Before I began working for a library, I was under the misconception that titles had to be original. Wow! What a wake-up call! There are myriad duplicated titles by a myriad of authors.
Case in point. Today, while cataloging Danielle Steel’s latest offering “Betrayal” I realized that the single word ‘Betrayal’ is a favorite title for novels. We have in our database 24 novels with that title by 24 separate authors! These authors include: Danielle Steel, William Deverell, Robin Wasserman, Fern Michaels, Karin Alvtegen, John Lescroart, Sabin Willett, Lee Nichols, Jerry B. Jenkins, Allie Scott, Christina Dodd, Beverly Lewis, Fiona McIntosh, Aaron Allston, Grace Cavendish, Douglas Bond, Helen Dunmore, Gillian Shields, Ann Jungman, Patricia Finney, Lois Tilton, Scott Wallens, Raymond E. Feist, and last but not least, Gwen Hunter.
That of course is not taking into account the countless novels beginning with the word Betrayal. Does that not prove that we fiction readers are a jaded lot who want to read about this unpleasant subject?
Seems to me – if I was an author, I would want to try for a title that was just a tad more original…..Just saying….
