How do I choose a title?

Titles are a pretty personal thing. Some like a title to really cover the premise of the story, whereas others are more interested in being intrigued rather than informed.

Personally, I follow a simple rule when it comes to choosing a title:

• The title must apply to my story specifically and should never sound like a title that can be applied to any story.

• The title shouldn't be too long. There are exceptions of great books with equally great titles despite their length, such as The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared (Jonas Jonasson). But in general, short and sweet is preferred. It is easier for people to remember and looks more elegant on a front cover.

• The title should be somewhat original / fresh and ideally raise questions.

With Blame The Dogs, some Advanced Readers were concerned people who don't like dogs wouldn't pick up the book. I thought about this long and hard, and ended up sticking to it anyway. After all, readers are typically familiar with metaphor and I am counting on them picking up on this one even before they have started reading. ;-)