This is the second time I had to start over. The first time, it was because I was entering the Indie Publishing world and wanted a fresh start. This time was because I had to protect my image due to those "sellers" on Amazon.
Have you had to start over from scratch? It's hard, isn't it? I thought I'd share some helpful information here to help those who haven't had to, but need or want to. You can take what I say with a grain of salt, or hang on tight to it--up you.
The slate is clean. You have a new name, a new image; you can be whoever you want to be. Now comes the hard part. What do you take with you from your old image? Do you leave your books behind and start where you're at? Do you rewrite them? Do you change the cover and leave the interior as is? It's all up to you. You don't have to do this alone--you are among friends. Reach out and talk to someone before making the decision, get the support you will need along your journey. Sometimes, it is beneficial to change names, sometimes it isn't. And it will be hard. But sometimes, starting over can be refreshing and just what you need to keep going.
Once you have made the decision, these are questions to ask yourself. How much do I change? Do I want to change anything? Do I want a new logo? Will I continue the same path or try new things?
It might help to create a list. On one list, write down all of the things that worked for you in the past under the previous pen name. Include the social sites that worked best for you. A second list would be all the things that didn't work. Can you change those things that didn't work? A third list could be all the things you wanted to try, but didn't work under the name you were using. Those will be a trial and error as you work the third list into your new image.
As you shift from the old image to the new, be sure to tell everyone unless you're ghosting the old accounts and starting new. Up to you. But if you have a good following, it may benefit to share the news. Why you're changing doesn't have to be shared. Give people time to adjust to the news.
If you reached out for cover design for the books in the past, let your designers know you're changing pen names. They could be interested in working with you under the new pen name. Discuss your changes. If you're making the covers yourself, you're good to go.
Sticking with the same website? Or changing everything? If you're changing pen names, it may work better if you change the entire website so it shows off your new name. If your website has a different name and can safely change with you, you already jumped one hurdle. Sometimes that doesn't work--it just depends how you named the website.
Did you use a logo? If you're only changing the name, you can easily make adjustments to your logo, just change the name. If you want something new to reflect other changes, you can reach out to the same designers or make something yourself.
Remember YOU are the company. Your books are the products of the company. You should be front and center. Your image is important. This is something you should think about before making the jump to change your pen name. You can use your real name (that's what I changed mine to). If you're writing romance only, you don't want a name that's wrong for romance so keep that in mind.
If you have changed pen names, I'd love to hear your stories. Let's add to what I've included. Reply with your anecdotes, suggestions, and your trial and errors while you changed pen names. Thank you!
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