Me, with politically charged thistles.
All right, I’m getting desperate.
As I mentioned in a little footnote to the last post, there’s been a bit of backtracking on the title of my upcoming book (which you will all purchase, devour, love and rave about, right?). The original title was My Green Year, then it became Single Green Female, but now my American publishers aren’t so sure about that. They prefer Sleeping Naked is Green, but the Canadians think that sounds like it came directly from the marketing department (and I can’t help but agree).
The subtitle will be a fun, longwinded sentence about how an eco-cynic unplugged her fridge, sold her car and found love in 366 days — or something equally ridic — so we really just need a title that’s succinct and catchy. If it has the word green in it, even better, because then when people search for “green” on Amazon, it’ll come up (this is what my publishing friends tell me, at least).
Some other titles that have been suggested include:
Showering in The Dark
Beyond Green
The Greening of Life
Green Like Me
Green Me Up
Running on Hemp Tea (Get it? Like running on empty! I came up with this and think it’s hysterical. Unfortunately, no one else does)
Battlefield Earth (Could run into copyright issues here, though)
And then there’s Gaia Loves Me, my bf’s ironic (at least I hope) suggestion, which he has now made twice.
I think it’s important to have something that conveys the extremes I went to while doing this challenge while also hinting at the fact that this will be a smart and funny read, not a preachy, schmaltzy one.
So, here’s where you come in, my beautiful, brazilliant readers. Come up with a title that pleases both my American and Canadian publishers — and me, of course — and I will dedicate the entire book to you. No joke! For serious. It’s yours. Swearsies. Leave any ideas in the comments section below, and feel free to brainstorm without censorship.
Vanessa
Oh, P.S. The photo above is of yours truly, Ms. Thistle, WITH THISTLES! My boy snapped it while we were gallavanting around the Golan Heights the other week. You know how it goes.
Speaking as a marketing person, why not combine it into “Single Green Female Sleeps Naked”? or “Sleeps in the Nude”
It could have been worse, it could have been “It’s Green To Shower With The Navy”
I am terrible with titles, but here is my darndest:
Insanely Green
Dear World, With Love
My Eco-Nutty Life
One Green Gal
and
Green As A Thistle
Hey at least it would be very recognizable! Though, those politically charged thistles don’t look very green.
I like Green as a Thistle too. It’s your blog name, it’s catchy and different, I think it works. But then, I think Single Green Female is a really cute title and that your publishers are nuts.
How about a play on the fact that it involved a leap year – Leaping into Green, or One Giant Green Leap?
Other random thoughts:
Green With Envy
Greener on the Other Side
I will keep thinking.
No suggestions (yet), but I have to say: I like Green as a Thistle and Greener on the Other Side. Both would pique my interest.
How about: Shades of Green or a Darker Shade of Green ?
What? No one has suggested “Green Me up Scotty?” Just kidding. I’ll think about it seriously and get back to you if I have any thing worthwhile to offer. Personally, I don’t see what is wrong with “Green as a thistle.”
I think Single Green Female is really good.
The 365 turn around
Turning off the fridge: how one person blabla bla
Spring in to green
Green the hard way
Say it Loud! ( I’m Green and I’m Proud)
Greenliness is next to Godliness
To Green, Pechance to Dream
Umm…. Green Me a River?
Seriously, though, why not Green as a Thistle?
I too like Green as a Thistle, but what about “A Year in the Green”. I’ll keep thinking.
It Ain’t Easy Being Green (I know, copyright issues, but still!)
Going Green One Day at a Time
The Greening of (a) Life
Green 365
The Daily Green
Love your Blog, can’t wait for your book!
How about some simple suggestions:
Code Green
How Fast can you Green?
What Color Green are You?
To start, what made your blog so good is your natural wit. If it is your wit that made the blog work and that signed the book deal, shouldn’t you write the title?
In general, most of the suggested titles are either too dry, too plain, or too much like everything else out there. You need something both catchy and that highlights your wit. I also think that “Running on Hemp Tea” is the most humorous and catchy of the options given. I think the only draw back to “hemp tea” is that you don’t necessarily want to brand your self as a hippie, but a hip greenie, so maybe hemp isn’t the way to go.
Have you considered your line “Toast to Compost?”
The only decent thing I can come up with is “The Green Modest,” which could be taken to mean that you are (a) not smug, (b) trendy and mod, (c) showering in the dark, and (d) living green!
Good luck! And, I can’t wait for your book!
I vote for Green as a Thistle or The Daily Green. Can’t wait for it!
How ’bout:
Greenzo Journalist: One reporter’s experience with going green for a year.
Greenalicious: How sleeping naked for a year will help you save the Earth and find true love.
Green Between My Toes: blah blah filler here
Stepping Into the Green: blah blah filler here
You can make the dedication out to: “Deanna Duke, my blogging friend, who writes the rip-roaringly funny blog, Crunchy Chicken.”
Hi
I’m new around here, found your blog in the Google Reader suggestions and now I’m wondering about the adjective “brazilliant” that you used. Coz I’m brazilian and for a moment… Well, here are my suggestions, “Dare to go green”, “Crazy green days”, “Can you go green and keep sane?”, “I want to be green”… that’s it! Good luck.
Dried loose tomatoes at the thistle’s green buffet
or
Getting the dirty on green
or
Turn off, tune up, green out
Good luck – the book sounds wonderful
Oh my god. I LOVE Greenalicious and Greenzo Journalist. I also like What Color Green Are You. I know she meant pale green versus dark, but I prefer to look at the title more as an absurd statement on our time.
The Greening of Vanessa
First one that popped into my head is: “It ain’t easy being green”
others:
“go green or go home”
“going for the green”
“as green as it gets”
“got green?”
“spilling the greens”
“greener by the day”
“the greener the better”
“indulging in green”
“what it truly means to go green”
“i’m not cheap, i’m green”
“lean, mean, green machine”
“seriously green (but not too serious!)”
“if you can think it, you can green it”
ok, i’ll stop now ….
good luck!
Wow, this is tough. I have all kinds of new respect for newspaper copywriters who deal with headlines. I just spent half my morning in my dictionary and thesaurus and I’m feeling creatively tapped out. My brain cells are on vacation (as evidenced by running a full load of laundry WITHOUT SOAP yesterday. Grr.)
Anyways, I really like Single Green Female, Green as a Thistle, or Running on Hemp Tea. Sleeping Naked is Green doesn’t roll off the tongue very well.
My suggestions:
The Greening of Life (which was suggested already by Chichimama – beat me to the punch
Green to the core (especially since you were eating apple/pear cores, too)
My green-washed life
Greening Pains
An unseasoned green(ie)
Yeah. So no future in headline writing for me!
[...] Green as a Thistle needs help with her book title. [...]
Haha, The Greening of Life was in my list already! But I do like that one… also, a friend just suggested Green Days, which I like… this is good, though. I’m going to direct this to my publishers’ attention, stat.
I like Green As A Thistle, too.
Or The Jolly Green Girl.
(Get it? Like the Jolly Green Giant? ha.)
I like Green Days. Or Green DAZE. Ha.
Yes, I want to read your book. Duh.
If you can think it, you can green it…blah blah blah…insert witty text here..
Hows about:
)
“Everyday Green”
“Green for the Normal Girl” / “Green and the Normal Girl”
“Green and the City”
“Supergreen!”
or “Green Daze” (play on Green Days, obviously
“Green and Bear It” (heh heh, like grin… yeah you get it)
Here’s one:
“On A Greener Note”
Ooh, a couple more:
“Greenify Me”
or
“Greenification”
BTW, I notice that those thistles in the picture are more of a brownish hue than green… are those the ones you’re as green as??
“Green Like Me” … has someone already suggested that?
“365 days to a brand new me”
“Green as a Thistle” is the perfect title!
“The ordinary girl’s guide to a better planet”
Best of luck… I look forward to downlading your book!
“365 days of Green”
“To be Green or not to be, that was my question”
“I did it Green”
“My green Journey”
Sam @ LG
Me again! (once this brain starts thinking about something it’s hard to change tracks)
one last one:
“Girl Goes Green”
I like names that sound like a transition is happening… here are my suggestions — don’t be insulted by the first two, I just mean to indicate that life might have been boring before, but that the green life made you more alive somehow. (whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but it just sounds like a cool idea to me.)
From Blah to Green
From Beige to Green
Greenways
Way to Green
Glowing Green
I also like Crunchy’s Greenilicious a lot
PS I think Single Green Female is a fantastic title as well. Can’t you do something like 100 Mile Diet guys did and have the US publisher use their own marketing-driven title? I.e. split the name so there’s a different one for each country?
There really is truth to this kind of difference in market, I guess. I’m Canadian and think “100 Mile Diet” is a far more distinct and descriptive title than “Plenty.”
Down and Green
Digging in the Green
Digging the Green Life
Stripped Green
Deep and Light: 365 Shades of Green
i’ll keep thinking…
Hi Vanessa,
I love this type of puzzle/marketing opportunity!
Some ideas just off the top of my head this a.m.:
A Year in the Green Lane
A Year in the Green
A Year in Green
My Year in Green
My Year in the Green Lane
-Laurel aka LKBlog
Hi Vanessa,
Love your blog! If you don’t choose “Green as a Thistle,” how about “Extreme Green”?
Best of luck with the book.
Kristin
I like Green as a Thistle as well
Gang Green :: Insert Witty Subtitle Here
While the blog is about your own experiment, I’d suggest that as it evolved, it emerged into a community (citing the bazillion comments above as some sort of proof). This Green Gang / Gang Green stuck around for the long haul, was encouraged to make their own changes, and participated by suggesting new changes you might look into doing as well.
cheers.
andrew
Heart of Green (got me searchin’ for a)
True Green (Love)
I also like single green female, and very much running on hemp tea.
gang green and green days might be reminiscent of bands?
I like the addition of something involving ‘year’ or ‘daily’. It tells the reader what the book is about. I like Green 365 also.
I also like Green as a Thistle. What about “Turning 180 Degrees Towards Green”
Most people aren’t green but maybe would like to try and the will surely do an ‘about face’!
just a thought…
As a variation on the copyright-challenged “It’s not easy being green,” how about “Easy Going Green”? It popped into my head pretty quickly. I think it sounds good, and has two meanings. You had a good time right? And you think people can make small changes to be greener? And, it seems like your conclusion was to well, take it easy! Good luck!
You can’t choose Green Like Me because it’s too much like my blog name, and my dozens of readers would be confused.
JUST kidding.
I think Single Green Female is good, too, especially with the “finding love” tie-in. But if that’s nixed … what about …
I’m Not Easy, I’m (Just) Green
Greener Every Day
Green around the gills: How an eco-cynic unplugged her fridge, sold her car, found love and thrived in 366 days
My unplugged, fair trade, all-organic year: blah blah blah
No fridge, no car, no TP, no fear: blah blah blah
I’m sure all of our crazy ideas will inspire the perfect thought from you or your marketing gurus. Good luck.
I still like:
Extreme Green: No fridge, no car, no boyfriend
and
Emission control, we have a problem!
and
The Kyoto diet
but how about
Green till I’m blue in face
?
Nah
Ah, so many titles. Not sure if these are already mentioned above, so sorry if they are:
The Green Year: How I…
The Green Age:
Eco-green Nut:
Eco-green Crazy:
A Year in the Green:
After Green:
Going Green in the City:
How I Stopped Just Reading About Being Green and Did It One Day at a Time
Green Times:
Green Sex, No Fridge and Finding Love:
Best of luck,
Tim
What about something with the word environmentalism, like
“Environmentalism gets mental and men” or
“The Me, Men, and Mental in Environmentalist” or
“From mental to me: reducing my environmental footprint one day at a time” or
“Green girl puts me, mental and men in environmentalist; hip in hippie”
“Green girl seeks men in Environmentalism”
something along those lines…
another voice for “Green as a Thistle” here. That’s a fabulous title.
Though i like “single green female” a lot, too.
I laughed at Running on Hemp Tea, Vanessa – very witty! Though I think “hemp” sends loads of people in a tizzy. I think Single Green Female is nice – and I’m American. Other thoughts…
Simple Green Female
Simple, Green, and Lean
Single and Living Green
Extremely Green
Green to the Extreme
Green to the Nth Degree
Good to see you writing – I look forward to reading more about your new and improved life!!
Sorry – I still haven’t got the hang of my WordPress account. Anyway, that was me!
Pun Gent Pat, I love “Extreme Green: No fridge, no car, no boyfriend” – I would certainly buy a book with this title
And one more vote for “Green as a thistle”
The only thing that came to my mind was:
Greener shade of green
Green, girl, green
Green girl on the edge
My name is Cynthia, I recently came across your blog and I love it!
The reason I’m writing, is that I work for Matchstick, a word of mouth marketing company based in Toronto. For the program I’m currently working on, we are looking for young, chic, fashionistas like you! Most importantly, I’m on the hunt for women who write popular blogs that discuss topics like fashion, health and beauty and savvy current events, with the hopes that they’d be willing to participate in a short survey about feminine beauty and hygiene products.
The survey won’t take too much of your time. I’d love to get the chance to connect with you and get your valuable feedback!
Please feel free to email me at cynthia@matchstick.ca and you can let me know if you’re interested in participating and how best to get in contact with you.
Thanks in advance,
Cynthia
single green female….sums everything up perfectly.
also like Running on Hemp Tea…
Lean Mean Greening Machine…..
I like “Green as a Thistle” and “Single Green Female” but if your publishers are denying you, here are some random thoughts (my brain is tired too)
Embracing the Green Beast
The Green Canadian (for yer ‘Merican audience)
Treading the Green Path
The Reluctant Greenie
Greening Without Grimacing
blah, these are terrible. good luck.
My Green Year
Greener on the Other Side
One Green Day (at a time)
How to Green and Bare It
and my favorite Green as a Thistle
Can’t wait to read your book. Plus I own a little bookstore, so I’ll have to stock a few copies!
I like “showering in the dark” best, sound slike a book title that a man also would read….not as feminine as all the others.
just my 50c
1. A green thistle from Canada: life in the green zone (might get some political hits?)
2. Living green the modern way: with good hair, without patchouli, and always sleeping naked between the sheets
3. Cuter than Gore: A very convenient lifestyle
4. Living with Jacob – the passion of mother earth (had to dig through archives for the boy’s name. Hope I got it right)
5. Not presidential – an ordinary woman’s attempt at living green for a year (maybe a bit confusing)
6. Worm tea for my plants and Hemp tea for me – my journey into becoming less prickly to the planet
The Modern Cynic’s Guide to Green Living
I think it sums up your blog quite nicely
I like Single Green Female. There are so many ways to play that up.
You could also go the totally opposite way and seem anti-green or seeminglt anti-green:
‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Oil’
‘Barrel Hugger’
A darker shade of green,
366 days to a greener me.
I do prefer Green as a Thistle but that’s from association. You’d do better with an Ontario thistle as a backdrop right now. They’re much greener than those poor middle east ones.
Title for your book:
Dark Green
Greener than Verde (verde is green in spanish)
Opps I left the wrong e-mail address!
Title for your book:
Dark Green
Greener than Verde
Yeah what’s wrong with Green as a Thistle? I hate marketing. I bet there are a ton of great books out there I pass by because someone called it somthing completely asinine. Which I think most of the titles in your post sound like to me. There are sooo many ‘green’ books out today that really, I would, personally, avoid annnnything that sounded like chick lit or would make the think the book was not serious or uses the implication of sex or sexy to SELL somthing I am so sick of that marketing shill. A male author would not be caught dead with a title like “sleeping naked is green” if it was even ever brought up as a title…. The connection to your blog name makes total sense to me….and many of your other fans seem to agree. maybe we can petition your publisher.
Navy Showers Bring Green Flowers
Seriously, though, I heart Single Green Female,
Running on Green (play on words: running on empty)
While my favorite is “Green as a Thistle,” I like “My Green Year”. It seems to fit your criteria well. But most of all I’m enjoying your new post. My addiction to Thistle has not worn off.
Deb
“Green is the new pink” – but somebody probably already said that.
I love your website! Too bad I came in on your last week – I’ve been having to backtrack.
Prickly Green
Goes with the blog name… says that being green isn’t always easy… all kinds of connotations about sharp wit/hip/new/etc.
366 days to greener ways
This is my only suggestion, I really don’t think the general public would get the green as a thistle connection since they have no knowledge of this blog on the whole. Although I do like the name I just don’t think people on a whole will get it.
How about “Green Extreme”
or “My Year of Green”
blogging today I came up with my new motto, and I think it might work for you too.
Live life lightly, announce it brightly.
Or some variation- One woman’s year of living life lightly and announcing it brightly.
Vanessa announces brightly how she lived lightly. Um, thats not awkward.
Anyway, I like the rhyme and I think the word brightly conveys a lot of meanings, all of which are appropriate.
I still like green as a thistle, and I don’t think people need to get it. Thats kind of the point, catch their attention. What does she mean? I didn’t even know what a thistle looked like until you posted the picture, so I had no idea how green you were
.
Hey! Glad you’re back! ish. ok, my thruppence.
Green My Butt.
Green My Skinny Dipping Butt
Skinny Dipping For The Earth
Green is Great, But Don’t Touch My Navel. (Did I say that out loud?)
Green Onions In The Stew
Bare Naked Green In Public!
Green and Bare It – is good, or you could go with’
Greened And Bared It- Barely
ok, I’m wound down. Stay in touch!
A lot of great suggetsions.
Green as a Thistle remains my favorite tho….
I was just singing (don’t ask me why!) “Follow the yellow brick road” and wondered how “follow the green brick road” would sound. I’m not totally convinced myself, but I like the idea!
UM, I LOVE CUTER THAN GORE!!! Pick that one!!
How about
Small Changes
or
My Year of Awareness
Green: Is This Going To Hurt?
So, what’s going on with this title situation? More updates, please!
The Green Scene
Green at Going Green: one girl’s year blah blah
Girl Goes Green:blah blah
My Green Year: Knee-deep in the Gore
The Grass Is Greener: A Single Girls Journey to a New Shade of Green
(with the “is” in italics)
And I’m not sure if it was suggested before, there were too many to read.
“She Was Green With … Environmentalism?”
Ah, about the above, it can almost be a triple entendre: Green environmental, Green Envy (since it steals the phrase,) Green Sick of it. Which I bet you were at some points in your trials, but it was all worth it, right? So if you chose this one you could go into those meanings of the title.
Hi, Vanessa. I found out about you from Crunchy Chicken’s blog.
Here are a few title ideas- trying to encorporate the easy, daily but cumulative changes you made over one year’s time:
I like “Green as a Thistle”
Now I’m Rolling Green (or Rollin’ Green) or Learning to Roll Green
Peeling to find the Green within me; Peeling Green
365 Steps to a lighter, Greener Me!
Thistle’s Comet – blazing a green trail
The Daily Greening of a Thistle; The year of greening a Thistle
Thistle really make you green; Thistle be fun – going green the easy way!; Thistle be fun – a single gal goes green, and finds love (Thistle be enough for now! ha ha)
I think the unplugging of your fridge would be something that’s huge and most people think they couldn’t do, maybe involve that in the title? Not sure how though, sorry.
What about something like:
Greening My Pasture,
Seeking Greener Pastures, One Day at a Time
[...] to Comments I’m not the only one flummoxed by publishers and their ideas about book titles, it appears. What a [...]
Young, Green & Hip
…followed by your subtitle.
Playing off of what they suggested, how about
Go Green: Sleep Naked
It involves the catchy bits they seemed to like, involves action (which is really what your yearly experiment was all about, right?), and rhythmically could flow into a subtitle without much trouble.
How bout “Crossing Todays Fense to Go Greener”, or “Are My Worms Green?/ How to find the Green Things.”
As Green as it Gets (or As Green as She Gets): how one girl went green in 365 days and found love…
I like Green as a Thistle or Showering in the Dark too with similar descriptions after it.
Good luck! Can’t wait to find out about what is decided!
“I Went Green For a Whole Year and All I Got Was This Lousy Book”
“All the Green Things”
“My Life as a Hippie”
“Suffering For the World”
“Dire Green”
“Hairy Legs and the Girl Who Wouldn’t”
“Green Sacrifices”
“I went Green and I’m Still Alive”
“Single Green Female.”
I’d like to go with “Green as a Thistle,” but it doesn’t describe the project as well. (I spend time thinking about thistles–Are thistles green? What shade? I’m pretty sure I remember a Crayola color called “thistle”…or was that “periwinkle”…?–and I lose the “greenness” of the project.)
And what a great photo!
Looking forward to the book.
I just found your blog a while ago and I’ve been reading it and
ROFLMAO. You are a brilliant writer.
I hope you have a book signing in Toronto.
I don’t really have a right to give you a title but here
is my suggestion after reading it all
Letting Green Mellow
I like Green as a Thistle, but I guess that is just from reading your blog and being familiar with the title.
A Year to Plenty
SGF: A Single Green Female’s Story
Landing in the Thistles
I like Green as a Thistle too, but if you’re publisher is making you choose from that list – Showering in the Dark made me giggle. I liked that one. Can’t wait to read it.
I hit “Submit Comment” too soon. It is going to be printed on recycled paper right? And do you plan to sell an eBook variety as well?
LOL @ Steven Bley’s suggestion for “I Went Green For a Whole Year and All I Got Was This Lousy Book” … too bad the publishers like the sleeping naked one better (though I like it, too, and don’t mean to whine)…