书名心理学

By+Kevin+Tumlinson

一本書的文笔与思想固然重要，但一个能起到点睛之笔的书名不仅能恰当地概括全书的内容，还能激发读者的阅读兴趣，提升艺术和商业的双重价值。简短的几个词语，或许就能让读者在目光所及的瞬间体会到一部小说的精髓，这背后的心理学内涵是什么呢？成功的书名究竟拥有哪些必备要素？

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： 語气，腔调；genre： // 体裁，流派。

2. shorthand： 简略的，缩短的。

3. boil down： 压缩，简化。

4. synopsis： // 概要，大纲。

5. The Hunger Games： 《饥饿游戏》，苏珊·柯林斯创作的科幻青春系列小说，由《饥饿游戏》、《饥饿游戏2：星火燎原》、《饥饿游戏3：嘲笑鸟》组成。

6. Louvre： 卢浮宫（法语：Musée du Louvre），位于巴黎市中心的塞纳河北岸，位居世界四大博物馆之首，是法国文艺复兴时期最珍贵的建筑物之一，以收藏丰富的古典绘画和雕刻而闻名于世；cryptic： 隐秘的，难解的；Leonardo da Vinci： 列奥纳多·达·芬奇，意大利文艺复兴时期的博学者，在绘画、音乐、建筑、天文、解剖、数学、物理等众多领域均成就非凡；Christianity：基督教；The DaVinci Code： 《达芬奇密码》，美国作家丹·布朗创作的长篇小说，2003年由兰登书屋出版。小说集合了侦探、惊悚和阴谋论等多种风格。

7. conscript： 征召；Enders Game：《安德的游戏》，美国著名科幻小说作家奥森·斯科特·卡德发表于1985年的科幻小说，获得星云奖及雨果奖。

8. be derived from： 源自。

9. explicit： 明确的，清楚的。

10. pique： 刺激，激起。

11. 你会发现，以上三个书名有一个共同特征：尽管它们没有明确告诉我们书中的内容，却给出了足够多的细节来激发我们的兴趣。intriguing：引人入胜的。

12. sneak peek： 先睹为快，快速前瞻。

13. open loop： 开放回路，一个市场营销术语，指制造悬念的沟通技巧。

14. compelling： 引人瞩目的，激发兴趣的。

15. cliff-hanger： 扣人心弦的情节，吊人胃口的场景；plot point： 情节转折点。

16. subtle： 微妙的，隐晦的。

17. The Silence of the Lambs： 《沉默的羔羊》，美国悬疑小说家托马斯·哈里斯的作品，将悬疑小说带入了经典文学的殿堂，是悬疑文学史上难以逾越的巅峰。

18. 这可能是有史以来基调奠定得最好的一个书名，不必了解具体的故事内容，你已经能体会到脊背阵阵发凉的感觉。spine： 脊柱，脊椎。

19. bleating： 咩咩的叫声。

20. 这是由于一种叫做“认知失调”的心理状态，它指的是一个人的思想、信仰或者态度与可观察行为之间出现的不一致现象。cognitive dissonance： 认知失调；inconsistency： 不一致，互相矛盾。

21. eerie： / 可怕的，怪异的。

22. direly： 极其；tongue-in-cheek： 不认真的，半开玩笑的。

23. How to Win Friends and

Influence People：《人性的弱点》（或译《如何获得友谊并影响他人》），作者是美国著名人际关系学大师戴尔·卡耐基，该书是风靡全球的自我教育与成人训练的范本；just about： 几乎，差不多；straightforward：简单易懂的。

24. manipulate： 操纵，控制（某人的思想和行为）。

25. Who Moved My Cheese？ ： 《谁动了我的奶酪？》，是美国作家斯宾塞·约翰逊1998年的作品。该书通过简单的寓言故事阐述了“变是唯一的不变”这一生活真谛。

26. logistics：（使计划成功的）统筹安排，调度（技巧）。

27. in light of： 鉴于，根据。

28. a bolt out of the blue： 出乎意料的事情；blissful： 充满喜悦的。

29. compel： 迫使。

30. 从这种意义上来说，比起艺术，书名其实与市场营销和公关文案有着更多的共同点——尽管优秀的书名本身也是一种艺术。copywriting：广告文案写作。

31. spine： 书脊；evoke： 唤起（记忆、感情等）。

32. lingering： 停留的，挥之不去的。

33. manna： 吗哪（《圣经》中古以色列人在经过荒野时所得的天赐食粮），指天赐之物，意外收获。