Oh, Uwrite? Well, Iwrite2. Huh? U8M, I8M, They8M…those cutsie-wootsie usernames, that’s what I’m talking about. We all want to chew some words and spit out something cool. But the unspoken truth is to keep the creativity in your novels and screenplays.

There I said it. Now I’ll explain it.

It’s no secret that agents and publishers are looking more at platforms of new authors. Do you have one? Two? Three? Do you know how to promote yourself? Sure, publishers will do a lot of marketing for you, but it’s getting scarier for them to take on new talent. So, let’s say you send a query that’s wrong for a particular agent (i.e. YA to one currently wanting A), but they feel your sample pages are awesome. Perhaps they want to follow your blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page, or whatever. But alas, they can’t find you because they don’t know who IMADETHISNAMEUP is. Therefore, I suggest to use your real name, or the pseudonym you intend to publish under.

Another reason to use your real name is it helps build a fan base. Yep, I said fan. Even if you’re not published. It doesn’t hurt to build followers who might become potential buyers, or help promote your work. And if you’ve self published, how do you expect people to find your books? They’re not on Amazon under the name HIDINGHERE. Or are they?  My point, people can’t find you if they don’t know who “you” is!

And there you have a quick tip from the former IWRITE2. Use your real name!

P.D. Pabst
Blogger and Writer of YA/MG Fiction

*All names are made up and aren’t meant to depict any actual people, so, don’t go there!*