So How Did You Come Up With That Book Title?

Summer Darlings was not the original name.

Whenever I go out on book tour, there are always a few questions that inevitably come up. One of the most common with my first novel Summer Darlings was: Will you write a sequel that follows Heddy and Ruth into their lives in the city? (Answer: No!) Readers also like to ask me: Did you have a say in the cover? (Yes! More on this in another issue…) Another question the audience tends to ask. Did you come up with the name of your novel?

Yes, I did! But it was a long journey.

When I sent an early version of my first novel to my agent, the manuscript had a name I loved: The Swindle. I thought this was clever because 1) the house on Martha’s Vineyard that inspired the story was called The Swindle, and 2) the title had a retro vibe to it. I could imagine a 60’s inspired illustration with a girl holding a suitcase and Chanel-style letters announcing my title. Think: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, if it took place at the beach.

As soon as my agent began working with me on the book, she said The Swindle didn’t feel like the perfect title. When we got off the phone I was momentarily disappointed, but then I reminded myself that I was just lucky to have an agent interested in my work. Who cared what the title is? We’ll come up with something so much better! After a few rounds of rigorous edits, the two of us began brainstorming new names for my book. I don’t remember if it was her idea or my idea, but we came up with a fresh title we loved:

The It Girl.

This was before the title was used on Ruth Ware’s bestselling novel of the same name, of course! When my manuscript was sent out to a dozen editors at the major houses to read, I was a wreck. I was excited that it was actually happening — my work was getting a chance — but I was also terrified that no one was going to buy the book and I would have to accept that no one saw any value in The It Girl. Sobs. I mean, truly, the sobs would have gone on for days.

But then a lovely editor at Gallery Books did acquire the novel. She loved the story. She adored the time period. The characters got her excited, and she came back to me with a developmental edit that included exploring the relationship between the women even more, getting at the meat of the romance and tightening up the pacing. At the end of the letter, she said something like, I don’t think the title is quite right yet but don’t worry, we’ll get it right.

After doing a happy dance, I dove deep into the edits, spent months revising, and all the time I was thinking about a new title. Nothing obvious was coming to me.

One day I remember standing in my kitchen and scribbling down lots of terrible ideas: Summer Song (ew), Island Summer (gag), Summer Girls (been there, done that). Then I remember thinking of my grandmother, who was fashionable and fabulous, and how she’d walk around in the 1990s and talk to you like it was 1962. “Hi, doll,” she’d say to me. “How’s your beau?”

Doll, I thought. Summer Dolls. But that read weird. Too much like Valley of the Dolls. I tried a dozen variations, like Summer Dears. (No!) Summer Friends. (blah!) Then I thought about how I loved the word Darling. That’s when it hit me:

Summer Darlings.

The title was evocative. Readers would immediately get the sense that it was about women and girls and one special summer. But it also felt old-fashioned, hinting that the book was historical fiction before you even turned it over to read the synopsis. It felt very efficient and highly intriguing.

I was probably chopping up apples or stirring mac n’ cheese for the kids, but I remember circling it in the notebook and reading it repeatedly. I immediately emailed my agent. This was it, I just knew it. She loved it, and then my editor loved it, and the publisher loved it.

When a title is right, it just fits that book like a glove. OMG I HAVE to tell you the story of how we came up with the title for On Gin Lane next. That is a crazy one because it was almost disastrous.

I’m very curious about the back stories of other novel titles because the way they’re chosen is somewhat serendipitous — but there’s also a bit of magic and luck that goes into finding the right fit. There have been some really fantastic book titles this year. Here are some of my favorites. Do titles actually get readers to buy books? I’m curious: What novel did you buy for the title alone?

-Pineapple Street (I didn’t love the book, but I LOVED the title.)

-The Postcard (I didn’t read it, but every time I see the title, I want to.)

-Little Monsters (When you see the title with the beach scene in the background, you just have to pick it up.)

-The Wager (non-fiction, but wow, what a fantastic title, and the fact that it’s based on the name of the ship at the heart of the book and gets at the tension of the explorers… is even better.)

-The Rachel Incident (Love the strange juxtaposition of the name with the problem. I immediately have questions.)

Happy reading, everyone!