How Important is A Book Title?

This is a question I ask myself every once in a while, and even though I'm writing about it today, I don't have an answer. An author choosing their own book title, from what I hear, is a rare occurrence. Sure, authors choose a title when they're writing it and then when they submit to an agent or publisher. But from what I've heard from my author friends (particularly in the romance industry), the title is usually changed by the marketing department or the editor anyway. People are mainly "given" their book title rather than getting to choose it themselves.

Which makes me wonder just how important it is when you are a writer just starting out. "Pandemic" is what I've tentatively been calling my WIP for quite some time now. My sister, on the other hand, doesn't think that title is very indicative of what the book is truly about. She suggested, since it's going to be a three book series, using something like "Rising" in the first book's title, and "Falling" in the second book title - with the third yet to be determined until we think of some 'ing word that works :P. I definitely think she has a point, and part of me wants to spend countless hours trying to think of the perfect title for my book.

But how important is my own book title? I need a catchy title in order to catch the eye of an agent, but since they know how often an author's title is changed, do they really care so much what you call it? Or do they look mostly at the synopsis and writing? My guess is that the title can catch their eye, but for the most part, title is one of the least important parts of a query. I'd love to hear from an agent whether that's actually true or if I'm just guessing incorrectly. Sometimes, I think having a good title is just for the author's sake. When you're writing something new and thinkng about the book, it is just helpful to have a great title in mind. And maybe, if it's brilliant enough, the editor will let you keep it ;).