nancy sv

I've been working on a book about our year-long trip around the USA and Mexico with our kids - and I just finished the rough draft!!! YIPPEEE!! I am so psyched that I got it done!! It still have a long way to go with the revising and editing, but at least I have a draft to work with now.

I've got a few questions for fellow bicycle nuts...

I'm thinking of calling it A Family's Quest for Magic: Pedaling the Roads Less Traveled. Does that sound OK? Is it something that would draw you in and encourage you to take it off the shelf amongst all the other books there?

And, I want to put one more chapter - an FAQ with all the questions we get asked a lot. I know a lot of the questions I want to put there, but I'm wondering what questions you might have. If you read a book about a family bicycle tour around North America, what kinds of questions do you think you would have?

Thanks!

CoyoteLoco

I like the title!

jamawani 

Your diary was incredible.
What a trip!
What an adventure!
What an education for your kids!

Congrats!
J

Tom Stormcrowe

I like the title as well. It's an eye catcher.

I wish you excellent sales and a favorable royalties contract

nancy sv

Thanks everybody!! It feels so good to finally have a draft of the whole book!! It's been hanging over my head for so long....

2ering

How about reversing the order of the phrases?

becnal

+1 But anything with "pedal" in the title would grab my attention.

Rowan

Where do you go to the toilet?

How can you ride with one set of clothing?

Do you send your stuff on ahead?

How far do you ride each day?

Where does the teddy bear ride and does he pull his weight?

How many flats have you had?

Who cooks?

Who carries the food?

Do the people who don't cook and don't carry the food ever get to eat?

How did you pay for this?

Why?

Don't you get bored with each other... or

... how may fights or moments of bike-rage have you had?

Why aren't your kids in school like they should be, you irresponsible, terrible parents who shouldn't even have kids (what's the child services number)********** (sneering, snotty, and totally overthetop condescending tone)

Wouldn't it be easier to drive?

Just how much did it cost?

Don't you worry about the kids being out there on the open road with all those maniacs driving cars?

Where did you say you went to the toilet again**********

kipibenkipod

Hi,
What catches me the most is your 3 person bike, which is astonishing. You with the 2 boys is absolutely your pearl and you should press on that.
Most of the cyclist are "Pedaling the Roads Less Traveled", so I wouldn't use this.
I would search for something that the two boys did that made this tour "Magic" and eliminate using that word.
Very ruff ideas:
Two kids cycling the USA...
Cycladale kids crossing the USA...
Crossroads school by bicycle...
Kindergarten year on bicycle with mom and dad...
We cycled across the USA at age 9...
Mommy cradle is bicycle...
Rockies from a child view...

You should sit and write scenes and describe the boys. Then describe the trip with just short words. Now try to cross between the two.
My first words when I saw your blog, with the picture of the family riding was "Amazing"! This is what should come through when reading the title.

Good luck,
Kfir

nancy sv

wow!! YOu guys are great!! And I really like your ideas for a title - you've got some great thoughts on that one. I agree - that triple is very unique and we need to capitalize on it....

brianmcg123

I would lose the first part of the title and just use "Pedaling the roads less traveled".

To me the first part sounds like some kind of Harry Potter book or David Copperfield suddenly with kids and talking about magic.

Or what about "A Family's Quest : Pedaling the Roads Less Traveled." I don't know, there is just something about magic being in the title that I am not keen on. Maybe it is just me.

MMACH 5

I really hope you get this published. I've just began reading my first touring-themed book, (The Masked Rider—Cycling in West Africa by Neil Peart) and am really enjoying it.

As for the title, personally, I like the first part of your title, (including the word Magic). It could remain as the main title or be relegated to subtitle.

I'm not sure about the "Pedaling the Roads Less Traveled" part. Something about it puts me off a bit. I'm sorry not to have a better explanation. Just jotting down my first impressions.

This is what came to mind in looking over your home page.
"Two Bikes, Two Kids and a Dog: A Family's Bicycle Trip Across America"
"Bicycle Built for Three: A Family's Bicycle Trip Across America"
"Are We There Yet?: A Family's Bicycle Trip Across America"
"Living a Dream: Taking the Family Across America by Bicycle"

Somehow none of the ones I came up with contained the word "Magic."

Congratulations on completing the trip and the first draft. I'm looking forward to reading it!

neilfein

+1. Titles with extraneous punctuation sound like dry business book titles.

brianmcg123

I like this one a lot. Funny and gets to the point.

Neil_B

Or chess history titles, which might be even worse:

https://www.ecampus.com/book/0786430109

eric von zipper

Congrats on the draft. I have a MFA in Creative Writing. I know what it is to push through a draft of a book, but now the real work starts -- revisions. I agree with trying to keep the title light hearted/a little funny.

nancy sv

Thanks for your suggestions!! I'll work on it... The more I think about it, the more I want to incorporate the idea of a bunch of people on one bike - I think that is our strongest visual. I like "Are We There Yet? too.

Tom Stormcrowe

Title Suggestion:

How many Miles per Cookie?

nancy sv

ooohhhh - you guys are brilliant!! I like that! Keep 'em coming!!

BengeBoy 

Another vote for this one.

teamcompi

Just putting a loaded bike on the cover is enough for me.....we need more people to write books about touring they are always good winter reads don't you think?

Rowan

I wouldn't sweat the title too much... if this is being published by professionals, they will decide what is best. And it might be completely different to what you think. Plus... they will check the databases for books with similar titles and veer away from those already used/copyrighted.

Neil_B

Book titles cannot be copyrighted. A title of a book is in most cases considered descriptive of the contents, and thus isn't protected in the sense the rest of the book is protected. You can get an idea of the problems that copyright on titles would cause by searching Amazon under "Bicycle Repair." How many books use that phrase in a title?

A title can be registered as a trademark, in certain cases, but I'll let a lawyer explain that one.

nancy sv

I have heard that they will probably change the title. At the same time, they say that a good title will catch an agent's eye and could make or break a deal. sigh....

kipibenkipod

Yep, so you have to be ready.
As I said before, you should write some anecdotes about the kids, and then try to build the title.
The cookie title is very good, and its an example for what I have said. But, if your boys didn't do or say it, it is not valid. Search for a valid thing, which will be your leading special sentence that every morning show will say it, and it will explain the whole story.
It is hard, yep, this is what copywriter does.
Good luck,
Kfir