A Title that Grabs

I've been blogging about writing in a literary fashion.  Recently, I talked about the need to ensure your first line is an attention-grabber.  Even before a reader can find your awesome first line, they must first pick up or click on the book.  To get them to do that, you must find a title that makes a reader want to learn more.  

Now, it's a given that the final title isn't always entirely up to the writer.  The writer chooses a working title, but the publisher or others may have input as well.  As much as possible, however, the writer ought to give the title a lot of thought.  It must be the kind of title that reveals and conceals, that gives the reader just enough of what the story is about without giving away too much.  

One obvious and common titling method that has stood the test of time is choosing a name for a title, often the main character's name. Jane Eyre.  David Copperfield.  Oliver Twist.  Tristram Shandy.  Emma.  The Count of Monte Cristo.  If the location plays a major role, that could also be a possibility like Mansfield Park or Wuthering Heights.  However, this kind of title may not cut it in the modern world with so much competition.  If a reader doesn't know who this Emma is or where Mansfield Park is, what makes a reader care?  A lot of titles use the name plus something about the plot, something to hint at the genre as well.  Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.   Okay, it's obviously about one character's experience with magic.  Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series title).  Mythology?  Okay.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  Adventure sounds good.  This addition may intrigue the reader just enough that he/she is willing to pick up a book to find out who this Harry or Percy or Huckleberry guy may be.  

However, a lot of titles don't mention the main character at all.  So what do you choose?  Some authors choose major themes like Crime and Punishment, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, or War and Peace. These may seem a bit esoteric or more philosophical than a modern reader may want to explore, though these titles alone would appeal to some.  Think about a critical image or symbol like The Picture of Dorian Gray, Of Mice and Men, Moby Dick, Grapes of Wrath, Les Miserables, Animal Farm, The Tempest, or A Tale of Two Cities.  This kind of title may appeal to a lot of readers, especially if it's an intriguing and unique symbol, one that captures the reader's imagination.  This can be particularly successful and literary if the book, itself, makes the symbol or image carry so much more meaning.  A picture of some random guy named Dorian is intriguing, but a magical picture that magically reflects a character's soul?  That's deep.  Mice and men are common in this world, but when they become so closely paralleled and their fates tied together?  Wow.  Grapes of Wrath as a symbol draws on biblical imagery, as a lot of successful literary works do, but in the case of the novel, this image brings a lot of that imagery into the modern world, making it mean so much more.  

Really, when it comes to titles, anything intriguing, meaningful, and reflective of the story can work.  But it takes a lot of thought to come up with just the right concealing/revealing sort of title, something that invites as many questions as it answers.  It may also help to look through titles that have worked for others.  Best of luck coming up with just the right title for your amazing piece.