Titles That Jump Off the Shelf

I took my daughter to a thrift store yesterday on a sweater-shopping spree. I strolled over to the used books while she checked the racks (she failed to find an acceptable choice from the hundreds of sweaters available) and wound up buying a used copy of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. (It's a novel, but was mistakenly stuck in the history section.)

There's so much that goes into shopping for a book, especially when you're just browsing the bookstore shelves. An unusual title is one thing that might get me to take a peek; it's what got me to take a look at a book I discussed awhile ago, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (since made into a movie with Ewan MacGregor and the lovely Emily Blunt). I'm a lot less like to pick up some book called A Blue House or The Lost Love or something.

I wonder about the science of picking a title. How often do agents and publishers require authors to change titles? Is there, in fact, even a science of title selection? Is there some old marketing report sitting in a file drawer somewhere at Random House-Penguin (or is it Penguin-Random House)? (And wouldn't "Random Penguin" be a great name for a publishing house -- or a rock band?) The same question applies to cover art, of course -- is there an actual science of this subject, or is it all seat-of-the-pants decision-making?

Anybody know the answer to those questions?

Any favorite title that you just couldn't resist?

Truth IS Stranger Than Fiction

Is this Petraeus scandal delicious or what? A perfect example of how "truth is stranger than fiction."

A woman gets some weird emails and goes to her friend, an FBI guy, who convinces his pals to open an investigation, even though there doesn't really appear to be a crime. This winds up uncovering an affair, which really ought to be nobody's business, that brings down one of the most powerful men in the country, a potential Eisenhower-like presidential candiddate. Then it turns out the FBI guy has some kind of relationship with the original complainant, because he was sending her shirtless pics of himself, and that he went to Republican congressmen because he had a political motive -- seeing some kind of Obama administration coverup under way, even though Petraeus is a Republican -- and so now he is now being investigated for unprofessional conduct. Meanwhile, the original complainant, having destroyed the life and career of one man she considers a friend, also appears to have set in motion a process which has now ensnared another four-star general, who has sent her 30,000 (!) emails. So the woman who is carrying on some kind of weird relationship with the FBI guy, and another one with the general, may have wrecked her own life and marriage in the meantime!

You couldn't make this stuff up. No agent or publisher would accept a query this bizarre. No one would buy the story. Too many coincidences. Characters acting too stupidly: everybody knows email isn't secure, especially the director of the CIA! C'mon.

Is the Political Novel Dead?

I've been wondering if the political novel is dead -- if, indeed, it was ever really alive. I'm pondering this as I tease out a plot for my WIP (if we can call it that), A Bright, Shiny Object, which would be one such political novel.

Not including murder-at-the-White-House-type potboilers, the political novels I can think of are few and far between. Primary Colors, Joe Klein's story inspired by Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, is the only recent one that comes to mind. Only a few others pop into my head, all of them rather old: All the King's Men, The Ugly American, Seven Days in May (was that even a novel before it was a movie?).

This is unfortunate for someone like me, who is cursed with an interest in politics. (I say cursed because our political discourse in this country has been reduced to schoolyard taunts, while the number of outlets for this jibber-jabber has exploded, bombarding us with a lot of bilious crap.)

I suppose, on the upside, that the relative paucity of political novels -- as opposed to, say, vampire or zombie books -- might leave a little daylight on the agent/publisher landscape for someone who actually churns one out.

Your thoughts?

Britspeak Seduces 'Gormless' Americans!

According to the BBC (consider the source!), Americans are taking to Britishisms in a big way. This is the biggest threat to our national idiom since everyone was calling stuff "fab" and "groovy" back in the '60s. The government of Perfidious Albion is probably behind this trend, either in revenge for the casting of Renee Zellwegger in Bridget Jones's Diary, or because they want the Oregon Territory back. (Never! 54° 40' or Fight!) This threat to our precious native lingo is all too visible on TV. What's with all the Brits on the airwaves all of a sudden? What, no American was available to replace Larry King instead of the ridiculously named Piers Morgan?

How do you feel about this subversion of our sacred tongue? Personally, I'm gobsmacked by it all!

Have Title, Need Plot

I love this title for a semi-comedic political novel: A Bright Shiny Object. A Sarah Palin-like character, faux Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, usual other politicians and pundits. A lobbyist and Senator or two.

Now, someone give me a plot to make something of this.  Thanks!

What I Think About Michael Chabon's "Telegraph Avenue"

Here's my review of Michael Chabon's new novel, Telegraph Avenue, in the Washington Independent Review of Books. Short version: I like it.

Reviews: Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble

Considering the importance everyone attaches to Amazon, obsessively checking their book's Amazon sales ranking, etc., I find it interesting that in my case at least, I've had a lot more reviews of Tainted Souls posted on Barnes and Noble than at my book's Amazon page. (Also, far more reviews and ratings at Goodreads. Only two reviews at Smashwords, despite almost 200 downloads.) Moreover, reviews continue to come in at B&N, but there hasn't been a new review posted at Amazon in ages.

Curious. This is rather the opposite of what I was expecting (to the extent I was expecting anything). I just assumed that Amazon, being the superpower of retail, would attract more readers. Is it possible that B&N attracts more "real readers" (let's call them) than Amazon?

Does anyone know if this is the pattern, B&N reviews outpacing Amazon ones? Or is this just a case of my life experience, as usual, being outside the mainstream?