What’s in a Name?

For the second time, I have listened to those whose opinions I trust, and changed what I believed was a good book title.  This book is still in the hands of beta readers and being edited, with a target publish date in January. Thankfully, no ISBN number has been created yet.

At this point in time, the working title Dirty Little Family Secret is now The Whisper.  The original title came from a remark made by the protagonist which only occurs once in the book, but is one of the major points in the story.  The Whisper, on the other hand, is a continuing thread throughout and no doubt, better, but possibly not the final one.

So back to the question, what’s in a name?  It is vitally important to a book, in my very humble opinion. It’s a promise of the story inside, it’s part of the cover, it’s a part of what makes a reader want to investigate further.

Do other authors have this dilemma or do you begin with a title and let the story flow?