Before it was "Just Engaged"

Throughout the writing and publishing process for Just Engaged, the book actually went through several title and subtitle changes.

The very first working title for the book was "The Portable Premarital Counselor."

I changed that relatively early on to "Premarital Sense" with the subtitle: "The Practical Approach to Preparing for Marriage."

This was the title through the rest of the writing process, but the subtitle was changed to "The Smart Couple's Guide to a Smooth Start to Marriage" before the book was shopped around to various publishers.

In fact, the book was called "Premarital Sense" (although with yet another subtitle change to "Resolve Your Differences Before You Say 'I Do'") until relatively late in the publication process. The publisher even worked up a cover design for that title, which you can see below (taken from the Adams Media Fall 2007 New and Backlist Titles Catalog):

(Until recently, some Internet-based booksellers were still using that image for the book.)

Apparently, though, the publisher got word from buyers from one of the big bookstores that the title and cover weren't catchy enough, so they went back to the drawing board to come up with another title for the book.

The next title that was selected was "The Rules of Engagement," which I was very happy did not last long--there were already at least one or two books that had that title. I didn't like that title because it implied that the book contains a set of "rules" for what couples are supposed to do during engagement...which was most definitely not my goal in writing the book!

Eventually, the current title of Just Engaged: Prepare for Your Marriage Before You Say "I Do" was settled on. And, with the new cover design for that title, I'd say that the goal of having an eye-catching book was achieved!