Fran Wilde said she wanted to answer all the publishing questions ever in the universe, and I said, hey, sure. I could use the vacation. So here she is, with all the answers to all* the publishing questions you have ever had. Also, her debut novel Updraft is out today, which you need to go get with your sticky book-desiring hands. Oh. Oh! I’ll also be at Doylestown Bookshop with her tomorrow night, talking with her about that very book. Come say hi!
* two publishing questions
* * *
When Chuck offered me the keys to his blog, I decided to do what you’d normally do with someone’s finest vehicle: fill it with bees and infographics.
But What Bees. And Which Infographics.
I turned to some pressing questions that plagued me throughout my first pass through publishing’s gut, and picked two.
(There are more where these came from, but Chuck needs to send me more ink cartridges and a gallon or two of coffee.)
As for the bees, I’ll let that question linger.
Question 1: HOW THE HELL DOES A BOOK GET THAT FANCY TITLE
Darling pendraggers, this is a difficult one to get detailed answers on… especially any answers that agree, so I’ll give you my own story. Updraft? Not originally titled Updraft.
Titles in descending chronological order included*:
Bone Arrow, Glass Tooth
Bone Arrow
The Mouth of the Sky
Bob Gets Eaten On Page Two
Titles! How Do They Work??
Title TK
Title Goes Here
Someday There Will Be A Title
[cursing]
[redacted]
Skybound
Updraft (WOOOO!)
(*possibly the first time this list has ever been revealed.)
There are a lot of titles – REAMS of titles – that aren’t listed here, but you get the idea. There were also a lot of terrible puns. Reasons titles get changed? Well, I drew you a map. Some reasons come at you like boulders or meteors (I drew those too), some are more like umbrellas – marketing, for instance, can tell you that your multisyllabic unpronounceable literary title makes their teeth itch, and that’s good feedback for those planning on actually selling books.
Now, some people sell their soul or practice various levels of title-god appeasement that could get them arrested in states including West Virginia and Pennsylvania (which is why I had to do it the hard way, because Hi Pennsyltucky, don’t think I didn’t consider it) – but most have an experience similar to the one pictured… possibly without the Buffy re-watch and the wizard.
And when you have the right title, and you say it aloud, it rings like a bell. And that’s what Updraft sounds like to me. I’m darn pleased with it, and I hope you will be too.
(For more on titles, see Elizabeth Bear’s “How To Title Your Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel or Series: A Tutorial in Three Parts.”
So, now that’s out of the way, the next most pressing question is:
Question 2: WHY THE @#@! DO BOOKS COME OUT ON TUESDAYS?
Don’t worry, I’ve done research on this one. Here are three major theories:
Have other questions you want to see turned into terrible infographics?
Let us know in the comments.
But what about the bees? The other ones that you wanted to fill the blog with? Oh.
Chuck will find them, eventually.
My thanks to Chuck and the terribleminds readers for giving me a place to draw terrible things!
* * *
Fran Wilde’s short stories have appeared at Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Uncanny Magazine, and in Asimovs’ and Nature. Fran also interviews authors about food in fiction at Cooking the Books, and blogs for GeekMom and SFSignal.
Her first novel, Updraft, debuts from Tor Books today.
Updraft: Indiebound | Doylestown Bookshop | Amazon | B&N
Jennifer R. Donohue says:
I came for the bees, stayed for the chronological title list.
I think if save files didn’t make us call them SOMETHING, titles would take us even longer to come up with.
DVDs come out on Tuesday too, and I’ve wondered why that happened for a very long time.
September 1, 2015 — 8:01 AM
Fran Wilde says:
> I came for the bees, stayed for the chronological title list.
best first comment.
😀 glad to help!
September 1, 2015 — 9:31 AM
W.R.Gingell says:
FWIW, I think the title is awesome. I stick with (mostly) one word titles because a) I suck at titles & b) I suck at titles. Yours really seems to suit the type of book (I know, I know, shame on me for judging the book by its cover…)
September 1, 2015 — 8:06 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Thank you! I really like it too.
September 1, 2015 — 9:31 AM
Ed says:
Hi, thank you for the tips on Titles. I already get the feeling that my title will be loathed by publishers as more than one person has had to reach for the dictionary for the main word in my title lol (but i think its the only suitable word to sum up the book without resorting to a tilte that doesn’t reflect, or outright ends up being to wishy-washy.)
September 1, 2015 — 8:17 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Best of luck with your book!!
September 1, 2015 — 9:31 AM
Paul Weimer says:
Happy Release Day, Fran! Yay!
September 1, 2015 — 8:20 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Thank you!
September 1, 2015 — 10:16 AM
addy says:
me while reading this: hmm interesting book title. the author seems amusing. I wonder what its about. Great answers, i have always wondered about my title but what does ‘updraft’ mean for the book
*see’s front cover* OK THIS LOOKS AWESOME!
September 1, 2015 — 8:23 AM
addy says:
also love the info graphics. would make great posters.
September 1, 2015 — 8:28 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Thank you on both counts! I would love to make posters or postcards out of these. hmmmm
September 1, 2015 — 10:11 AM
elctrcrngr says:
Great idea! I’d buy ’em.
September 1, 2015 — 6:40 PM
chukg says:
The info graphics are great, I was waffling on this book but that tipped me over.
(Also titles are super hard.)
September 1, 2015 — 2:20 PM
Fran Wilde says:
Aw, glad to hear it and glad you liked the infographs! 😀
September 1, 2015 — 2:39 PM
Juli Hoffman says:
I REALLY like the title, “Bob Gets Eaten On Page Two.” A little wordy, perhaps, but it won’t likely be confused with someone else’s book-baby. LOL Congrats on your new release!
September 1, 2015 — 9:17 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Thank you! Yah, a little wordy but it says so much!
September 1, 2015 — 10:19 AM
phiala says:
Nah, “Bob Gets Eaten on Page Two” is totally a Stross Laundry Files title. See? I’m already confused.
September 1, 2015 — 12:53 PM
Ridley Kemp says:
Thank you Fran. This reminds me of reading Steinbeck’s journals. He didn’t come up with the title “East of Eden,” a near-perfect title, until he was two-thirds of the way through writing the novel.
“Titles are a bear, aren’t they?” says the guy who hates every single title he’s come up with….
September 1, 2015 — 10:54 AM
Fran Wilde says:
Thank you so much, Ridley! Titles *are* a bear!
September 1, 2015 — 1:17 PM
Steve Kozeniewski says:
Man, that post was wilde.
September 1, 2015 — 11:12 AM
Fran Wilde says:
hahahaha
September 1, 2015 — 1:00 PM
elctrcrngr says:
I think there might be some arcane relationship with Microsoft releasing updates on the first Tuesday of the month. I read on Twitter this a.m. that Aftermath was supposed to be released on Friday. BUT WALMART AND TARGET STILL PUT IT ON THE SHELF TODAY! (Insert conspiracy theory here)
September 1, 2015 — 6:38 PM
Fran Wilde says:
oh innnnnteresting! Software releases sometimes come out quietly and sometimes really loudly… for Reasons. Like testing. Or lack thereof.
September 3, 2015 — 9:23 AM
rowyn says:
I really liked the title “Bob gets eaten on page two” – should I be embarrassed about that?
September 1, 2015 — 7:05 PM
Fran Wilde says:
Absolutely not! We’re all friends here.
… except for Bob.
September 3, 2015 — 9:23 AM
Michael Senft says:
Music release dates recently changed to Friday worldwide, and there has been a lot of complaints from local shops because it messes up their restocking – they sell out immediately and they can’t get replacement stock for several days due to the weekend.
September 1, 2015 — 9:14 PM
Fran Wilde says:
That totally makes sense. We love our local music/record store, and I can see them struggling with that.
September 3, 2015 — 9:24 AM
donnagalanti says:
Hey Fran, wicked entertaining! Dig your illustrations too. Looking forward to seeing you tonight in DTown and grabbing a copy of UPDRAFT! Funny, as I always come up with the title before I write the book. It’s like I need that light saber to free the prose. None have been changed yet by a publisher, but I know that day is coming and I will probably curl up catatonic for a day or two when it happens. 🙂
September 2, 2015 — 4:57 PM
Fran Wilde says:
it was GREAT to see you last night, Donna!
September 3, 2015 — 9:25 AM
fantasycamel says:
Is that editor wearing Fluevogs? Book must have sold really well.
September 20, 2015 — 6:51 PM
Fran Wilde says:
fluevogs go on sale! But yes, probably 😀
September 24, 2015 — 10:25 PM