SethFleisher.com

No, this is not an ad for Viagra. I'm talking about titles, and specifically, titles for that elusive animal, the short story collection. My agent doesn't love my current working title. Doesn't hate it, but she suggested diplomatically that for her it may not be quite memorable enough. I've kept a running list of alternatives, but so far neither of us has landed on anything we like as much.

Seems like there are several commonly used methods for titling a story collection. 

• Find an evocative title that manages to capture the essence of the collection. e.g., Joyce's Dubliners, or even Salinger's Nine Stories (the latter so literal it's almost ironic, and hey, it worked)
• Name it after one of the stories, and everything else gets relegated to "And Other Stories." Think David Bezmozgis's Natasha (and Other Stories).
• Name it after a line in the collection that resonates with the book's larger themes. e.g., Adam Haslett's You Are Not a Stranger Here

I landed on my current title via method number one, and several people who have read the book have given the title multiple thumbs up. I considered the second approach as well, as there are several story titles in the collection that I love, but I'm not quite comfortable letting a part stand for the whole. Call me synecdochally phobic. I'd be the first to admit it. I gave the third approach a try too, but similarly, no one line feels quite big enough to stand for the book. Alas, I'm back where it all started.

How have you gone about titling a book of fiction (and particularly a story collection)?