You know how they say that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget? Writing a book is like that. Once you know how, you can always write another book. That's why when you're an author, reinventing yourself is easy. Well, sort of. My point is this: you can always reinvent yourself.
Starting Over
When you're an author, you can always start over if need be -- especially if you're going to be an indie. As an indie author, you control everything. You're in charge of your pen name, your social media accounts, all the stuff you put on the Internet and every image you share. And at any point, you can decide to start all over again if you want.
It's not easy to start from scratch, and it will take months and even years for you to build up a fan base from nothing at all. But you're an author, so you know how to build a new character better than anyone.
Reinventing yourself and starting all over again is a huge step, but there are a few reasons why you might want to do this.
- Bad reputation: If you've got a reputation for producing poorly-edited books or being incendiary in forums, you might have trouble selling your work. You may want to re-brand yourself to get a new reputation.
- Change of pace: If you're changing genres, it may be a wise decision to start from scratch with a new pen name and build up a brand-new fan base.
- Going it alone: If you traditionally published in the past and now you want to self-publish and be completely independent, it may be appropriate to start fresh with a new name. You're starting fresh anyway as an indie, so why not give yourself a clean slate while you're at it?
Starting over isn't easy, but sometimes it's necessary or desirable. Be prepared to work hard and to be patient, because results happen slowly over time. If you work at it regularly, you will build a fan base and establish yourself under your new name. Reinventing yourself is always an option, so don't ever forget it.
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Interesting post. I'm far too attached to my name, and far too egotistical, to think about using a pen name - I think I'd want to try to make my own name work before I changed it. Although some people love the freedom of having a pen name. One blogger friend only told me her real name on the day we met!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big believer in pen names, but I can see your point of view. Of course, a last name like "Crawford" gives you the option of doing without. But if you have a last name like Wrzychekowiski, a pen name may be in order.
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