I received another rejection from a literary agent today, this time a standard form rejection (they didn’t even refer to me by my name). Again, I’m not upset; this is, as far as I understand, part of the standard publishing process. I really don’t want to self-publish, simply because I want to give this book the best shot at being widely disseminated, and that means literary agents, which means rejections.

That’s seven rejections so far, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I’ll hit success with one agent or another, I’m still confident—and a change of title might be in order.

This is something I was discussing with a friend, and they thought the title A Gothic Symphony sounds a little too cliché, and not something they’d want to pick up and read. Fair feedback; as I wrote before, it’s simple been stuck with me from the outset, and I never really considered anything else. The problem is, it’s now hard for me to think outside the box and come up with a different title. I want something, I think, that’s related directly to the story, yet doesn’t necessarily give away anything that happens. Think The Grapes of Wrath, or Girl, Interrupted.

It’s funny; I never thought coming up with a title would be the hardest part of this.