Today I got to working on a book cover for a publisher, and they asked what name I wanted to use for the credits… my maiden name, or my actual name. At which point I started wondering, what shoud I use? My maiden name has a lot more recognition, largely because I’ve been using it for four years with college. However, I eventually want to transition over to my actual name, so it’s less confusing signing e-mails and posts and the like.
Then my husband brought up a good point. Why not just tag my previous posts and photos with my new name? I checked google, and sure enough, one of my WordPress posts shows up when googling “Stephanie Flint cover design.” And thankfully, Wordpess has a lovely quick edit feature that makes adding a single tag to a bunch of posts relatively easy.
So I decided to do that. I’ll use my actual name for credits and such, though I will still continue tagging pictures and posts with Stephanie Bibb, at least for a time. Meanwhile, I intend to continue using SBibb’s Photographic Illustration and SBibb as an online name.
Ah, the joys of name change. These are other things I did to try improving the chances of changing my name going smoothly in the business world:
I added my new name to all my recent wordpress posts, where recent is related to book cover design and this past Spring. I also updated my profile on DeviantArt so it has my real name and former name, and tagged the pictures from now to spring on Flickr with my name. Then I updated my bio on Facebook, and changed my name on Smashwords. I also updated my bio there, but plan to leave the cover art as is.
I also changed my Kindle Publisher and Createspace information, which reminded me I need to get a bank account linked to it so I don’t have to worry about paying fees for checks. Which reminds me I’ll need to change my Amazon and Paypal account, as well as other online stores and services, with my new account info once my name gets changed through the bank.
I’ll still need to update the tags and metadata on my main website, SBibbphoto.com.
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 