It’s time to decide on a title for my book and I’m looking for input. The publisher likes the title : subtitle format like ‘River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze’ so suggested ‘Dragon Bones: Two Years Beneath the Skin of a Himalayan Kingdom’. It sounds a little clunky, but it could work.
Dragon Bones is the working title, but I never bothered to explain what it means in the book – there never seemed to be a fit and I figured the publisher would want to change it. For me, it represents a number of things, such as:
- Druk Yul, the local name for Bhutan, means Land of the Thunder Dragon
- Marie and I both had trouble with bones / joints (knees and ankles) while in Bhutan, which coloured some of our experiences
- Getting to the bones of the dragon is like getting under the skin – uncovering the dragon to expose it right down to the bones
- Combined, the words Dragon Bones have an air of mysticism that is apparent in many aspects of daily life in Bhutan
My mother rightly pointed out that the word ‘Bhutan’ would be the best choice to sell the book right now, so it should be a prominent word in the title. My flatmate suggested ‘Hidden Bhutan’ which I really liked because it suggests both the presence of a mystic side as well as the uncovering of hidden aspects. Unfortunately, that was used for a book of photographs of Bhutan. I liked ‘Naked Bhutan’ but the publisher thinks that sends the wrong message and prefers Dragon Bones.
Other ideas are ‘Bhutan Exposed’, ‘Bhutan Revealed’, ‘Intimate Bhutan’, ‘Bhutan Unveiled’, ‘Bhutan Uncovered’, ‘Concealed Bhutan’, ‘Pure Bhutan’, ‘Unseen Bhutan’ and ‘Secret Bhutan’.
What do you think? Does the title have to be explained? Which of these titles would you buy?
How about “Bhutan: Big, Bold, and Beautiful”? OK, maybe not.
“Living Bhutan” could be good. It is what you did, and it does have a sense of discovery to it. We all know that living in a country allows one to discover more about it. It might appeal to people who are visiting.
Deeper into Bhutan
How about “Finding Bhutan”?
All good ideas, but you’re not making it easier. I’m trying to reduce the list.
Hey Murray,
Not qualified, but fresh eyes sometimes help.
Bhutan Exposed/Revealed sound a bit like Bhutan has done something wrong. Unveiled brings to mind a veiled woman – i don’t suppose that is relevant to Bhutan. Uncovered lacks poetry in my humble opinion. I find the publishers title too long and as you say clunky. The idea of cutting “two years” out of it sounds good…can’t wait to read it!
x
From Bhutan with Love
The Dragons of Bhutan
Bhutan’s Collection
Dragons from the Himalaya’s
The hidden secrets of the Himalaya’s
Himalaya’s Secret
The Secrets of Bhutan
A journey of the Himalaya’s (Bhutan)
The Scent of Bhutan
Perhaps a few more ideas you can use to reduce
No, no! I’m trying to reduce the list, not add more. Anyway, the publisher has locked in the original.
Lisa,
The clunky title probably won’t be so bad since it will generally be viewed rather than said. I’ll just have to learn to live with it – or to say it in a way that’s less clunky.