When I originally published Quinn, I googled and searched Amazon for my name. When no one publishing kindle books came up, I decided to publish under my married name, Stephanie Campbell. I did consider writing under my maiden name, but it's hard to remember and pronounce for some, so, to keep it simple, I went with Stephanie Campbell.
Anyway, since then, there's been another YA Author, Stephanie Campbell. It's a fairly common name, and its HER name, so of course, it's just one of those things...
But, I started to get emails from readers asking if those other books were mine, and why I didn't have them on my blog...or calls from family asking if I'd put out another half-a-dozen books I hadn't told them about...
On Goodreads, I had to change my name to Stephanie Campbell with two spaces between my first and last name to separate our books...
So, I started playing with the idea of changing my name somehow. But, the thing is, it's my name. It's the only one I've gone by since I was 19. And now that I have three books out and a solid readership, I hate to go and change it completely.
So, for now, just to help separate the two of us, I'm changing all of my accounts, covers, etc... to reflect Steph Campbell. I tend to go by Steph 99% of the time, anyway...
Hopefully, that'll help with any confusion over who is who. If not, well, I'm taking suggestions for a big name change. ;)
Liz and I have sorta decided I'd make a good Stephanie Maclean..or Stephanie Flutie... ;)
Have a great weekend, friends!
I feel you!!! There is a NYT Bestselling author with my first and last name (not only that but we're from the same state and same religion). I've decided to keep my name if I ever publish because I like it (it's my name - the name I grew up with etc). Plus this author is an Adult author and I am YA.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose a pen name was because someone already wrote a book using my name, but it must be really awkward to have to change it when your books are already out there!
ReplyDeleteHmm, that is a bummer. But I think of you as Steph already and I like the way it looks on the cover of your books. Jenny is a super common name and Morris is way common. So this could be something I have to deal with in the future. As of right now there isn't anyone though.
ReplyDeleteLove the new MHFY cover!!
That kinda sucks. I'd never thought of doing an Amazon search of my name. I've googled it of course. Luckily there are not others out there, with either my maiden or married name. Probably because my parents used the lesser common spelling of Suzi.
ReplyDeleteNobody ever spelled my name right. Always adding an 'e' or ending it with 'y' or 'sie'. It was annoying as a kid. As an adult, I haven't minded. And this is one more reason to be happy my parent went withs something more unusual.
I like Steph Campbell any way she writes her name. But yes, I imagine that can get tricky.
ReplyDeleteMaclean or Flutie - hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I could deal with the frustration of being a Flutie, lol.
I think it was a smart thing, and I wouldn't use any other name until you write something that you think you want to publish big :-D
And yes, it's MUCH better for book covers, lol