Changes to the Title
The announcement of the deal for Don’t Date Rosa Santos’ publication originally used a different title, reading
Moreno confirmed that Don’t Date Rosa Santos has only had two titles over the publication journey, stating“Hannah Allaman at Disney has bought Nina Moreno‘s debut YA contemporary novel, Saint Rosa of the Sea, pitched as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, in a preempt. The women in Rosa’s family are cursed: her abuela is exiled from Cuba, her mother is reckless, and Rosa is forbidden to go to the sea. Rosa dreams of finally seeing their island, but her study abroad plans crumble amid political changes just as she crashes into a quiet boy from the docks. Publication is planned for summer 2019; Laura Crockett at Triada US Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.” [9]
When asked about changes to the title, Moreno describes how her publishers wanted to highlight the rom-com angle of the story. She mentioned“Just the two titles! It sold as Saint Rosa of the Sea which had been the title pretty much since the story came together.”
From first draft to publication, a book can go through a lot of changes, both to fit the market at the time so it hopefully sells well, and to improve as a story. Packaging changes can be pushed by an author’s literary agent or editor or the marketing at their publisher, and these will hopefully boost the novel’s popularity.“My publisher wanted to highlight the rom-com angle of the story and push that in marketing. It was important to them that readers knew this was a fun, romantic story starring Latinx characters. My editor had a running list of ideas with different keywords that would point to that feeling and she asked me and my agent for a lot of input on it. Since we couldn't do Saint Rosa, I wanted her whole name in the title, because it echoed that original title. Don't Date Rosa Santos was everyone's favorite from that list.”
Don’t Date Rosa Santos’ title presents as very Latinx, as previously discussed. The years leading up to Don’t Date Rosa Santos’ publication in 2019 are years the We Need Diverse Books movement moved to the front of many industry people’s minds and the active prioritization of diverse novels, rather than hiding or not publishing them, was becoming more common. This suggests the Latinx-presenting elements of the cover stemmed in part due to the wider movement spreading across the publishing industry.
Traditionally published authors generally have little control over how their book is marketed, both with regards to the title choice as well as cover choice, and it’s important to note how Disney-Hyperion consulted with Moreno for the title selection process, allowing her to choose a title that included Rosa’s full name and echoed Moreno’s original title concept, rather than hiding than hiding Rosa’s Latinx identity to appeal to a more homogenous consumer group. Similarly, Moreno mentioned how her editor consulted with her on pictures Moreno used for inspiration while writing, in order to help create mockups for the cover, before conducting a photoshoot.
Moreno discusses this when asked about how Don’t Date Rosa Santos presents as very Latinx. She describes
Rosa Santos’ name being on the cover isn’t the only reason it presents this way. The sunshine colors and small elements help fully shape it into a cover that presents as Latinx, allowing readers to not only find themselves in Rosa, but also know what joyous story is ahead of them.“I love how Latinx it presents. Imagining a reader finding this sunshine cover with a name that maybe sounds like theirs gives me such a thrill. My greatest joy with this story has been hearing from readers who connected with the story elements and characters but also all the tiny details. The pieces of home, culture, and community are there for them. To find joy in, to share, to reclaim.”
