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If you followed my previous posts on outlining novels, you might remember that I had working titles in place for the two outlines I completed in 2008–Sarah and Three Weeks. Perhaps oddly, the novel I chose to start drafting this month was the only one without a working title.

I”m happy to say I was finally able to come up with a working title for this novel – Animus. I don’t know if I’ll pitch it under that name, but having a title helps to keep me focused on the “essence” of the story–it’s simple and sums up the overall atmosphere well.

My only problem with the title (which I otherwise love) is that there was apparently a self-published book put out last year under that title. Given, titles aren’t protected by copyright so there’s no serious issue in using it, but we’ll see how it goes.

At that point I’ll look at the status of the other book and see if it might present problems marketing-wise. And of course, pitching it under that name doesn’t mean the title wouldn’t be changed by an edior if the book is picked up later.

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About the Author: Jennifer Mattern

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Jenn is a professional blogger and freelance business writer. She has worked as a freelance writer since 1999, and has been an active business and niche blogger since 2004. She owns All Freelance Writing as well as several other sites and blogs covering PR, small business, and related topic areas. She is also currently writing a nonfiction book for freelance writers called The Query-Free Freelancer, and is the author of the Web Writer's Guide e-book series.

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TAGS: animus, fiction, first draft, mystery, novels