Goodbye, Pen Name.
Why I changed my mind
I came to Medium through Zulie Rane in 2021 as I started exploring the idea of earning money as a content writer.
I devoured her content because I wanted to understand Medium and how she started making money for her writing.
Her article on being able to ‘nuke’ her online identity with a few keystrokes made a lot of sense to me. (Zulie is not her real name).
Ultimately, I decided to create a pen name too.
Here’s why I did and why I’ve changed my mind.
My last name isn’t all that common
There aren’t too many Holly Gillfeathers out there. Which means people I know are more likely to find my writing.
I also have to pronounce and/or spell my surname whenever I’m doing life admin tasks.
I worried this would put more friction in place for networking and future clients. People might:
- forget my last name
- give up on searching for my media platforms
- send an email to the wrong address (by getting the spelling mixed up)
Why I changed my mind
Discoverability is also a blessing. I won’t have to battle fifty others with the same name!
