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They always say to check the title of your WIPs to make sure it hasn’t already been taken, even super similar titles. It’s been a ridiculous few months since finding out I can no longer use the catchy series title, ‘Wormwood Witches�. I thought the process would be easy when changing it up, wanting to keep the catchy sound on the tongue, and it has been anything but. It’s all part of my writing journey toward traditional (and most likely independent) publishing.

I got the inspiration after watching a documentary on Netflix, where the word “wormwood� kept coming up (it’s also the title of the documentary). I knew of the word, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on the context of its use in the Book of Revelations from the Bible. So, after a quick search and read I found it. I’m not sure why I was so attracted to that word and the mythos surrounding this plant, but I needed it for something, I just didn’t know what at the time. Later on I was able to attribute the relation to the Wormwood star in Revelations to the phrase “the fall�, and alter able to add in my own contextual adaptation for a villain who has fallen to earth and made everything in his wake bitter. The oil made from wormwood is bitter.

As time went on, I was still in the early stages of writing and planning book one, not yet realising it would be part of a series. I was battling with the prologue of book one, the first time you meet the villain, who had a strong presence when I was planning. I wanted the whole story to revolve around him, his evil, his magic, and his hatred of human witches. I couldn’t figure out a way to make him more sinister, and so found myself turning my attention to the protagonist, her family, and more importantly, her two best friends.

It was a little after that time that the next stage in story planning occurred: accepting the idea that this standalone book would be the first in a trilogy. Of course, accepting such a feat took around a year, but I got there in the end. After diving into more Urban Fantasy stories, it became apparent that writing a trilogy should, and would be fun, arduous, but a wonderful goal to work toward.

Now, I’m independently published, so I’m supposed to title my works myself, market them myself, enjoy and share the process, myself. I haven’t done much of that for a few personal reasons as one is an essay collection, and the other is a poetry collection, both of which come from two genres of literature that most people care little for. I don’t yet know all the ins and outs of traditional publishing, and what the author has control over, but I had read and heard that the author has very little say in the titling of a book and/or series, depending on the publishing house, store policies, and the contract. I liked that idea, not having to worry about a title for the books or the series too much as they’d be decided by the publishing team instead. I had struggled quite a bit to come up with a decent enough working title that I could use, but I hadn’t banked on falling in love with them. I started using hashtags, for goodness sake.

So, “Wormwood Witches� was born. I was foolish in not researching other book titles at the time. Again, I’m on my own learning all of this. I don’t have a team or circle of fellow writer friends who share all kinds of information about publishing and writing, it’s just me and the internet. I hadn’t clicked how important it was to not only google your chosen book title, but make sure to use other publishing and book sites too, like Amazon Kindle, Net Galley, etc. Of course, being the fool that I am, it took me a whole year to find that out and then start my search.

I’ll never forget that day. I was a curious and overly confident kitty, who decided that I would search up the title of the singular books and the series. I didn’t think anyone would have had it, and the smirk on my face grew. I typed, sipped my tea, and waited for my phone to load. I then found myself choking a little on my tea as it wasn’t as warm as I’d hoped (I left it a tad too long in a newish mug whose temperature cooling gage I hadn’t yet figured out) and right there on the screen, was a book series about witches, where the main witch had the name of Wormwood, with the power of fire. (Note: Wormwood is often associated with air, not fire).

To top it off, the authors name was incredibly similar to mine (well, my pen name, above)! I couldn’t believe it. What was I going to do now? I sat there in disbelief. Yes, with hindsight I realise I should have learned to search much, much earlier. Yes, I was a total fool. Yes, I was very much a double idiot for choosing such a silly sounding pen name too. I needed a new name for the series, and the main character, and possibly myself. I was frantic. My husband was out walking our dog, oblivious to the turmoil of my overrated silliness. I waited for him to come home.

I wiggled in my chair, whipping out my notebook, working over the research and brain dump pages for the title of my books hoping to find another herb, root or flower that had similar uses for magical/occult cleansing and demonic work. I chose the name specifically for those particular properties. I needed the main character to have a fiery name, and the hobby of vanquishing demons on the regular. Wormwood was the most fitting, as my adaptation of the Abrahamic hell would have been the place where the majority of demons would come from across the series and the standalone novels, and ultimately the world building I spent a great time on. It was as if my whole (fictional) world came tumbling down and there was no way out.

My husband eventually came home, saw me in a slight mess, and walked passed me to wash his hands, sanitize the keys, wash his hands again and then give our dog her toothbrush bone for the morning.

Let me explain really quickly, my husband is practitioner of Zen Buddhism, so when I say he was totally chill, completely relaxed and nonchalant, I’m not kidding. He asked what was up, I told him using the best techniques from my basic childhood as a young Shakespearean thespian, and he shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you mean, shrug? My whole world has just come crashing down!� I hollered. 

“I’m still here. So is B. So, no, your world hasn’t ended. Just take time to find another title.�

“How dare you!!!!�

“Sy, honey, you’d have to find a new one anyway. This was inevitable, why get so caught up? Move on.�

At this point I wasn’t even upset anymore. He was right. I could imagine those cool monks going about their business rarely speaking or teaching in a conventional way saying the same thing. I knew I’d find a new set of titles eventually, it’s a given, but that experience is one I’ve learned a great deal from. 

To this day I still don’t have a decent enough title anymore, but I won’t beat myself up about titles. Now I know not to choose a too-cliched title and be far more creative. After all, these works are my babies that I need to cultivate and grow. I’ll take my time, use search bars better, and see what I come up with. 

For now, the series will keep its individual book titles, but the series name will be known as Witches of Nightshade - I remain a terrible human being, and I’m keeping the cliche naming for a little while longer until I find a much better working title. I need the cheese. Good luck to me!