What should I do with the name?

Started by Mats Berglinn, Sun 09/11/2003 21:05:58

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Mats Berglinn

Hey guys! I have a little bit of a problem. I'm writing a fantasy novel in two parts called The Legend of the Togastone. I'm done with the first book of two and it's under correcting before atempting to publish it. Here is the problem: My sister and her boyfriend think the name Ghardaf (pronounces Gar-Dah-f [Gar pronounes like garlic]) is too similiar to Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. They believe that fantasy fans will find that and it maybe turns out bad but I like the name so much that I don't have the heart to chage the name. Dad have told me that if a bookprinter company sees the similiars the might not like it and doesn't publish it. Now I don't know what to do and I want to make the book. Please, help me out of this dilema and say what you think about this!  

Al_Ninio

I say change it.
It does sound too similiar, in my opinion.



...GARDA!

Ben

#2
Keep it. I doubt anyone would notice, or even care. And even if the publisher don't want the name, I'm sure they're give you a chance to remove it.. Unless they just hate the book and don't want to tell you  :P

Hobbes

Am I correct in assuming that you're going to approach a publisher directly instead of first trying to acquire an agent?

If that is so, then I must stres the following points:

A. Keep your manuscript simple. No graphics or anything, leave a double space between your lines.

B. No grammar mistakes of ANY kind. Publishers don't easily run through your book, they expect punctuality from you. Fail at this, and they can get very harsh on you.

C. They'll probably contact you about the name. Gardahf and Gandalf are just *too* similar for them to ignore.

Good luck on getting a publisher! If it fails, try to get an agent instead... they can represent you a lot better and have the required contacts.

Evil

How about a name like Geldion or Gordel. No offence, but I like those better then Gandahf. I would just change it. Replace all functions work well with this. :P

TheDude

Is Ghardaf the name of the book or one of the characters? Is it like The Legend of the Togastone: Ghardaf?

Las Naranjas

Bah, Tolkien took the name Gandalf from Norse legend anyway, along with all the Dwarves' names.
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auhsor

Hmm, I think you should change it. When playing Zelda:Oot, I thought that the name Gannondorf, was similar to Gandalf. Oh well.

Mats Berglinn

The dude: I said that it's one of the characters that is named Ghardaf. The books are named The Legend of the Togastone.

Hobbes: What do you mean keep your manuscript simple? Fantasy authors doesn't make simple things and filmmakers doesn't keep it simple as well. About the grammar thing, I'm working on it so it will be as correct as possible but there will one character that will speak wrong grammer like Yoda in the Star Wars movies.

Evil: Nah, your name suggestions weren't good.

Ben: Thanks for letting me know.

|Alky|

Quote from: Mats Berglinn on Mon 10/11/2003 06:24:44
...but there will one character that will speak wrong grammer like Yoda in the Star Wars movies.
Oh for the love of..
it's GRAMMAR >_<

But anyhow, good luck... ^_^
Don't keep it simple, but maybe include an outline of the plot (synopsis), and maybe a short essay on why you think your book deserves to be published?

I don't know, I've never tried having anything published, but that seems like a good idea to me...
Alex 'Alkaline' Cline

We're going back to the tick tock to get the boo-boo. Send for backup. - Baby's Day Out

Gemmalah

hey but i used a name from a film and noone noticed! it was for english coursework.
I wrote Jamie's dragon, and the main dragon it called Craeu, and that is based on The neverending story where a charator is called atreau.
is this too similar?
whats your story about anyway?
Dragon Slayers demo finally finishedGet it here!

Ptraci

Yeah, that could be because the original character name was Atreyu.


What about changing the spelling into something like Ghardaph or something like that?

bspeers0101

Quote from: Mats Berglinn on Mon 10/11/2003 06:24:44
Hobbes: What do you mean keep your manuscript simple? Fantasy authors doesn't make simple things

He means the *manuscript*, not the story.

The manuscript is the actual physical print-out, not the plot, not the characters, but the leafy bits of paper with staples through them.  Often people send out manuscripts written on fancy paper, or with pictures, or with fancy fonts, etc.

Keep the manuscript itself simple.  No curly letters, no purple paper, no pictures if you can avoid it, no artistically rendered cover.  Publishers will toss out manuscripts that look too "cute" or too "cool" Things like design, lettering, pictures, drop-capitals, etc are for actual production and will be done after you get a contract (assuming you're not self-publishing and printing).

The exceptions are possibly children's books with illustrations on every page--but even this will be in a simple page-by-page format when it reaches the publisher, and other similar genres.  The other difference is if it's not a broad publishing house but a short-story contest, particuarly for youth, they may not mind.

Also, no typos, spelling errors, wrong words or grammar errors.  Grammar can be bent a bit, but never broken, and spelling is only ever slightly changed for a very deliberate effect (at least for first or second time authors).  A character can speak any way they want, but tricks with grammar and/or spelling played with a character (while not always a bad idea) can look gimmicky and thus lead to rejection.  Publishing is a nasty business, and there's a lot of games to play in it.

I would also change the name, but I bet that's not the only problem with it.  If the character is not a main character but a side-character, the name is fine.  If the character is a main character who is NOTHING LIKE A WiZARD, then it's fine.  If the character is anything like a wizard at all, it should be changed.  Your father and sister are right here, if that's the case.  There are so many imaginable names, play around to fine the right one.  You will likely find an even better name.

That said, have fun writing, and keep sending stuff out.  The only way to be a writer is to write.

Paper Carnival

what about Gholdarf or Ralghorf or Forghal?

Hobbes

Quote from: Mats Berglinn on Mon 10/11/2003 06:24:44
Hobbes: What do you mean keep your manuscript simple?

Haha, I was planning a really lengthy reply... but, well, bspeers summed it up perfectly. Even better than I could've done. :)

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