Okay, I admit my post should have been up earlier in the day but I forgot. Blame it on PST zone i'm in and my kids. Yes, lets just do that. Anyway on to the blog post of the day and I'm in a weird mood...which is my normal mood.
A few months ago Maureen Johnson posted on Twitter "I do wish I had a dime for every email I get that says, "Please put a non-girly cover on your book so I can read it. - signed, A Guy"
Thus followed the CoverFlip Challenge. Where Readers where encouraged to take the cover of a popular book and imagine if the author was of the opposite gender and what the cover would look like.
Some of my favorite's of the CoverFlip are below.
Does this make me want to read some of them when I probably wouldn't have? Yes...Yes it does. Until I got to the end of Carrie and probably would throw the book across the room and scream FALSE ADVERTISING! I don't like scary movies, or books to much.
What has been happening more and more is the Single Title Books. Hey Look there Chanda! You did it on three of your books. UNENCHANTED, FAIREST & FABLE!!! Yes. Hangs head in shame. I've fallen in with the peer pressure and did it for my series. Now stop pressuring me and hand be some chocolate like a good little minion...I mean er reader.
Now imagine you are at a movie theatre, you paid for your ticket, bought your $8 popcorn and $4 drink and pretend that you didn't take a second mortgage out on your house just to take your family of six to the movies. Okay, it's not that bad, but it feels like it. You walk past the stancions and proceed down the hallway toward theatre 10 and it's filled with movie posters. And all of the tag lines and titles suck. Believe me, I've been there and quite a few times I thought I could do better than what they put on those posters.
Now it's your turn my epic readers, authors and bloggers. To come up with Tag lines and Titles for all of your favorite books out there that have fallen into the one word-ism spectrum.
A few months ago Maureen Johnson posted on Twitter "I do wish I had a dime for every email I get that says, "Please put a non-girly cover on your book so I can read it. - signed, A Guy"
Thus followed the CoverFlip Challenge. Where Readers where encouraged to take the cover of a popular book and imagine if the author was of the opposite gender and what the cover would look like.
Some of my favorite's of the CoverFlip are below.
Originals on the Left Cover Swap on the Right.
Does this make me want to read some of them when I probably wouldn't have? Yes...Yes it does. Until I got to the end of Carrie and probably would throw the book across the room and scream FALSE ADVERTISING! I don't like scary movies, or books to much.
What has been happening more and more is the Single Title Books. Hey Look there Chanda! You did it on three of your books. UNENCHANTED, FAIREST & FABLE!!! Yes. Hangs head in shame. I've fallen in with the peer pressure and did it for my series. Now stop pressuring me and hand be some chocolate like a good little minion...I mean er reader.
Now imagine you are at a movie theatre, you paid for your ticket, bought your $8 popcorn and $4 drink and pretend that you didn't take a second mortgage out on your house just to take your family of six to the movies. Okay, it's not that bad, but it feels like it. You walk past the stancions and proceed down the hallway toward theatre 10 and it's filled with movie posters. And all of the tag lines and titles suck. Believe me, I've been there and quite a few times I thought I could do better than what they put on those posters.
Now it's your turn my epic readers, authors and bloggers. To come up with Tag lines and Titles for all of your favorite books out there that have fallen into the one word-ism spectrum.
The best example my family always talks about is the movie Speed.
Or as my father in law calls it "The Bus that couldn't slow down"
Or the opposite happens and books with really really long titles should have just been a single word and it could describe the whole thing.
Here's a whole list of BOOKS WITH LONG TITLES on GOODREADS
And here is another list of LIST WITH ONE WORD BOOKS
So take your pick. Pick a book from the long list and make it short.
Or pick a book from the short list and make it long. POST YOUR TITLES BELOW!!
And don't feel bad if you want to swap any of my book titles around. Coming up with a title is one of the most fun and terrifying ordeals ever.
Chanda Hahn is the author of the popular Unfortunate Fairy Tale Series which includes UnEnchanted and Fairest which have topped the ebook charts in 5 countries. She also has a passion for writing YA epic fantasy. She's been a children's librarian, children's pastor and costume mascot. She lives in the beautiful but rainy northwest that is Portland Oregon with her husband and twin children.
Twilight.- When love Bites
ReplyDeleteFairest- Beauty Rest **snicker
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)- Kiss, don't tell
Those gender-swapped covers...wow. It's funny, I've avoided BEFORE I FALL {though I am a girl, I'm not really into *those* kind of books}. I'd read that guy version.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I could probably sit here and play with titles all day, I'll stick with one: HOLES. And my title is a fun one that would probably never stick: HOLES: A TALE OF ONIONS, GYM SHOES, LIPSTICK, AND PEACHES. And while I'm at it, in all seriousness, I'd change the cover so that it didn't look so sci-fi. :)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Otherwise known as "Bark"
ReplyDeleteFrom the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Otherwise known as "Counterfeit?"
Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall Otherwise known as "Parenting"
Well, you never said they had to be GOOD titles...
Melody, I love the title for Holes. LOL It was such a great book. And I'd never read it based on the title, but that one I would.
ReplyDeleteLauren, YESSS! on the Parenting title. I think everyone probably had to read From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basel E. Frankweiler as a kid except for my husband who has never heard of it.
What to expect when you're expecting- should have been something like Becoming A Mother, or Motherhood.
ReplyDeleteTitles are difficult for me. I've changed the one for my book a few times and still haven't found one I like.
This is fun! I must admit, those cover swaps could definitely result in some disappointed readers. As a reader I like books that have covers and titles that have something to do with the book, that give us a hint as to what it's about, or have hidden meaning that the reader will figure out upon reading it. I'm not a fan of single titles, at all. Except for when they are clever and relevant, like Unenchanted. If I look up a title on a site in attempts to buy it and have to wade through several books with the same title, I get very annoyed. It feels lazy on the author's part, like one last bit of creativity they just didn't have in them.
ReplyDelete