I started writing The Society years ago, and I’ve been calling it The Society for almost as long. I’ve always considered myself to be terrible at naming things, and titling anything I write (whether it’s a novel or a blog post) takes almost as much time for me as writing it.
The Society as a title is straightforward. It almost felt too straightforward to me in the beginning, too simple. Is it appealing?
I still can’t answer that. Personally, I like simple titles such as The Society, but I know others are drawn to longer titles. I know there’s not a right or wrong answer to which is better as it’s an issue of preference. There might be an answer to which is more marketable, but I’ll admit that I don’t know. At some point, I do plan on attempting to get this story published. Then I would worry more about finding a title that’s marketable.
I haven’t done that yet. Instead, I’ve stayed half happy with the current title and half not. I don’t know if it is a good indicator of the book as a whole. I don’t know if it makes the book look boring and formal. (The society the book is about is boring and formal, but I would like to think the story isn’t.)
Sometimes I wonder if there’s a secret to naming things that I have yet to learn.
Haley Keller 