My current manuscript has always been called THE FAKE MCCOY. In fact, my main character's name is Seth McCoy because I wanted to use the title (which I came up with in the middle of the night once right as I was starting this project). Anyway, it's meant to play off that phrase, "The real McCoy." Hence "The Fake McCoy."
But honestly, I don't know if it fits. I mean, fake what? I don't know. Seth uses the word "fake" to describe things occasionally, but usually he's talking about other people. There is a place where he says, "I can’t just fake being non-depressed." I'm not sure if the connection is strong enough though.
The only other title I've come up with so far is "Scratching At the 8-Ball." It's a billiards term, the name of Seth's band, and it is also a line from the Social Distortion song "Bad Luck." The line is: You're always scratching at the 8-ball.
It's a very Seth-like song, and I think it fits.
The problem is, one of my good friends used to use "Scratching At the 8-ball" as her blog name. She changed it a few years ago, but in internet searches, her blog is still the first thing that comes up. I already asked if she would be okay with me using the name as Seth's band name and she said she totally was, and that she'd taken it from Social D in the first place so there were no worries. But I don't know. I'd feel weird about it being the name of my novel. Like I was a thief!
I know, I know. If I sell this manuscript, they'll probably change my title anyway, right? But I will have to query it as something. Which sounds better, "The Fake McCoy" or "Scratching At the 8-Ball"?
I think the latter fits the theme better...