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I've gotten this question a few times, always in response to how quickly my books get their titles. They leap into my head spontaneously whenever I get new story ideas, and they're not-infrequently the first thing I know about the book. How? I don't know! But it probably has a lot to do with how I see titles in general. To me, they're like the name of the book... a literal name, like I'd ask from a person or give to a character. I never feel like I know a character (or can develop them in any way) until I know their name, and my books are the same way with their titles.
With that said, I do have two mental shortcuts that I use when coming up with titles, which might be of use to other people? I dunno, man, my brain does weird things sometimes.
The first hack is keeping a title bank. Mine is called "Spare Titles" (creative, I know) and it sits in my administrative doc just under my master book list. Some of it comes from title generators I've stumbled across over the years, but anything that snags my attention also gets added. Snippets of song lyrics. Snippets of dialogue. Single words that sound like they could be a title. Combinations of words with a particular ring to them. I always look for titles that evoke some kind of emotion in me, with chills being the most delightful. Yes, I am a Horror writer. Most of my books have some kind of eerie factor to them, so if a line does gives me that feeling for any reason, I stash it for later!
None of the titles in my stash have books associated with them, and that's entirely the point. When I get a new idea that doesn't invent a title on its own, the first place I visit is this list. More often than not, the book claims a title from it. That's fairly uncommon, though. Most of the time, like I said, a book's title simply leaps into my head when I get the story idea, but even that uses a mental shortcut that took me a while to identify.
Every book is made up of components: characters, setting, conflict, plot, themes, etc. And, if you start to pay attention to published works, almost every title comes from these as well. Working from first principles when picking titles saves me a lot of grief, I think, and means I always end up with something at least somewhat close to the book's main elements.
Some title-able book components, with examples from my bookshelf so you can all judge my book choices!
❖ Character: Artemis Fowl, Dragon Rider, Iron Widow, Triss
❖ Setting: Watership Down, Mossflower, Tunnels, Museum of Thieves
❖ Significant Object or Element: Magyk, The Obelisk Gate, Cardboard, Holes
❖ Threat/Conflict: The Fifth Season, Black Sun, The Hunger Games
❖ Theme/Symbology: Inkheart, Woodsong, Darkwing
I think I run through these pretty much subconsciously when I get a new book idea, and my book title often ends up being the one that sticks in my mind most clearly as that idea takes shape. Or sometimes it's the other way around: my brain comes up with a cool-sounding title, and the book takes shape around that. With the relevant component front and center, of course. It's all a bit of a mish-mash, but every book comes out of it with a name, so I've really got nothing to complain about!
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If you're a writer, does knowing your book's title impact the way you see or interact with it?
What is the meaning or intention behind your current title(s)?
If you're a reader (or a writer), when was the last time a title hooked you into picking up a book? What about it caught your attention/interest?
