My first novel began life in a Word document under the working title The Flood. It’s not bad. Does what it says on the tin. But, The Ragged Valley is so much better, isn’t it? I have to thank my agent Kate Nash for coming up with this title, which simultaneously describes the state of the landscape after the Great Sheffield Flood and the working-class characters in the book.

I love the poetry of it, and it suits the saga genre.

Coming up with effective titles that encapsulate what’s inside the book is tricky and I’m more than happy to leave this part of the process to the experts.

Pictured here are two of my favourite (hence dog-eared) classics with their perfect and immediately recognisable titles. But did you know The Mill on the Floss was originally submitted to publishers under the title Sister Maggie, while Catch-22 was intended to be Catch-11 and had to be changed because of another, similar, title publishing at the same time?

How about these almost-titles? First Impressions, The High-Bouncing Lover (always makes me giggle) and The Last Man in Europe.

Not ringing any bells?

They are the beloved classics Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby and 1984.

Then, you have your taglines. The Ragged Valley’s tagline is In an instant, their lives will be changed forever. Needless to say, I didn’t come up with this either. My publisher did. And my publisher wrote the perfectly-crafted blurb on the back.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. I’m currently reading Blurb Your Enthusiasm by Louise Willder. It’s a joyful exploration of titles, taglines, blurbs and more from an industry insider, full of wit, while Willder dares to turn the old adage on its head – maybe we should judge a book by its cover. If you love books, I promise you’ll love this.