Death of a title

I was talking to a colleague last night whose opinion I respect and afterwards I decided I will ultimately have to pick another title for my murder mystery novel, which currently is titled, "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal."

It's not that it isn't catchy. It is catchy. It would draw people's attention, which is necessary for the book to sell. But she pointed out something I knew but had never completed considered.

The book is a fairly standard murder mystery __ a person is killed and we follow the ups and downs of our hero as they try to figure out who did it and why __ and isn't political in any way. But the title is political. Very political.

A book with that title will likely create a public debate as to the title's appropriateness and, in a larger sense, race relations in this country. I would spend more time discussing the title than promoting the literary merits of the book itself. It would shift the focus away from what I want it to be.

All that makes me sad. I can't see why people can't just see the title, have a little chuckle, buy the book (if only out of curiosity in the title) and move on. The book is just a book __ a novel whose purpose is to entertain. It's not a book about race relations.

I have had the title for years __ about 10 years, actually __ before I started the book. I had the title before I even considered writing a book set in a Black newspaper. But now I will have to come up with another title. Nothing immediately comes to mind, although the first draft of the book is nearly complete. But a title will come in time.

I have considered keeping the title until after I start looking for an agent again, just to see what their reaction would be. But in the end, I don't want the focus of the novel to be on the title. I want it on the storytelling.

Oh well . . .

Have a good day and don't give up on writing.