TITLE CHANGE! HELP!
You guys! My publisher is changing the title of PROMGATE and I need your help figuring out what the new title should be!
Since PROMGATE doesn’t really encompass everything the book is about (it’s about more than a dance!), we need something a bit less…literal. The thing is, my editor, agent and I are kinda stumped. We haven’t been able to find a title that fits. So, I’m opening it up to all of you, because I know there are some awesome brains out there!
And there are prizes! The three title finalists will get a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card. And your title could wind up being the name of my new book! Aaaaa!
So, okay, here’s how it works:
- Post your title suggestions in the comments. You can submit as many titles as you want, but you’ll only be entered for the prize once.
- While they’re open to having “Prom” in the title, they’d love to see options that don’t feature it.
- I will work with my editor and agent to pick the finalists.
- The book’s plot/synopsis is pasted below to spark great title ideas. I’m also going to list titles that have a similar sound/feel to what we’re going for.
- You can email me at new [dot] zielind [at] gmail [dot] com with questions. K? K.
Synopsis for the Book Formerly Known as PROMGATE:
Is Aggie’s high school ready for a pregnant Goth Prom Queen?
Sixteen year-old Aggie Winchester couldn’t care less about who’s elected prom queen—even if it’s her pregnant Goth-girl best friend, Sylvia Ness. Aggie’s got bigger things to worry about, like whether or not her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together and whether her mom will survive cancer.
But like it or not, Aggie, soon finds herself in the middle of an unfolding prom scandal, largely because her mom, who is the school’s principal, is rumored to have burned prom ballots so Sylvia won’t be elected queen. Compelled to investigate, Aggie finds out more than she bargained for and wonders if the election could be dirty on both sides.
* * *
Other things to note about PROMGATE:
The main character, Aggie, isn’t so sure she loves being Goth. She does it because her best friend Sylvia is Goth and looking dark and menacing has helped her out of a few scrapes. But at the end of the day, Aggie is really trying to figure out who she is. Aggie also loves bass fishing, which her dad forced her to do, initially, but now she kind of digs it. Not that she would ever tell anyone that. She pretends to hate it so no one knows the truth.
Please also note, I’m not sure the publishers are digging the word “Goth” in the title. Not that we can’t consider titles with that word, it’s just that they don’t seem to be jumping for joy when they read it.
Here are some other titles we dig, which might help inspire you:
WINTERGIRLS
FEAR OF FALLING
THE SIX RULES OF MAYBE
THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN
AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES
LOVE AND OTHER FOUR-LETTER WORDS
STORY OF A GIRL
ONCE WAS LOST
Thank you, GOOD LUCK and I am already pumped about all your ideas!! xoxox
30 Responses to “TITLE CHANGE! HELP!”
June 9th, 2010 at 11:19 am
From Prom to Eternity
Save the Last Dance
Stop the Prom, I Want to Get Off
Stopping Sylvia
The Prom Chronicles
Prom and Proper
Scandal at the Prom
When the Prom got Dirty
The Dilemmas of Aggie Winchester
June 9th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Dancing to Oblivion
Dancing with Sylvia
Dancing with Darkness
Fishing for Compliments
One Last Dance
And my absolute favourite”
Promplications
June 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
I know this is extremely unhelpful but by reading the information about the book, Promgate sounds exactly right.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Your Tiara is Crooked
June 9th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Here are some:
OMG(oth) (even though “Goth” isn’t what they want, it can’t hurt to suggest it)
BLACK TIARA
FROM HERE TO THERE (AND BACK AGAIN)
BACK IN BLACK
June 9th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Thanks everyone! These rule. Rob just came up with one I really like: BURNED.
June 9th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Ok, I know they’re not much, but so far I have:
Fishing for Truth
Did You Hear About Aggie Winchester?!
Aggie’s Guide to Life, Love and …Fishing?
June 9th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Fishnets and Fishing Nets
June 9th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
^I would also add a subtitle to my entry
June 9th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Off the Hook [fishing reference]
Black and Blue [black=Goth; blue=sad]
Hanging Shards [ballot reference]
Hanging Shards and Torn Leotards [Goth reference, but I don't know Goth well!]
None of the Above [ballot reference]
A #2 Pencil Won’t Save the Day
June 9th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
I could do this all morning! (me speaking, not a title suggestion, there)
June 9th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Ashes on the Dance Floor
Prom on Fire
Who ruined Prom?
My Prom Date is a Bass (couldn’t help that one- sorry)
June 9th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
The Last Dance Ever
Save the Last Dance
Vote Goth
How I Voted and How You Shouldn’t
How to Make Your Vote Count
How High School Ended for Me
Black Lipstick and Powder Blue Tuxedoes
Suffragette City [OK, probably not]
June 9th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
The Days of Bass and Prom Dates
June 9th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Title might begin with Fishing for Fishing for Love, Fishing for Answers, donno, still hooked on Promgate…
June 9th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Burned by the Crown
Prom and Circumstances
June 9th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Crown Burns? Like rug burns only …. OMG. See why I need help? See??
June 9th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Black Ties
Royal Pain
Fishing for the Light
Egyptian Ejection (goth makeup looks )
Queen of De Nile / Denial / The Nile
How bad can the puns be?
June 9th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
No pun is off limits. Bring ‘em!
PWNED. I totally want this book to be called PWNED.
June 9th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
^ Okay, not really.
June 9th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Wow, this is hard!
Ashes of our Relationships
Love Ashes
Prom Exposed
Scars of Prom
Relationship Scars
Prom Queen Undone
Ashes of the Prom Queen
June 9th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I’ve probably got more rolling around in my noggin, but here are a few ideas:
High School Noir
The Incendiary Inquiries of Aggie Winchester
Winchester’s Dilemma (or Aggie’s Dilemma)
Caught Between a Rock and a Heart Place
Caught Between a Friend and a Heart Place
Emergence (as in, an emerging situation, an emerging truth, an emerging young woman)
Fishnets and Formalwear
Friends and Foes, Moms and Proms
Trials and Tiaras
Trials, Tribulations, and Tiaras
Once Upon a High School Scandal
Caught in Her Fish Nets
Schoolhouse Shock
Schoolhouse Shock: The Incendiary Inquiries of Aggie Winchester
Deceit from the Dance Floor
June 9th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Queen Bee
Drama Queen
queen of hearts
Scandal
Staged
Crowned
Dirty Ballot
Rigged
Tuxedo Junction
Unlikely Queen
Dirty Deeds
Dressed for Disaster
Dressed in Lies
Morp (prom spelled bkwards)
Prom Mom
Promenade
Schooled
Tamper
Faked
Tiara Town
Dirty Tiaras
Dirty Queens
Black Bling
Gothic Tiaras
Crown of Thorns
June 10th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Being Goth is Not What it Seems
A Gothic Bass Fishin’ Wannabe Prom Queen (Haha both of those are a bit long)
Aggie’s Gothic Prom Adventure
Prom Lies
I’m kinda running out right now, but I’ll think about it.
June 10th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
What Happens at Prom Doesn’t Always Stay At Prom
High Heels and Rotten Deals
June 10th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Eyeliner & other Secrets of the Prom
Eyeliner & Other Enigmas of the Prom
Promapalooza
June 10th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
It’s All Smoke and Mirrors (Or It’s Only)
What’s left when the smoke clears? (Or Who’s Left?)
Behind the pretty facade (what is the truth about the prom queen?)
Bitter Taste of Prom
June 10th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
- DANCE IN THE DARK (I suppose DANCER IN THE DARK could also work, but that probably has too much overlap with the movie…)
- HOOKED
- COULDN’T CARE LESS
- THREE BURNED BALLOTS (insert the number of the ones that Aggie’s mom theoretically burns…)
And just for the silly:
)
MAMA DRAMA
YOUR MOM (I was really trying to come up with a mom-joke title, but I’ve got nothing, and this isn’t a real suggestion anyway
I
June 10th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
The Scarlet Tiara
The Prom Queen Files
Queen’s Scandal
Scorcher
June 10th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
How about:
“As your actual prom date I beg of you not to write a book about the horrors of prom. I could not possibly have been that bad of a date as to inspire a book that then touches off a debate on the title.”
or maybe:
“The guy that took me to prom was really nice and a gentleman the entire evening. This book is a total work of fiction based off of a night of eating bad Mexican and watching Gilmore Girls”
You could also go with:
“I’m Sorry- please don’t publish this book”
Possibly:
“Never date a future writer even as friends”
Or possibly:
“This book is not about Chris-my actual prom date- W____”
I now only have 1 course of action. Become a stand-up comedian and challenge you in every night club and lounge from here to the Mississippi…. wait, I am virtually ON the Mississippi, thats like 3 bars. Crap.