Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

As some of you SmallBizMentor visitors may already know, I became a second-time newlywed about six weeks back.  As most folks know, getting married means tons of changes, especially for women.  Will you change your last name to your husband's?  Will you hyphenate?  Will you keep your maiden name?  Or will the two of you combine your last names or choose an entirely different one that that you both legally change to?

This gets even stickier if you've been married before.  On the first go-round, I took my (then-) husband's last name and at the same time legally changed my maiden name to become my middle name.  That way I kept my maiden name, which I wanted to do, without hyphenating.  When I sat down in the meetings to discuss the divorce settlements and terms, I chose to keep my name as is.  Why, you may wonder, when all that pain is attached?  Well, three reasons.  First of all, I do have a child who retained her father's last name.  Secondly, I knew that if I ever remarried, I would take on my new husband's last name...why have to change it twice?  (I'm nothing if not efficient when it comes to paperwork and processes that require waiting in long lines!)  Lastly, my career.  I had already begun the process of establishing my name as it was, and without knowing if/when I would ever remarry, there was no use establishing a new byline just yet.

Fast forward almost two years and lo and behold, I have found a new spouse and have quite happily gotten hitched!  Yes, I took his last name, and within days of the wedding I'd already hit the Social Security office, driver licensing office, and several other important agencies to acquire new identification.  Then to start switching things over professionally -- and therein lies the conundrum.

You see, my husband's supervisor has requested that I not use our last name quite as publicly as I used my former name.  That means it's not a smart idea to spread my new last name all over the place, both in print and on the Internet (helloooo, blogosphere!).  Forethought came into play as I tried to decide what byline to use that would remove my ex-husband's name from the picture and still preserve our family's safety and my new husband's privacy, while still being able to take pride in being a member of his family and in the new niches I am now able to market my writing to (and from).  The decision to change one's byline is both personal and professional, and both ends can have far-reaching consequences and rewards, depending on how one goes.

These are all things to think about as you establish your own writing career.  If you're going to use your own name, how comfortable are you with having it potentially spread worldwide?  What sort of security precautions are you taking to protect yourself from those who disagree with you or who are your most rabid fans?  (Remember Stephen King's Misery, folks!)  On the flip side, how marketable are your pen name choices?  Will you market your writing in several genres that don't usually overlap?  Would you like to establish very different tones and personas, as non-fiction and romance cross-over authors often do?  Do you want your kids to announce to the world that their mommy, Suzy Smith, frequently writes for Playgirl and Harlequin, or would you be better off writing as Suzanne van Writer?

Don't forget other marketing issues, such as the availability of web domains and blog titles.  Most writers are better off if they can snag a domain that includes their name.  A problem I ran into with my former last name is that it was shared by a model.  Try Googling "Melonie Murray" and see who you get!  Trust me, that isn't me on the car calendar.  Kind of explains why you've seen me using a middle initial, eh?  (Once you've had a chuckle at my expense, Google me as "Melonie K. Murray" and you'll find me a lot easier!)  The good news is that, though I won't be using my real name, the new version should be easier to snag a domain for and not get me mixed up with the model.  (Something tells me she'll like her audience finding her easier as well.)

That said, you'll soon see me blogging and writing as Melonie K. or Melonie Kennedy.  The temptation was certainly there to come up with something really creative, but I'm not a romance writer just yet.  Shoot, I'm just glad to have some inspiration in that genre again!