Settling on a title can be tough. We almost called this book Think Yourself Thin!
1 The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald considered quite a few titles, including Trimalchio in West Egg; Among Ash-Heaps and Millionaires; On the Road to West Egg; Under the Red, White, and Blue; Gold-Hatted Gatsby; and The High-Bouncing Lover.
2 1984
George Orwell’s publisher didn’t feel the title The Last Man in Europe was terribly commercial and recommended using the other title he had been kicking around—1984.
A word that can be its own antonym is called a contronym. For example, “cleave” can mean to sever or to cling.
3 Atlas Shrugged
Before it was Atlas Shrugged, it was The Strike, which is how Ayn Rand referred to her magnum opus for quite some time. In 1956, a year before the book was released, she decided the title gave away too much plot detail. Her husband suggested Atlas Shrugged, and the title stuck.
4 Dracula
The title of Bram Stoker’s famous Gothic novel sounded more like a spoof before he landed on Dracula—one of the names Stoker considered was The Dead Un-Dead.
5 Catch-22
Thank Frank Sinatra for the phrase “Catch-22.” Sort of, at least. Author Joseph Heller originally called his novel Catch-11, but he scrapped that title because the original Ocean’s Eleven movie was still in theaters. Heller also considered Catch-18, but, again, a recent publication made him switch titles to avoid confusion: Leon Uris’ Mila 18. Heller finally settled on the number 22. It was finally chosen because of its repetition of “2.”
6 Dubliners
James Joyce originally called his book of short stories Ulysses in Dublin. Guess he decided that that title was so loaded that he could get two whole books out of it.
7 To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was simply Atticus before Harper Lee decided the title focused too narrowly on one character.
8 Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen’s novel probably would have done just as well with its original title: First Impressions.
That thing you use to dot your lowercase “i” is called a tittle.