Its that time… (exciting!) Time to choose a title for my work in progress. I am more of a visual person so the cover always seems more critical than the title, but I know the title is also important to get right. I like a fairly short title, and one that matches the tone and subject of the story, but that is easier said than created!
I’ve used this tool, in the past, to decide on a title. Its pretty fun but I don’t know how accurate it actually is.
The Raven & His Selkie is currently my top title choice. I think it says Romance, fantasy/paranormal, and shows the type of creatures the story will focus on. Or, maybe I’ll go with The Selkie & His Raven? Or maybe I’ll come up with something else entirely. Who knows!?
If you are reading this, I’d love to know how you choose a title. Does it just come to you? Do you use a line from your story? Do you have several working titles, or do you know your title early in the writing process?
amelia bishop 
Hi! I like “The Selkie and His Raven”. That title suggests a romance (or at least a relationship), puts the more unusual character type first to attract attention first, and confronts the expectation that the selkie will be a woman.
As for how I choose a title…? I think of titles as if they’re a line of poetry attached to the story. The best titles (I mean the ones that are the easiest to live with) say multiple things, convey an emotion, or both. The first title isn’t always the final title. I don’t worry too much about trying out new ones even during submissions to publishers. When I’m really feeling the title is a good fit, I look back at inspiration or a related work for a phrase that might match up better with the work. If that makes sense.
Yes! It’s definitely a process to get a title that fits. I also struggle with the tone of a title. My writing is what I call “fluffernutter” lol, it’s pretty lighthearted, sexually explicit, & sometimes bordering on sappy-romantic, so I want my titles to be indicative of that. At least, I don’t want the title to suggest a very serious literary work or anything dark.
I love the idea of looking back at inspiration and related works. I often collect a lot of inspiration “stuff” when writing (photos, quotes, fables/myths, etc) and those probably would be great places to find title ideas too!