A year and a half ago, I asked readers of this blog for help coming up with a title for my book. It made sense to ask for your opinion because many of you followed me here after reading my travel blog, so you were familiar with my travel tales.
From a list of possible titles, lots of you chose Please Send Pants. At the time, I didn’t like that title. I thought it was too silly, didn’t convey the sense of the book, yada yada yada.
But I should’ve listened to you then. Because now, nearly two years (two years!) after starting to write this book, my agent and I have decided on a working title. Yup. Please Send Pants.
My title has gone through quite a few iterations. At first, I called it Madame or Mademoiselle? For a while, my manuscript went by Glow Sticks Are Brighter in Africa. And during the last six months, I’ve called it Sweet Like Life. (I still really like that one.) But y’all were right; Please Send Pants is the best. While my book has plenty of serious scenes, overall I aim for a playful tone, similar to how I communicate on this blog. Please Send Pants reflects that. And combined with the subtitle, A Woman’s Solo Journey Through Africa, it gives the reader a sense of what the book is about.
Not to say the title won’t change again in the future — odds are that it will morph during the publishing process. But for now, I”m happy with this choice.
I’m also happy to have editorial notes back from my agent, which puts us that much closer to submitting to publishers. But more on that next week!
I like how it captures several things in three little words: generosity, long distances, practicality, need…. I also like the contrast between the young-sounding “Please Send Pants” and the more serious description “A Woman’s Solo Journey Through Africa.” 🙂
Love it!!!! Writing mercies to you today!
Thanks to both Amy and Leslie! I love hearing that you love the choice. But I also hope that readers who DON’T like the choice will comment here — and tell me why — so I can take that into consideration as I continue through this process!
How exciting to choose your title! I got goosebumps. 🙂
Your tweet caught my attention. Coming up with a title has been one of the hardest things for me! At first glance, Please Send Pants sounds silly to me too, but combined with the subtitle it has meaning. I don’t know all the details of your memoir but from the title, I take away that your book takes a humorous look at the difficulties of traveling through Africa as a woman. And if that’s it, it WORKS!
That is so exciting! I love your working title. It made me laugh – and also very curious to know what’s inside the book. Good choice. 🙂
I love it! Especially with the subtitle.
I agree with Nicole. On its own, PLEASE SEND PANTS might be hard to take seriously. The subtitle helps to balance it out. Having said that, I love the title PLEASE SEND PANTS and wish I had thought of it myself. I’ve only been following you for a short time, so I didn’t get the chance to vote for it. All the best in publication.
Good to know — Thanks for honest opinion!
I love it! I love it! I love it! Congrats on the title and I, for one, think it’s PERFECTION.
Thanks, M!
I second what Leslie Forman said! … What was your agent’s reasoning for the title?
We actually didn’t even talk much about it — Had a host of other details to discuss. She said it worked for her and I left it at that.
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear more about the next steps in the process. I’m just a few weeks behind you (I just sent my MS to my agent on Friday), so I’ll be reading with interest. Lots of details, please! 🙂
Really? So great that we’re sort of on the same timeline! Keep me posted.