How Not to Die Alone vs Something to Live For
When my first book found publishers on both sides of the atlantic, a discussion came up about the title. The original, HOW NOT TO DIE ALONE, was deemed to dark for my own British lot, but the US loved it. In an ideal world, we would have found a title that suited both, but time was of the essence and so the book was published in the UK as SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR – which is the title of a song that means a lot to Andrew in the book.
At the point I got particularly stressed about not having the same title in both countries, I had to remind myself of a couple of things. Firstly, how bloody lucky I was to be publishing a book in the first place! Secondly, that there are loads of books that get published under different titles every year. It wasn’t like I was the first.
Cut to Spring 2020, and the world is a very different place. The darkly comic US title now seemed almost too dark. And then I was presented with an opportunity too good to turn down in the US (which I can’t talk about just yet), which was only possible if I agreed to change the title to the UK one for the paperback publication. And so, after all that, the book is now called SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR everywhere . . .*
*Oh, apart from Sweden, and Germany, which both have different titles. My point is, coming up with a title is really hard and even when you do it you’re not thinking that a global pandemic will mean you have to change it again…
Elizabeth
I stumbled on “How Not to Die Alone” when I was helping a patron find a diet book called “How not to die”. I mentioned the similar title to the patron and he was kind of taken aback and said, “Oh, not that one…that sounds sad!” Before heading home on furlough due to COVID I glimpsed “How not to die alone” on the new book shelf, loved the cover and blurb, and decided to give it a try. I loved it and even ended up buying a copy for a friend. I did like the original title, but I agree that it was a bit too dark, especially this year.
admin
Thanks Elizabeth – really glad to hear you enjoyed it, especially after stumbling across it in such an unexpected way!
MELISSA
I don’t know how I found this book. I was driving 90-120 minutes a day for work (in 30 minute chunks) and ordered a pile of audiobooks to make better use of my time. Some were classics, some were not. Moby Dick was a long, dreadful slog. This book was pure delight. I hated arriving at a destination and having to leave Andrew and Peggy. Thank you for a delightful story.
admin
I am very glad to hear that, Melissa. And I feel much better about never having finished Moby Dick…
William Cook
EXCELLENT BOOK! “How Not to Die Alone” is a must read for book wormers and wayward second hand thrift store book junkies… all others take note. Hats off to the author Richard Roper, you earned your (atta boy) from this book hunter.
Richard
Cheers William!