The opening chapter of the novel was originally published in New World Writing as Catch-18 in 1955, but Heller's agent, Candida Donadio, requested that he change the title of the novel, so it would not be confused with another recently published World War II novel, Leon Uris's Mila 18.
Primul capitol fusese publicat în New World Writing drept Catch-18 în anul 1955, dar agentul lui Heller, Candida Donadio, a cerut ca titlul să fie schimbat, astfel evitând confuzia cu un alt roman de război, Mila 18 de Leon Uris