Molly writes a wickedly funny series about vampire Jane Jameson, Nice Girls Don’t… Her latest Jane book (Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors) just dropped, so I thought it would be a nice time to ask her to come around for another visit. The one in which Molly discusses her process of coming up with titles:
With books like HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF and THE CARE AND FEEDING OF STRAY VAMPIRES to my credit, I’ve had some pretty strange title choices over the course of my brief writing career. In fact, with my most recent manuscript, I tried a simple, two-word name and my new editor said, “Well, that’s not exactly in line with your other titles.”
The oddity started with my first book, NICE GIRLS DON’T HAVE FANGS. I pitched it to my agent as SINGLE UNDEAD FEMALE, a succinct description of my vampire character’s unmarried condition. When Pocket Books picked up the series, my former editor, Jennifer, worried that the title was too another paranormal romance series with the word “Undead” in the titles, which would confuse readers. There was also the possibility that the readers would erroneously assume my books were about an obsessive vampire roommate who dyes her hair to match her victim’s. So she asked me to come up with a list of alternatives. I came up with a dozen or so, including SOUTHERN FRIED AND FANGED, which Jennifer did not like. She came up with a list of suggestions, none of which I liked. I threw out an off-the-wall, last-minute desperate bid, “How about NICE GIRLS DON’T HAVE FANGS?” based on the lectures my main character, Jane, receives from her mother on how “nice girls” do and do not behave.
And that was the one Jennifer (and the twenty-something interns working at Pocket) liked.
And so this trend has continued for the duration of my authorly career. I label my manuscript with a pretty terrible original title. Despite said terrible title, the publisher agrees to buy the book. After editing the manuscript, my editor gently suggests a change. I come with a list of alternatives. She gently suggests more changes. I run out of changes. My editor comes up with a list of more palatable alternatives. I don’t like them. In a fit of desperation, I throw out the oddball title I’ve had in my head all along, but have been afraid to suggest out of fear my editor will finally figure out how weird I am, and that’s the one she likes enough to put on the cover.
With the fourth book in the Jane Jameson series, I made a lot of title suggestions in connection with Jane’s wedding. I tried to play off the “I do’s.” Suggestions included NICE GIRLS DO TIE THE KNOT and NICE GIRLS DO WEAR WHITE, but we thought breaking the pattern might confuse the readers. And Jane ended up not wearing a white wedding dress. (The hussy.) So I thought about the non-wedding related events in the book, and focused on Jamie, the teenage milkman Jane ends up turning into a vampire after he’s struck by car in front of Jane’s shop. And so, after an increasingly despondent back and forth exchange, we eventually arrived at NICE GIRLS DON’T BITE THEIR NEIGHBORS.
It’s a strange system, but it works for us.
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
oh dang, I’m so disappointed I missed Molly’s visit. I love her books! They are even better as audio. Amanda Ronconi is a fabulous reader. “How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf” was the first I read and then couldn’t help myself, I got all the rest. I love the humor and the characters.
Maybe Molly will come back and check for comments, Laura. I love her books, too. She is a naturally warm and funny person, and that comes out on the page, I think.
Aw, I blush now. Thank you.
I’m here! Amanda does a great job. She voices all of my audiobooks and she really seems to “get” my writing voice!
The only thing I don’t like about your books Molly is the end, because I have enjoyed them so much. Just finished the latest Jane book, and as always, loved it all the way through, it was like visiting with an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while, since it had been a while since the last Jane book. You book ” And one last thing”, I read it about the time my husband walked out on our 10 year marriage and left me with 2 kids, you may never know how much that book helped me at that time. I adore your books and will continue being a devoted fan. Thank you for sharing your talent.
I’m so sorry that happened, but I’m glad I could help in some way. Thanks for commenting and sharing that with us.
I am not sorry. Life has gotten so much better, me and my kids are so much happier then we have been in a long time. One door closed, and so many others opened up.
I was so excited about reading your latest (last) Jane book. I enjoyed every page! Are some of the secondary characters from Jane going to make guest appearances in your Stray Vampire series?
Oh, yes, the whole family makes cameo appearances! Thanks!
Welcome, Molly! I LOVE your titles–very cute and creative and alluring. I’m looking forward to reading your latest!
I just bought my forst Molly Harper book last weekcalled “How To Flirt With A Naked Warewolf” I can’t wait to read it. Is it part of a series? If so,What are the other books in the series called?
Yes, the second title is “How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf.” Thanks!
Um, wouldn’t that be “The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf”?
Facepalm. That’s what I get for trying to answer questions while volunteering at my daughter’s school library. That Curious George video is more of a distraction than you would think…
Hello Molly! What was your muse for writing about vampires? I must say I have only read a few of the vampire genre (Sherrilyn Kenyons) and they were ‘well juicy.’
Vampires have always fascinated me. Maybe it is because my neck is my most ‘erogenous’ zone and there for a no no to touch. Kiss. Bite. Etc. Now there is a title for a vampre series; My Neck Is A No No.
(Ok so it really is a YES! OH YESSSSSSSS! But we won’t go there!)
Buffy and Angel had recently gone off the air and I was still in mourning.
and I love “My Neck is a No-No.”
Angel, or Spike?
I could never decide, Ti.
SPIKE! He’s my favorite vampire ever. (With all due respect to my own creations.) Spike is the perfect mix of hero and bad boy, badass and loveable goofball. When I found out James Marsters’ accent was fake, I cried a little bit.
We used to have a regular feature at WS, Real Men Don’t. Your title reminds me of that, Molly. I think it’s time for an update on Real Men Don’t. Do you have a title for the next Jane Jameson book yet?
Technically there won’t be another Jane title. There will be spinoffs. The first one will be called The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires
Thanks, everybody! And Julia, it was And One Last Thing. My lone non-paranormal title.
And I don’t think its a question of my editors not seeing how brilliant my titles are. It’s more that I should stop worrying about my editor thinking I am nuts. I should just throw out my most bizarre title first!
You really can’t worry about people thinking you’re nuts when you’re a writer.
We all know you must be.
True.
Welcome to the Whine, Molly! I do love the funny vampire books, and will have to check yours out. I love title stories and the contortions that authors, editors, and marketing go through to find the perfect title. I have a few favorite titles that never got used, and my favorite is still: Blame it On Viagra. Someday, someone will see the brilliance in that title and will use it on a book, preferably fiction.
When I was in my chick-lit phase, I originally had titled a book, The Diva’s Guide to Thin Thighs In 30 seconds. Marketing didn’t like that one, only because they thought people would confuse it with a non-fiction exercise book instead of humorous woman’s fiction. At the time, I thought marketing was really underestimating their audience, but now there is Ron Kardashian’s 30-Second Solution: Transform Your Body, Business, Relationships, and Life in Just Seconds at a Time. Sigh.
And the follow-up: Blame it on Cialis, when the relationship dissolves in side-by-side bathtubs.
Good one!
ROFL! love this, Sherri!
LOL, Blame it on Viagra.
Yes, the cover picture possibilities are endless. And hilarious.
Oh yeah. The mental images.
If this book doesn’t make it to press, I will cry
Welcome Molly!!!! I love your titles! Titles are the bane of my existence, but Kathleen usually rocks them for me, LOL! As the Beatles say, I get by with a little help from my friends!
Welcome Molly. Great Titles!!! And the books sound like so much fun! Note on titles–there aren’t as many title worthy D words as you’d think.
Delightful, delicious, delovely… dilemma.
Decadent, deadly, deeply decisive…
Welcome, Molly. So glad you shared with us Whiners.
I DO wonder about titles. How often does an author get to choose his/her title? Is the general rule that you have to be fairly established before you can name your title? Or, as Molly mentioned, is it more of a back and forth process?
Titles are tough! I’m having title trouble right now. You struggle to find the right title and then your agent and editor might have different ideas anyway, sometimes marketing gets in with the mix, and eventually, it often gets changed. My first two titles were changed, but I came up with both replacements (love one, hate the other). My second two stayed the same. And the mash-ups were fairly easy to determine based on the originals (though there was some changing with the second one, too).
Molly and I share an agent and an editor, so we’re like sisters that way. I don’t think you really have to be a fan of paranormal or vampire books to enjoy Molly’s books. It’s more about zany every-day situations you have to look at differently because suddenly, fangs. I also enjoy Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series for laughs, but the characters are getting too stock for me now so it’s good to have a new series to sink my teeth into, so to speak.
I read one of Molly’s books in the RITA contest one year. It was my top-rated book. It was just so good. But Molly, I can’t remember the title. Which was your RITA finalist?
I think it was her women’s fic, And One Last Thing.
Yes, it was, thanks! I hope to write some more non vampire stories soon!
Welcome, Molly! This is the perfect sort of whine for Whine Sisters: Why don’t editors see the brilliance of my titles? I’ve managed to get two or three onto a book, but usually, someone else comes up with the one they all believe will sell the book. Figures.
However, in my Hadley Green series, I have come up with all the titles. I cannot believe I have gotten away with it, but I think it’s because I have had two editor changes in the midst of it and, well, you know…my titles are the last thing on their minds, LOL
It helps that they are great titles.