Dear readers, I would like to ask for some advice. As some of you may know, I am going to be publishing my first book during the next few months – the story of a 3,000 kilometre walk that my brother and I completed in 2013 across Western Europe. It’s an exciting venture, but does involve some rather tricky decisions, one of which I must soon make: What should the book be called?
I have long referred to the memoir as A Walk to the Water, but recently decided that it would be foolish to disregard alternative titles, such as Six Million Steps to the Mediterranean Sea. If you have a spare minute or two I would love some feedback on the matter. Which title grabs your attention more? Which is most intriguing? The synopsis for the book can be found here.
Thank you and have a lovely day!
YAY!! Cant wait to buy it and have a read!
How about “Six Million Steps” as the title and the bit underneath “A tale of two brothers and a walk to the Mediterranean”
Yippee!
xx
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Oh, that sounds luring…’Six Million Steps’, I like it! Thanks Paula 🙂
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Before I even saw Paula’s suggestion I liked the title, ‘Six Million Steps’ with a subtitle mentioning the walk to the sea (just in case a potential reader thought it was a keep fit book) lol. The shorter title on the first cover looks good too. Best of luck with the book.
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Oh yes, I wouldn’t want any confusion, especially as our journey appeared to have hindered our fitness levels (injuries etc.) rather than boost them 🙂 Thanks for the help Jean!
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I like Paula’s idea but would change the subtitle to “A tale of two brothers walk to the Mediterranean”
Looking forward to the book!!
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Thanks Paula, I think I’m getting a better idea now of what people like. I will keep you post regarding the release date!
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I like A Walk To The Water, but I’m a minimalist 😉
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Thank you. I certainly agree that minimalism is a great thing, a notion applicable to book titles as much as anything else 🙂
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Good luck whatever you decide!
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I agree. Sometimes too long titles are well just too long. I really like the first cover. There is enough information to catch the interest.
I will surely want to read this book. Will it be sold in most of the bookstores?
Oh, and congrats on your book! Must feel so great to have it published!
Best
Ilona
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Thank you Ilona, I keep swaying to and fro. But one thing seems to prevail; short and snappy is good.
The book will be available as an ebook and physical copy from most of the big, online book sellers, such as Amazon. I will make all this clearer once it is out. Thank you so much for you interest 🙂
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Yes, I agree with the minimalism, but figured you wanted all the info on the cover. If you can get away with it keep the title as Six Million Steps, and then but the tag line on the back to start the blurb…
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Thanks Paula, I will keep asking around and see what the consensus is 🙂
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I like A Walk to the Water, especially because you have the additional info as a sub heading. The first title is actually what made me click through to this post…it sounded intriguing.
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Well that’s quite telling, Adrienne. Thank you for helping out 🙂
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Six Million Steps to the Sea
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Thank you, Janet 🙂
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Looking forward to reading this book! 🙂
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Wow! Such an amazing experience! (On a side note: I hiked with my brother too, that in itself is an experience :))
I would go with ‘A Walk to the Water’ and the subtitles you have picked. It is a bit more mysterious, draws you in a bit more, in my opinion.
Please let us all know when and where it will be available!
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I agree, there is a huge element of adventure when hiking with a sibling, or anyone for that matter. I bet you learnt a lot about each other. Thank you for your advice 🙂
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Daniel, for me it’s definitely the first option. A short title grabs my attention, then more info down the bottom like you have down. My only other thought was could you say: 6 million steps from where? to the Mediterranean Sea. More food for thought! Good luck with the decision and cant wait for the release 🙂 Leah
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Hello Leah. Yes, short is good it seems. I think I am narrowing it down, so thank you. Have a lovely day 🙂
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Hi Daniel
I hope there are plenty of your drawings in the book.
I would like to suggest that you keep it simple:
(title) A walk to the sea
(subtitle) Two brothers, ?? countries, 6 millions steps
whatever you decide, well done – both on the walk and the book
Kathie
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Actually, there are no drawings. I will be featuring some of my brothers photography in the middle and am working on a painting for the front cover. Logistically, the sketches would have been troublesome. Maybe on the next one, Kathie. Thank you so much for your input 🙂
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Congratulations on the upcoming book. I like, A Walk To The Water.
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Thank you Shannon 🙂
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Six Million Steps to the Mediterranean Sea is my vote. I think that A Walk to the Water is too vague, but it did catch my attention because of the subtitle.
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Yes, ‘Six Million Steps to the Mediterranean Sea’ is certainly more insightful, but I’m not sure whether it’s too long…thank you for your input Kelsey 🙂
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Yeah, I see your point. In that case I would vote for “Six Million Steps” because it makes me wonder why and where. It draws me in, because while I am looking forward to reading your book, I think that if I were browsing through the book store I probably would not pick up a book called “A Walk to the Water.” However, if I saw the title “Six Million Steps” and some sort of hiking or nature imagery, I would be wondering what trail it was and where. Sorry for the longer response, as I know you are receiving a lot, but I hope it helps clarify!
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Kelsey, no need to apologise for the length of your response. I am lucky to have such a wealth of feedback, so thank you. Certainly some sort of hiking imagery is a good idea. I am working on designs and may well ask for your help in my next post!
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I’d go with “A Walk to the Water”… I used to work in a bookstore, and I know that the longer a book’s title is, the more likely people are to misremember it! That said, I think it’s worth keeping “Six Million steps to the Mediterranean Sea” as your subtitle – it’s a good, concise summary of what your book is about. Good luck, whatever you decide!
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Helen, thank you so much for your insider knowledge. It’s interesting to hear that longer titles are more readily misremembered. I guess that makes sense.
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You’re welcome! I hope your book is a success, I’ll certainly be looking out for it 🙂
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[…] I would like to thank you for your input regarding the post, ‘Deciding my title‘. After much deliberation, I have settled on, A Walk to the Water, with the subheading, Six […]
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