Coming out of the Nom De Plume Closet

So, I’m coming out of the nom de plume closet in 2012.

 photo credit: flickr creative commons

You may view my picture below and say, "Now, I've seen that face before. Didn’t that girl have a different name?” 

Oh yes, that was my pseudonym, but I’ve decided to tuck it away with my floral print graduation dress and florescent spandex shorts. I may one day shake it out from moth balls and try it on again. Just not here. Not now. At Hoosier Ink, I’m going to be myself, wearing blue jeans and an acrylic sweater. It's more comfortable that way.

Over the past year, I've teeter-tottered about using a pen name. I've considered the benefits, listed the pros and cons, and exhausted the topic with my ever patient husband {whose eyes rolled back when I told him I was writing this post}. I liked the idea of keeping things separate and safe in this web like world. I loved the notion of following in the footsteps of George Elliot, Mark Twain, and George Orwell. And the best part? If you didn’t like my writing, I could hide behind my alias—no harm done. And for awhile, it looked like this identity would work for me.

Until I went to the ACFW conference this past September.

In the company of writers, I thought I could wear my avatar like a comfortable sweater, but the name felt like wool against bare skin. Though I'd used that name in my journal for years, I suddenly felt like I had left my journal on my fifth-grade teacher's desk. My mind turned in circles . How would I introduce myself?

When I met you—a flesh and blood writer--I couldn’t stop using my real name. For that is who I am. And in reality, I’m messy, and my words fumble, and I don’t always look like my best online photo. The truth is when I’m face to face with you, it's nice being authentic. Failures and all. It’s the only way I understand God’s grace.

As I embark on this writing path, I'm learning what works and what doesn't. Leopard skins? No. Cotton knits? Yes. Pen name? Maybe. Perhaps one day.

But at the beginning of a new year, I'm stepping out in faith, and it's both terrifying and exhilarating. For, I'm positive my words won’t tickle every ear, or turn to gold with every click-clack, and I'm certain some days my writing will be something akin to my toddler's tomato-stained onesie.

Even so, I’m pushing the door open, wearing my favorite turtleneck, and— gasp—writing as my real name.

Hi, I’m Melanie Brasher, and I'm a writer.

And you know what? It’s nice being me.

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Over this past year, I've thought about pen names more than breathing, and here's my list of five do's and don'ts:

1)  Do keep the first name of your nom de plume the same if you're planning on using it for all writing {and become it}. Believe me it's too confusing and uncomfortable if you use two different first names. However, if you're using the pen name for a very specific circumstance, and your real one for everything else, I don't think it matters if the first name is different.

2) Don't choose a pen name that is the same as a celebrity or an ex-convict's. Do your research and choose carefully.

3) Do consider using a pen name if your real name IS the same as a celebrity or ex-convict's. Yes, this is different from point #2.

4) Don't waste a year fretting about it {experience talking here:)}. The mantra, "when in doubt, throw it out" is relevant for a variety of situations: food in the refrigerator, the tight leather pants in your closet, and the pen name you adored in your journal.

5) Do pray about it. God knows your name, and He knows what's best for you. So, do pray and do disregard all my advice if God leads you down a different path. Let His word guide you.

*For further reading/advice on pen names check out agent Rachelle Gardner's post.

Have you ever considered using a pen name? Why or why not?

Melanie N. Brasher is a full time mama of two boys and wife to an incredible husband who understands her bicultural background. She moonlights as a fiction and freelance writer, crafting stories and articles toward justice and change. She's a member of American Christian Fiction writers and a contributing blogger for Ungrind. Though she's an aspiring author, she'll never quit her day job.