書名心理學

By+Kevin+Tumlinson

一本書的文筆與思想固然重要，但一個能起到點睛之筆的書名不僅能恰當地概括全書的內容，還能激發讀者的閱讀興趣，提升藝術和商業的雙重價值。簡短的幾個詞語，或許就能讓讀者在目光所及的瞬間體會到一部小說的精髓，這背后的心理學內涵是什么呢？成功的書名究竟擁有哪些必備要素？

Whats in a name？ Its a more complicated question than you might think， because the name of your book can indicate everything from tone to genre to setting and more.1 Choosing the perfect title for a work is about more than finding something that sounds cool—its a shorthand2 communication with the reader， encouraging them to pick up， purchase， and read your work.

Names are an important psychological tool. They give us a means of reference， allowing us to communicate easier.

“Whats your book about？”

That could be the single most frightening question an author can be asked about their work， and with good reason—it took us a whole book to explain the idea the first time. Now you want us to boil it down3 to a sentence？

Having that “business card synopsis4” for your book is an important part of being able to market it， but its also a huge help in naming the book itself. In fact， 90% of the time if you can explain the book in one sentence then you likely already have a title.

Consider these examples：

A young girl is forced to participate in an annual life-or-death contest designed to keep the remains of human society under the control of a corrupt government： The Hunger Games 5

A murder in the Louvre and cryptic clues found in some of Leonardo da Vincis most famous paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery that could rock the very foundations of Christianity：The DaVinci Code 6

A young boy is conscripted into military service and trained to face an alien threat through a series of high-tech strategy and combat games that are a little too real： Enders Game 7

Notice that in the description of each book we never actually mention the title， but it is derived from8 the central focus of the book itself. Knowing what the book is about gives us a source for drawing out a title.

Youll also note that the titles arent necessarily explicit9. Simply writing “The Hunger Games” on a sheet of paper wont tell anyone the full story. But that leads to another bit of psychology for us to consider.

Pique10 our curiosity

The common trait youll notice amongst all three of the titles above is that even though they never expressly tell us what the book is about， they give us just enough detail to make it intriguing.11 We want to know what “hunger games” are. Were curious what a “DaVinci code” might be. And were interested in learning how“Enders game” might play out.

Each of these titles sets us up with both a sneak peek12 and a question： “What does the author mean by X？”

When it comes to titles， the job is to set up the story while also creating an open loop13. If youve spent any time studying marketing techniques， you may have come across the term “open loop，” usually as it relates to email marketing. The basic idea is that you are asking the reader a compelling14 question that only you can answer， but to get the answer they have to stick around for the next email. Or， for us authors， they have to open your book and read through to the end.

Open loops can include everything from cliff-hangers to plot points，15 within the story of the book. Youll also find them handy outside the book—using them in your back cover copy and， more to the point， in the title of the book itself.

Set the tone

This is trickier， because its subtle16. The title of your book should set the tone for the type of story you are telling.

Think about The Silence of the Lambs17. That may be the single greatest tone-setting title of all time， because without knowing a thing about the story， youre already experiencing a slight chill down your spine.18 We may not all have direct exposure to lambs， in our daily lives， but nearly everyone， when thinking of a lamb， will think of their innocent and joyful bleating19. Its almost impossible to think of a lamb without also hearing that sound in your head. So when we think of them going silent， it feels wrong to us.

This is because of a psychological state known as cognitive dissonance—meaning an inconsistency in thoughts， beliefs， and attitudes when compared to observable behavior.20 Basically， when our expectations are disrupted， we experience cognitive dissonance， and that makes us uncomfortable.

In terms of The Silence of the Lambs， that discomfort translates as something eerie21 and frightening. It builds suspense right from the start.

When choosing your title， youll want to consider your audience， and youll want your title to either meet the expectations of that audience or disrupt them in a calculated way. Controlling the expectations of your reader is how you control tone， and it can be done in just a few words.

A note about non-fiction titles

So far weve talked in terms of fiction titles， but all of this applies to non-fiction authors as well. You should be able to sum up your book in a sentence， and you should certainly want to intrigue your readers enough to pick the book up and read it. The tone may not vary quite as much as it does with fiction work， but you still want to convey to your reader whether your book is direly serious， tonguein-cheek，22 or “a difficult subject made reader friendly.”

As you think about your ideal reader， the thing to keep in mind is that your book is solving a problem for them. So your title needs to focus on the problem-solution set.

“How to Win Friends and Influence People” is just about as straightforward as a title gets.23 Its specific， outlining exactly what youll get by reading the book. But it also has a nice tone—it doesnt say “how to get your way and manipulate24 people.” It uses the terms“friends” and “influence，” which immediately tell the reader this is an accessible book with a positive theme.

“Who Moved My Cheese？”25 is another good non-fiction example of a great title. First， its a question—and if weve been paying attention， we know immediately that a question is an open loop. Its intriguing， because we have no idea why it matters if someone has moved your cheese， but now we want to find out. And the title sets the tone immediately—we know this book is going to be a fun read， because it isnt titled “Logistics26 and Management Principles for the Career and Goal Minded Individual.” That would be a totally different book.

Instinct is usually good enough

The psychology of a good book title isnt about following strict rules and processes to determine the name of your book—these are guidelines， just like anything else. The point here is to consider your title in light of27 your audience， and in light of the type of story you are trying to tell.

Sometimes we get a great title like a bolt out of the blue， and those are blissful moments.28 Other times we struggle with “what to name this thing.” But its worth taking your time to think through not only what your title should be， but how your reader should react to it.

Remember， always， that your books title is meant to capture and inspire readers， to compel29 them to pick up the book and start reading. In that sense， a title has more in common with marketing and copywriting than it does with art—though great titles are an art all their own.30

Spend some time looking around at some of the bestselling books you can find， and consider how the titles make you feel as you read them. Read the spines of books so that youre not influenced by the cover art， and see what emotions are evoked by the titles you find.31 Which titles make you want to pick up that book and start reading？ What tone does the title set？ What information can you learn just from the title alone？ Are there any lingering32 questions in your mind， as you read that title—things you just want to know？

Imitate what you see and try to capture what you feel， and your instincts will make it easier to choose the right name for your work. Thinking like your reader is never a bad thing. Once youve started making those sorts of considerations， good titles will usually just appear like manna33 in the desert.

1. tone： 語氣，腔調；genre： // 體裁，流派。

2. shorthand： 簡略的，縮短的。

3. boil down： 壓縮，簡化。

4. synopsis： // 概要，大綱。

5. The Hunger Games： 《饑餓游戲》，蘇珊·柯林斯創作的科幻青春系列小說，由《饑餓游戲》、《饑餓游戲2：星火燎原》、《饑餓游戲3：嘲笑鳥》組成。

6. Louvre： 盧浮宮（法語：Musée du Louvre），位于巴黎市中心的塞納河北岸，位居世界四大博物館之首，是法國文藝復興時期最珍貴的建筑物之一，以收藏豐富的古典繪畫和雕刻而聞名于世；cryptic： 隱秘的，難解的；Leonardo da Vinci： 列奧納多·達·芬奇，意大利文藝復興時期的博學者，在繪畫、音樂、建筑、天文、解剖、數學、物理等眾多領域均成就非凡；Christianity：基督教；The DaVinci Code： 《達芬奇密碼》，美國作家丹·布朗創作的長篇小說，2003年由蘭登書屋出版。小說集合了偵探、驚悚和陰謀論等多種風格。

7. conscript： 征召；Enders Game：《安德的游戲》，美國著名科幻小說作家奧森·斯科特·卡德發表于1985年的科幻小說，獲得星云獎及雨果獎。

8. be derived from： 源自。

9. explicit： 明確的，清楚的。

10. pique： 刺激，激起。

11. 你會發現，以上三個書名有一個共同特征：盡管它們沒有明確告訴我們書中的內容，卻給出了足夠多的細節來激發我們的興趣。intriguing：引人入勝的。

12. sneak peek： 先睹為快，快速前瞻。

13. open loop： 開放回路，一個市場營銷術語，指制造懸念的溝通技巧。

14. compelling： 引人矚目的，激發興趣的。

15. cliff-hanger： 扣人心弦的情節，吊人胃口的場景；plot point： 情節轉折點。

16. subtle： 微妙的，隱晦的。

17. The Silence of the Lambs： 《沉默的羔羊》，美國懸疑小說家托馬斯·哈里斯的作品，將懸疑小說帶入了經典文學的殿堂，是懸疑文學史上難以逾越的巔峰。

18. 這可能是有史以來基調奠定得最好的一個書名，不必了解具體的故事內容，你已經能體會到脊背陣陣發涼的感覺。spine： 脊柱，脊椎。

19. bleating： 咩咩的叫聲。

20. 這是由于一種叫做“認知失調”的心理狀態，它指的是一個人的思想、信仰或者態度與可觀察行為之間出現的不一致現象。cognitive dissonance： 認知失調；inconsistency： 不一致，互相矛盾。

21. eerie： / 可怕的，怪異的。

22. direly： 極其；tongue-in-cheek： 不認真的，半開玩笑的。

23. How to Win Friends and

Influence People：《人性的弱點》（或譯《如何獲得友誼并影響他人》），作者是美國著名人際關系學大師戴爾·卡耐基，該書是風靡全球的自我教育與成人訓練的范本；just about： 幾乎，差不多；straightforward：簡單易懂的。

24. manipulate： 操縱，控制（某人的思想和行為）。

25. Who Moved My Cheese？ ： 《誰動了我的奶酪？》，是美國作家斯賓塞·約翰遜1998年的作品。該書通過簡單的寓言故事闡述了“變是唯一的不變”這一生活真諦。

26. logistics：（使計劃成功的）統籌安排，調度（技巧）。

27. in light of： 鑒于，根據。

28. a bolt out of the blue： 出乎意料的事情；blissful： 充滿喜悅的。

29. compel： 迫使。

30. 從這種意義上來說，比起藝術，書名其實與市場營銷和公關文案有著更多的共同點——盡管優秀的書名本身也是一種藝術。copywriting：廣告文案寫作。

31. spine： 書脊；evoke： 喚起（記憶、感情等）。

32. lingering： 停留的，揮之不去的。

33. manna： 嗎哪（《圣經》中古以色列人在經過荒野時所得的天賜食糧），指天賜之物，意外收獲。