Life is hard.
So are titles.
To a writer, titles are like Death and Taxes–unavoidable. So when we find one that fits perfectly (aka, The Precious) like Gollum, we cling to it with all the desperate fervour of a drug addict.
When that title is based on an excerpt from a favourite song, this is a great mistake. Because no matter how precious it is, it’s someone else’s Precious, and we all know how that turns out for Gollum. (“We hates it, Precious, we hates it!”)
What I mean by all of this is that it’s extremely unlikely I’ll be able to keep the tentative title of BRIGHT AS THE EYES OF YOU. I’m still waiting to hear back from the copyright holders as to whether or not I can use it, and when I find that out, it’s still quite unlikely, judging from the prices quoted for use of the excerpts as chapter headings, that I’ll be able to afford it anyway.
But the most pressing problem is that I need to know soon. In the self-publishing business, schedules are important, and I’m already a couple of months behind mine. If I don’t get permission by the end of January at the latest, I need to be ready to go with an alternate title. If the licensing cost turns out to be too much, I also need to be ready to go with an alternate title.
In other words, I need an alternate title.
I was brainstorming ideas with a fellow author friend (who made me snort chai latte up my nose in my local cafe by suggesting “Smart as the Pants of You”–thanks for that, Intisar!–and was otherwise immensely helpful) and came up with a few possibilities. I’ve put them below for you guys to look at: please take a minute to let me know in the comments which title you like the best, especially if you’ve read BRIGHT AS THE EYES OF YOU. I still want your opinion even if you haven’t read it, though, so fire away!
***ETA a new personal favourite, #6***
1.) The Weight of Dreams in the Waking
2.) A Song of Waking Dreams
3.) Bright as the Wakeful Stars
4.) A Star Distant and Bright
5.) Bright as the Distant Star
6.) To Dream a Star, Distant and Bright
What’s your favourite? Don’t be shy! Let me know!
They all sound lovely but I’m partial to 1, 2 and 5
Thank you, Georgia! I really appreciate the input! =)
1 is my favorite; 2 is the runner-up. I think they both nicely capture the essence of your story. 🙂
Thank you! I’m having a lot of trouble picking one 😀
I just finished reading your book. Which I very much enjoyed BTW! I really like title 2, and then 1. Good luck choosing!Also, I had not heard of a gayageum before, and I’ve been listening to a very talented player on YT named Luna Lee. My son plays acoustic, electric and bass guitar, and I am excited to share this new to me intrument with him.
Thank you!
Luna Lee is WONDERFUL, isn’t she?! Have you listened to her cover of Teen Spirit? It’s my favourite of hers so far 🙂
Honestly, the gayageum mixes so well with so many other instruments, and can do such a range of styles between the traditional and the metal, that’s it’s just amazing 🙂
Haven’t read the story (tell me where to find it, and I will!), but my favorite is 2. It has a particularly nice cadence, and it’s a title I would totally pick up in the library while browsing
Thanks, Natalie! You can go Here: )https://www.wattpad.com/288803404-bright-as-the-eyes-of-you-one) to start reading BatEoY. It’s the rough draft that I Wattpadded while I was writing it 🙂
I haven’t read the story but I like “A Song of Waking Dreams” best – it sounds like music, flows smoothly and has a particular poetic charm to it:) (BTW, I’m not a native speaker of English, which is an advantage here in a way:) “A Song of Waking Dreams” catches the eye and stays in the ear and mind longer than the other titles:))
Thanks, Lidia! Especially for your non-native speaking point of view 🙂