Name This Novel

...Oh there were so MANY things I'd intended to blog about, from reflections on this delicious literary rumination by Zadie Smith that not one but two blog friends sent me this weekend (read now, return later, we'll discuss) to a discourse of my own on notes (the art of taking notes, interpreting notes, receiving and wanting to throttle, maim and slap silly notes) but my brain and time and focus have been hijacked by one formidable task:

Coming up with a new title for my novel.

Can the honeymoon be over so soon?  My gleeful hysteria over selling a book to Random House hadn't yet abated this past week, when my editor informed me that nobody Over There likes what the book is called.

I am cool with this.  Even though I've long been attached to the title Making Up, and said editor, with the best of intentions, has essentially lobbed a kind of conceptual bomb into my writer's laboratory while I'm smack dab in the middle of manuscript revisions (find a new title NOW?!), I do understand the wisdom of her misgivings. 

Making Up is a title which, if you've read the book, is perfectly, wonderfully appropriate and works on many levels  (the book is about a broken-up couple trying to make up, about a writer making up an imaginary lover, about putting on the makeup of a false persona... and more!).

But if you know nothing about the book, the title's a bit generic. 

Also it uses a gerund, a by-now abused title device (e.g. Chasing Amy, Being There, et al), which has always bugged me a little. 

So I'm actually jazzed to be Embracing the Notion of a fresh title search and have just spent a few hours combing the shelves of my library, digging up old album jackets and CDs for song lyrics, parsing favorite poetry volumes and sitting with the ms. in my lap while I stare into space like a catnip-dizzied cat.

Don't have it yet.

However I do have no shame, and I'm generally open to informed suggestion, so I put it out there to you Living RomCom realmers: come up with a new title for my novel that I actually end up using and you'll receive

1) an acknowledgement in the published book,

2) an autographed copy (it's the least I could do) and

3) a lifetime's enjoyment of being able to tell people you're the one who named that novel (unless of course the book is such a tanker that you'd rather not be associated with it, in which case, you might have to pay me to stop telling people you're the person who titled it).

Love the insane notion of asking acquaintances and total strangers to name a book none of you have read!  But to add in at least of modicum of knowledge to the perverse arbitrariness of all this, here's a brief pitch of what the book's about:

Desperate to win back his estranged wife, a man invents an imaginary lover to make her jealous... and then gets into real trouble when this fantasy woman becomes real to him.  Other details that might prove useful: the man is a teacher of romantic comedy... the wife is Italian... the imaginary lover is a kind of muse.

Of course, I do already have a quickly lengthening list of titles on hand (liking The Michelangelo Codex, sort of intrigued by One Flew Over the Fantasist's Cottage, and currently have a soft spot for Tom Swift and His Imaginary Mistress), but come on, folks -- let's have FUN with it -- help a writer who's running out of wit.

Clock's tickin'.  Re-name this novel now!

Comments

[Dave]

"Making up with Jessica Alba".....a surefire hit. Probably have to rework that plot a smidge....but I have confidence in you Billy. :)

[Dave]

Okay, I'll try and be semi-serious...you realise I don't do this for just anyone Billy :)

Sex and the Imaginary Friend
The Sultan of Swoon and some cheap, non-existent tart
The Sultan of Swoon: The Cup that Runneth Over
Dumb Luck
Two in the Hand
Careful what you wish for
Dreamgirl Nightmares
Dreamgirl vs Realgirl
Make Sure the Ex doesn’t Find Out….Doh!
A Man’s Romantic Idea, Attempt 1.
Teaching RomCom 101: Ensure your lover exists

I did say semi.

Hope you find one through this Billy.
cheers
Dave.

[chris soth]

Desperate to win back his estranged wife, a man invents an imaginary lover to make her jealous... and then gets into real trouble when this fantasy woman becomes real to him. Other details that might prove useful: the man is a teacher of romantic comedy... the wife is Italian... the imaginary lover is a kind of muse.

Possible Titles:

Making Up is Hard to Do

The Make-Up

Imaginary Lover

Boy Meets Muse

Musing

Making NAME OF FANTASY LOVER CHARACTER

Making Up NAME OF FANTASY LOVER CHARACTER

Just that character's name, ie:

NAME OF FANTASY LOVER CHARACTER (but it would only be one word/name ,right?)

Boy Loses Mind

Hero's Character Name AND Fantasy Lover's Name (in a heart on the cover)...

Wife Character's Name AND Fantasy Lover's Name

Wife Character's Name OR Fantasy Character's Name

Wife Character's Name VS. Fantasy Character's Name

(These ones w/character names will be good if characters have meaningful names as well...might even be worth changing a name for the perfect title...it's just a Search and Replace, right?)

back to titles:

Romantic Fantasy

Romantasy

Romantic Antics

RomANTICS (remember, there's no editing in brainstorming...)

Romantix

Man, I'm stumped...will sleep on it.

chris

[Ray-Anne]

Good morning. I try to note down phrases and ideas for possible romantic fiction titles as they catch my imagination - something quirky yet poignant might fit here.
For example:
Snow in August
Balancing Act
At a Loss
Plan B
Follow that Girl
Window Dressing.

The best of luck and regards, Ray-Anne

[Abby]

I LIVE for titles...my songs often follow after living with their titles for a long while...

okay, here goes:

A Musing, Amusing

A Muse, A Man and His Ex

Make up After Break Up
{Of course, they'll think this is a Self-Help Book Title}

A Muse to Make up

A Muse to Remember

A Muse to Imagine

Meet My Muse

My Muse, My Ex and Me

You're Missing The Best Parts
{actually that would be better suited for someone wanting to Seduce an axe-murderer}

Billy -- Jesus Christ -- can't you tell them MAKING UP is the Best friggin title choice?

love,
abby

[Abby]

p.s. Amore and A Muse

[debbieb]

Wow Billy! I agree with abby!

Maybe there is a way you can convince them that MAKING UP is a great title because of the way it works on many levels! You think rom com right away from this title!

And, after the success of BREAKING UP, I would think MAKING UP is the perfect title!

I just can barely wait to read this book Billy! You may have to let us read more pages so we can come up with a better title if there could possibly be one!

More pages, more pages! I read the ones on your site over and over. I am panting for more...maybe some pages from the middle :)

Thanks Billy! Great ideas writers!

Woohoo!

[E.C. Henry]

Here's a couple suggestions,

"Artificical Lovin'"

"Hijinks with the Ghost Mistress"

"A Ghost to Make Her Jealous"

"Real Love v.s. Alien Love"

"A New Missus to Win the Old Missus"

"I Feel In Love with a Vison from Myself"

"The Trouble with Ghost Lovers"

"Frankenstien's Romance"

"How to Piss the Love of Your Life Off -- While Trying to Show Her That You Really Love Her!"

"Coo-coo in Love"

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[E.C. Henry]

Here's another tittle I thought off while in the shower:

"Kiss the Mannequin: A Writer's Revenge Aganist an Unloving Wife"

or this deviation:

"Kiss the Mannequin: A Writer's Secret Plan to Winning Back the Love of His Life"

Okay, now I'm off to work.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[Ann Wesley Hardin]

The Ghost and Mrs. Muse. The Ghost IS Mrs. Muse.

Heh. I'm so good at this =:0

I had to change the title of my latest book, Billy. For the first time! It hurt a little, but I'm quite pleased with the new title A Lick and A Promise. Good luck. I'll come back if I can think of any that might help!

[Ann Wesley Hardin]

Invisibly Touched. Heeheehee.

[Ann Wesley Hardin]

Dream On

[Melanie]

I like Chris's suggestion above: The Make Up.

Still works on the same levels, but it's grammatically more specific.

Unfortunately, such a minor tweak may not satisfy the haters.

Good luck!

[Ann Wesley Hardin]

After Glow

[John]

What ever Happened to Billy Mernit.
Romantic Fiction.
Love Imagined.
Imaginary Love.
Love is Better than Fiction.

[Audrey]

well, clearly, NO ONE will be getting any of their own work done today....
Air Kisses/Thin Air Kisses/Out of Thin Air Kisses/etc

She Was Right Here...

My Better Than Nothing Half

So Lifelike

She Felt (So) Real

Wait Til You Meet Her!

She's Perfect For Me

The Ciao of (Male Char. Name)

The Image of Me

Can't Get Her Out

I Love I Think You

Muse Me While I Kiss the Sky

Harvey

(You ain't the only one hitting the catnip, billy)

[Christina]

You know the title of the novel "Less Than Zero" was named after an Elvis Costello song? I perused the Elvis Costello song catalogue and realized your novel nicely fits:

Every Day I Write the Book

But it may only work if you're selling to Elvis Costello fans.

Some other EC titles:

King of Confidence
Next Time Around
This Year's Girl

Other suggestions:

He's Got Issues
Love and Fiction (in LA)

Too bad that there were too memoirs with "magical thinking" in the title, because that notion fits your story too.

[Christina]

Okay, now I'm obsessed. (Thanks.)

How about:

The King of Romantic Comedy

You like?

Or, how about:

The King of Romance

Are those too similar to the King of Comedy? I kind of like this "King" thing because it's ironic in light of the narrator's slightly neurotic nature and the crisis at hand.

Getting Over Isabel
Another Isabel
Another You
Almost You [almost blue...]

The Divorcee (and his Muse)
The Divorcee and the Muse
The Amusing Divorcee
An Amusing Divorce

She Left Me For Mozzarella (giggles, just kidding)

Creative Writing
Creative Loving

Or:

How to Write a Romantic Comedy

I kinda like the last one, because the way to write a rom com IS to have a devastating real experience, then fantasize how it could have gone right, then write the good version down... :-)

[Brooke]

How about The Makeup Artists?

[Brooke]

Or The Makeup Artist (singular).

[helen]

In that Tom Petty's Refugee is hands down, the best damn song to scream over the steering column when you've been dumped:

1.Believe What You Wanna Believe
2.Somewhere, Somehow, Somebody
3.This Ain't Real To You

and in other song swipes:
1. Honey Don't
2. And If It's Bad
3. I Can't Help Myself
4. Love That is Now Departed

[binnie]

"Have You Met My Wife?"

"And You Are...?"

"She Meant Nothing to Me, Honest!"

"Messing With The Muse"

"Doing It With The Hot French Chick So My Wife Comes Back"
(too much?)

"Death In Venice" (oh, wait...)

[Ann Wesley Hardin]

Love Notion

Bemused

Romance Holiday

(this is fun!)

[Mark Netter]

I'm With Who

[Amy F.]

I know it's another gerund, but how about...
Living the Romantic Comedy

Just a suggestion. :)