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@Daeus, @Kate-flournoy, @anna-brie, @gretald, @overcomer, @bluejay, @everyoneelse So here’s a related problem I’d like your thoughts on. Should you publish a book with the same title as a book already publish? Nothing iconic, like Hunger Games, but simple, one-word titles like Powerless. Powerless, for example, has about four books under that title on Amazon, though none are fantasy (I think). The Messenger has even more books by that title.
There are two sides to the argument I’ve come across. They both have valid points and I’m not sure which one I agree with. Neither one of them has to be right and the other wrong, I suppose.
Argument one: If it fits the story and it’s catchy (and there’s nothing closely related to your book genre by that title) then use it. Fans will still find it. Your books are branded by your name, not the titles.
Argument two: Why publish a book with a title that’s already used when you’ve endless creativity *cough* yeah right *cough* to think up a unique title which will make you book stand out from the rest…though since no one will be looking up the book by that title unless they know your name or the title already, I’m not sure if it would make much different marketing wise.
Thoughts?
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
I think you could totally use it, @hope . There is a book I like called, “The Choosing: A Seer Novel.” There are other books already called “The Choosing” so the author added a definition/series thingy to hers. That makes it stand out. That’s one way to do it. Or you could just use the same title by itself. That can be rather tricky though if you’re virtually unknown as a writer. Still, not a bad idea.
Another thing too you might want to make sure of is that none of the other books by the title are very well known. If there is one that is, and it has a reputation for being on the vulgar side, it could hurt your book a bit … or if it has a reputation for being awesome, it could still hurt your book.
I would just make sure there isn’t a better, more personalized to your own story title before going with this one, but I don’t see any harm in it. 🙂
(WARNING: I speak from guesswork and not from any personal experience. 😉 )
I don’t see any harm in it unless the other books are popular. Especially if the other books are in other genres. I think the only thing to worry about is confusion between books, which doesn’t seem like it will be much of a problem.
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I’ve been messing around with the word ‘powerless’ and here are a few ideas I’ve come up with:
Powerless Power
Crowned Powerless
Shattered Power
Powerless Fate
Powerless NameThoughts?
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
My favourite is Crowned Powerless. @hope Or Powerless Name. 🙂
@bluejay my favorite right now is Shattered Power.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
And if you guys think they are all awful, just tell me. I’d rather know now than later. 😉
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
Hm, to be honest, I don’t particularly care for any of those. They just sound odd to say aloud. Except Crowned Powerless— I actually really like that one.
I’m afraid I still don’t have any genius suggestions. :/
Fallen Crown
Broken Crown
Crown of the Nameless
Worthless Crown
Crown of the Broken KingCrowned Powerless is growing on me though.
@hope , Powerless Fate and Powerless Name are the only two out of the first list that really seem to make sense. I don’t think power is shattered, or powerless, though I suppose it could be crowned. 🙂
I prefer Powerless Crown to Crowned Powerless. The latter sounds kinda interesting, but then it gets a little confusing since it sounds backwards. It’s not bad, though.
Actually, it kinda grows on me too, @kate-flournoy, once I started thinking of it like a person’s nickname title, like, “I crown you powerless!” 😉
It’s hard to pick a favorite since I haven’t read the story and don’t know how it would suit.
@overcomer and @kate-flournoy Crowned Powerless is growing on me too. Though I’m still not sure. I’m not getting too many positive responses to these titles, with Powerless still being ranked twice as high as any other name. *sighs* But that is what I want to know now, so I don’t publish a book with a cheesy or weird title.
This novel has given me more grief with the title than about all of my other titled works combined. And I really want to get a final title SOON! *presses head between hands*
The idea of ‘powerless’ fits the theme of my story really well and I really like the word. But I don’t have to use it, just like I’ve surrendered the word ‘clashing’.
As to Crowned Powerless, it’s more mysterious and can hold more meanings than Powerless Crown, even though Powerless Crown flows better.
And really, in the end, my readers will know the book as whatever I title it and so they’ll probably not think anything of it. Sorry for the rambling. I’m just thinking out loud in the hopes that it will prompt something…
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
Perhaps I could go the other way and do something about undiscovered power…hidden power…true power. Hmm, I’ll have to go muse on that a bit.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
Take all the time you need, @hope . Pick the one that clicks with your story and what you want the reader to expect from it. If you don’t love either of these then maybe you’ll think of one you do … probably when you’ve just turned out your light to go to bed and got into a comfortable spot.
@Hope I really like Crowned Powerless. I don’t know; it just sounds fierce and final. 😉 And I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing if you have a title that is the same as another book’s title. As long as it fits the story. 🙂
@Hope Crowned Powerless is cool. As far as using names that are used already, I think it is fine as long as the other books aren’t popular. I, for one, (until now:) ) haven’t read or heard of a book called Powerless.
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