Many people liken the publishing process of a debut novel to having a baby. They've even coined a term: Book Pregnant.
And we totally get it. Even though we haven't been puking each morning and craving crabs during our book pregnancy, there is a feeling of treading into uncharted territory with something you love and have poured your heart and soul into. (Although Liz is praying she doesn't gain 70lbs with this pregnancy...) We've been lovingly caressing the manuscript through the editing process and are anxiously awaiting the cover reveal. So when our team at Atria felt that the title The Toast should be, well TOAST, it was time to go back to the drawing board.
To be honest, it wasn't a total surprise. We had sent the manuscript to a freelance editor( the wonderful Emily Heckman, in case you need one), and she loved the book, but wasn't too keen on the title. So we changed it before sending it on to Atria. And then our editor at Atria loved the book, but didn't love the new title we had picked out. So we changed it back to The Toast, but we knew its days might be numbered.
So when we got word that it was time to pick a new title, we already had a list we had come up while sipping sake and eating spicy tuna rolls. (We do our best work that way!)
But no one really loved those ones either. (Did we mention that we suck at coming up with titles? Even while sipping sake?)
It was our fab agent, Elisabeth, that came up with a title that everyone loved. (Thank GAWD she's good at it! #savedourasses)
So The Toast became Your Perfect Life. Which is totally fine, because now we don't have to worry anymore about having two champagne glasses clinking on the cover. #soooocliche
And for a minute it felt odd, because our baby had a new name. But only for a minute--then we were seriously IN LOVE with our new title. And we hope you are too.
Tell us what you think! We have a SIGNED copy of Amy Hatvany's Heart Like Mine. (It's GREAT, btw!) Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win. We'll choose the winners on Monday, May 27th after 8am PST.