I've worked with four different indie presses and I'm still with three of them. I've also self-published the one series I reclaimed from one of those publishers. With all my books out there and a three more that will be out in the next year, I've yet to have an editor suggest I change a title on a manuscript.
My very first published book, The Greater Good, has the perfect title to fit the story. I loved it. My publisher said nothing about changing it and viola, a novel was published with a wonderful title. Three words that are sooooo common. I still think it was a good title. And the second book, The Lesser Evil, followed the common saying thing enough to link the series together.
But if I had known then what I know now, I might have tried a different title. I should have googled the titles. It can be difficult to think of a title for a literary work, let alone make it somewhat original. If someone had advised me to check out my title before I used it for that very first book, I might not have changed it. The Greater Good isn't a phrase that leads to something unsavory that I would hate to have connected by even the thinnest thread to my book. But what if it had and I discovered it after the fact?
Or what if a awesomely famous author had recently published a billion copy bestseller by the same title? What if there was an XXX-rated movie by the same title? I should have googled the title first. Beginner's or fool's luck.
So have you ever made a mistake selecting a title for a book? Has your editor ever asked you to change it? Do you google a title before you decide to use it?
