WHAT’S IN A NAME?

In my July 14 post “Chasing the Dream,” I said the original title of my book was FALSE CLAIMS. It was the title I had in mind the whole time I was writing the book. It was the title I used in my query letter to my agent, and the title we used when we sent the book out to publishers. It was the title my editor and I repeated over the months we polished the book into final form, and the title I spent many dreamy hours imagining on the glossy cover of my debut novel.

Then one day, my editor told me the publishers wanted to change the title. Apparently they felt that False Claims was too difficult a title to market and to create a cover image for. They needed me to come up with something else.

I have to admit this news hurt like a punch in the gut. I felt like I had been carrying this baby for over three years and all that time, I was whispering to it, “I can’t wait to introduce you to the world, False Claims. I’m so proud of you, little False Claims.” And just as I was about to squeeze the little darling out, the doctor announces to me, “You have to change its name. How do you feel about THE WHISTLEBLOWER?”

Wha—at?

After going through the five stages of grief, my agent and I brainstormed alternative titles. Spousal Privileges, Perfect Privilege, The Price of Privilege, The Rules of Privilege, The Secrets of Privilege, Losing Privilege, Lost Privilege, Broken Privilege, Shattered Privilege, Wasted Privilege, Privileged, The Sister’s Secrets, The Sister’s Sacrifice, Lies My Sister Told Me, The Sister in Law, My Sister in Law, Serious Side Effects, Adverse Side Effects, Prescription for Privilege, Guilty Pleas, Her Guilty Plea, Prison of Privilege.

My agent shared the options with my editor, who in turn shared them with her colleagues. She got back to us with the verdict: everyone at the publishers, from editorial to marketing and sales, loved THE RULES OF PRIVILEGE. We were back on track. It was the title I used when I created this website. The title I posted to my author Facebook and Instagram pages. The title that appeared unexpectedly one day — OMG!! — for pre-order on Amazon and Target and Barnes and Noble. I couldn’t wait to see the cover image for this new title.

Then one day, my editor told me the publishers wanted to change the title. Again. Apparently, they were having the same troubles with the new title that they had with the old. My editor said they had another title for me: A GOOD FAMILY. In addition, the publishers wanted to push back the release date from January 14, 2020 to July 14, 2020.

By this point, I was resigned to whatever title the publishers wanted. Like a pregnant woman well past her due date, I just wanted the excruciating waiting to end. “That’s fine,” I said. “A Good Family is fine.” (Truth be told, The Rules of Privilege was hard to pronounce and always reminded me of Jane Krakowski’s indie film THE RURAL JUROR from 30 Rock.) And while July 14 feels like a long time away, there’s a certain charm to the date for a Francophile like me.

The good news: the design folks at the publishing house were able to come up with an image to go along with my new — and hopefully final — title. Like a mother seeing her baby’s face for the first time, I think it’s absolutely beautiful. What do you think?