The Pleasure of Tidying

I usually leave the title for last too; otherwise I may not know exactly what they story's about! There's nothing like finally picking a good one. Not weird at all.

Well, in the current series, I waited until the initial book was finished before choosing a title. However, for its sequel, I chose it two chapters in...probably because I wanted to see some cover art as I was going along. I wanted to test out a couple Fiverr artists because I chose too quick with the first book.

When I read the title of this thread I thought it was going to be about something similar to the KonMari method.

I too spend tons of time on cover design. Probably too much. But yeah, I do find satisfaction in finding a picture I really like.

I do put down a title when I start writing, but I can see the virtues of doing the title at the end. When you're done with the story, it's probably easier to think of a fitting title. However, I do find that, when I write something down, it tends to get stuck. Like, a lot of times I can't think of a good character name so I just write something random as a place holder, thinking I'll come up with something better later. Then by the end of the book I'm so used to the name that I don't want to change it anymore.

Hutching said:

All the above give me a huge amount of enjoyment. Am I weird, or do others also regard these tasks as an experience which enhances the authorship process?

Click to expand...

You're not weird (well, at least, according to my frame of reference). I enjoy editing, formatting, cover design, and publishing--often, more so than writing the first draft. I don't remember who said this, but it fits me sometimes: "I hate writing. I love having written."

ETA: It was Dorothy Parker

All my chapter titles are of the form "Chapter N - Title". If I'm unsure just what the title should be I leave it blank: "Chapter N - " or "Chapter N - TBA".

Every project I begin has a working title; it helps to keep track of multiple projects. The working title is almost always changed upon completion. There may be a host of reasons, but in the end I have to like it. I never title chapters since I find that a sort of thematic constraint; numbering is enough. I admit that's a personal idiosyncrasy that some might not understand; nonetheless, it bothers me not one whit.