When I Came West (Part Twenty-three)
Thus, I prepared my heart and mind to wait, patiently and without worry, for time to pass and for the economic situation to improve.
Meanwhile a well-known and much respected writer of the West, Rick Bass, had come out with his memoir titled Why I Came West. The similarity to the title of my hoped for book caused me no end of concern. We had struggled with the title for my book for so long, but in the end the editors at OU Press had felt that When I Came West was a strong representation of the story and decided to keep it.
But now, with another book on the market with so close a title, would they still fill the same way? I spent endless hours fussing with ideas for another title. The list seems funny to me now, but I include it here to illustrate just one of the things a writer feels she must do for the sake of her story's survival.
Brainstorming alternate titles
KEY WORDS--West, Western, Rocky Mountains, Wilderness, Wild, Land, Homestead, Woman
Coming West, Come West Young Woman, Into the West, Coming to the West, Lying to the West, Toward the West, Westing; westerly progress or a going, westward, Western Adventure, Western Sojourn, Western affair, An Affair with the West, Dangerous Crossing, Mountain Affair, Mountain Man's Paramour, Mountain Man's Woman, Mail Order: 59928, Wanted: One Good Woman, Mail Order Paramour, Mail Order Romance, Mail Order Affair, Romancing the West, Rocky Mountain Woman, Rocky Mountain Paramour, Rocky Mountain Romance, Western Romancer, Western Emissary, Western Companion, Western Emissary, Rocky Mountain Companion, Wilderness Paramour, Wilderness Companion, Wild Beloved, Wild Company, Wilderness Darling, Western Favorite, Wild Type, Love Knot, Lovelock/lovelocked, Buckskin, Westbound, Westward, The General Direction of Sunset, Wester; to turn or move westward, Unlikely Pilgrim, Pilgrim to the West, Pilgrim in the Rockies, Wayfarer, Wayfarer to the West, Mountain Wayfarer, Half a World Away, Survival Skills, Sweetheart/Girlfriend/Darling/Sweetheart Contract, Sweetheart Deal, Lover (a person in love; two persons in love with each other; devotee, paramour, Beloved (dearly loved), Devotee (a person preoccupied with religious duties or ceremonies; an ardent follower, supporter or enthusiast), Paramour ("by way of love", an illicit lover, mistress), Mistress (a woman who has power, authority or ownership, as the female head of a household; a female teacher or tutor; a woman who has achieved mastery in some field), Companion (comrade, associate; one of a pair of set of matching things; one employed to live with and serve another), Bride (a woman just married or about to be married), Wife (woman; a woman acting in a specific capacity; a married woman), Darling (dearly loved; favorite, very pleasing, charming), Beauty (loveliness, the quality in a person that gives pleasure to the senses or exalts the mind or spirit)…
In the end it looked like I had come up with ideas for a bunch for titles for very bad romance novels!
I lucked out. OU Press decided to keep the original title.
