Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It
collaboration with author Jenny Wood and agent Lisa DiMona
Book Titling Concepting
It’s not every day you title an instant New York Times bestseller, but that’s what I ended up doing with my very first book titling exploration. Let me back up:
Jenny Wood, a former Google leader and top career coach, once chased an attractive stranger off the subway. If you’re wondering how that worked out, well, she ended up marrying him. She went on to craft her coaching philosophy—and her first book—grounded in what that successful chase taught her.
Unsurprisingly, she wanted to call her book The Chase. Her publisher didn’t agree. She was disappointed. And no one could get on board with any of the alternative titles or subtitles that were kicking around either.
That’s when her agent reached out to me.
Given my experience as a conceptual thinker and brand builder, a book reviewer for The Washington Post, and a published author (who has gone through the retitling process myself—twice), I’m uniquely positioned to understand multiple perspectives and pressures: The reality of marketing a book and building its brand world, starting with the title. The need to quickly zero in on the core concept or key argument of non-fiction books in particular. And the personal attachment many authors feel to a title they’ve had in their minds (and hearts) for years.
After reading the full manuscript, I concepted more than 30 titles and 60 subtitles across distinct creative concepts and format approaches. The final title, Wild Courage, was a collaborative solve between Jenny and her editor, based on my suggestion of Wild Confidence. The subtitle was chosen from the options I provided, with no changes.
Jenny recently told me, “I’m obsessed with this title, and it never would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you. It was so painful for me to let go of that original title, but after working with you I quickly realized this new title is 10 times better.”
You can get your very own copy of Wild Confidence here or wherever books are sold. Images courtesy of Jenny’s Instagram.
