My Life in Words Ophelia Kee Speaks |
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The Truth About Titles
I have updated the upcoming titles list to reflect a few changes I felt needed to be made. As always I reserve the right to alter titles as I see fit. I do love that about Indie Writing. I am the publisher, so I have the right to use working titles and alter them as necessary until the publish date.
Why change the title? Sometimes the one I begin with no longer fits the story once it is finished. Other times it feels too wordy. I want the title to reflect the main story arc. I also want it to be short so when people are searching for titles, they don't have to waste time typing it forever or get confused remembering it. One or two word titles really feel better to me although I will use up to four words if necessary. (Example: Tolkien's There and Back Again is not nearly as widely known as The Hobbit. They are the same story.) The thing that writers need to know is that once a title is published by an author, in a paperback tangible form with an ISBN number, it stays that title. The only way that it can change is if it is published again with a new ISBN and then it is not technically the same book. Until the book is actually published, the title can be changed at the author or publisher's discretion even if advanced teaser quotes or excerpts are shared digitally. So long as the story has no ISBN, the title is easily changeable. The truth is that although a good title matters, it is not that important in the grand scheme of things unless you are writing stand alone works. You do want it to grab attention, but you don't have to overthink it. It simply needs to fit the story. The really important words on the cover of a book are the author's name. The author name is technically the brand name. It is the one thing that readers use to find your body of work. So if Ophelia Kee is typed into Google, different online links to social media, my website, my author page, and my books on multiple platforms will show up. Ophelia Kee takes up the first 8 pages of a search and have pages of images as well. The series name, the book titles? They are not nearly as powerful a search tool. I know a lot of authors suffer from imposter syndrome (they feel that their story is not that good and maybe they are not a real author), but the truth is that a well written story is always good. If you want to be recognized and read, you do have to note that simple detail. Be sure that your author name appears prominently on the book cover. Do things to enhance the reader's memory of you by always using the same font style or letter coloring for your name, choose where your name belongs on the cover so that when readers see it they immediately recognize your book and want to read it, and make it stand out from the other words on the book. (It goes without saying that the books contents need to be well written, proofread and edited or the branding will not matter.) Don't get the big head and make it bigger than the book title. That's as bad as making it so small that you are not memorable. People don't believe that you are as big as Stephen King or JK Rowling just because your name takes up half of the book cover (LOL). The contents of the story are why the title should be bigger. You are not the story. If you write more than one book, you are many stories. You are the brand and it is your name that people will search for more often than they will search for one of your titles. The continuation of the dream...
Draoithe: Midnight Magic is currently publishing. The tale begins with the excerpt tale of Drake and Lorelai
and the first four parts of the miniseries are now available to read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited or each part is only $.99 from Amazon. I do write adult themed contemporary fantasy and paranormal romance so be warned in advance if you are new to the dream. It takes only a moment to be kind, and I would prefer to allow readers the grace of truth about my writing. No one likes to be misled and waste their money purchasing a story that they can't read or already know that they would not appreciate. For those of you who have been in the dream awhile, thank you sincerely for supporting my author walk. For those who have only recently stumbled into the dream, welcome to my chronicle of what I have discovered along the journey.
If you read, remember that your kind review makes a world of difference to the author and other readers. Enjoy the #booklife.
Be Careful, Happy Reading, Ophelia Kee Welcome to Ophelia Kee Speaks. This is a blog chronicling my independent author walk. The journey into the dream has been a life-changing experience as I try to become a full-time writer and leave the professional world behind me. In my blog each day, you will find information on the ‘behind the scenes’ for writing contemporary adult fantasy fiction and paranormal romance stories set in the dream. I will speak on topics detailing with my writing, publishing, promotion, and marketing as well as social media dealing with my books, book trailers, book launches, book art, music, audio, and video, as well as shameless self-promotion. I am not an expert and am not claiming to be one. I am simply one writer offering a glimpse of my struggle to become a successful independent author. Thank you for considering my words. All rights reserved.
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