down to your favorites.Marinate. This doesn't have to be a speedy process. Feel free to savor the word choices. Think about them when you're in the shower or doing dishes. Show them to family and friends and get a feel for what catches their attention.Check out Amazon. Is there already 129 books with a similar title on Amazon? Consider changing it up.Run it by lulu.com. This site has a cool way to score your title.When you're done, hopefully you've created a title that captures the mood of your book.
How do you name your manuscripts? If you need to change the title, what's your process? Any tips you'd like to add?