A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

On Twitter, a friend I follow was bemoaning the fact that a book just came out on Fictionwise with the same title as the WIP she was working on.  That same day, Irene Watson did an editorial about Naming Your Book: Is it Okay to Have the Same Title as Others?  http://www.readerviews.com/Newsletters/2010.10/18.html

I've also had that happen to me. In fact, I just saw the same title pop up on ARe that's the same as my upcoming book due for release in March.


As authors, we all know the problems than can occur if someone knows your title but can't remember your name, and goes looking to buy a copy but finds more than one book with that title.  Of course, I've had a couple of authors tell me that more and more readers are "author savvy", and one told me that a recommendation by another usually included an idea of what the book is about.  That way she has a title and some content to help her.


One of my newly contracted books has a "similar" sounding title as some other books, but it has a different slant to it.  Still my publisher is wanting to change the title, and I'm going out on a limb and assuming it's because of that "similarity".

But do similiar or identical titles matter?  Especially if the covers, authors, and content are all different?  I can understand how nearly identical covers can throw some people off (we've all seen that happen.)

Yes, I do a little research to see if there are any other books with the same title if I feel there might be a conflict.  But I don't really see anything majorly wrong with it. 

Aren't most books bought because of the author name or content, anyway?