How I Self-Published a Book Series with the Wrong Title (And How I Changed It)

When naming a series of science fiction adventure novels, I made a serious mistake.

Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash

Titles are tricky. I think long and hard when naming my novels, and most of the time, I’m happy with the final choice. But in one particular case, my titling decision proved woefully misleading: George Goes to Mars.

Typing it now, I cringe. What was I thinking? It sounds like a picture book for very young children, when in fact it is aimed mainly at the Harry Potter/Alex Rider demographic. It’s a science fiction adventure for the young and young at heart.

The initial idea

In 2005, I came up with the story of thirteen-year-old orphan George Hughes. He goes from rags to riches when he discovers he is the sole proprietor of the planet Mars, due to a land registry claim made by his ancestor. Because humans are landing on Mars, he has exclusive rights to sell plots of land to film stars, pop stars, former presidents, and other celebrities with more money than sense, who want to build Martian holiday homes.

Unfortunately, this makes George an assassination target, as other sinister parties covet Mars for themselves. George is protected by the Mars Trust, an organisation…