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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life

The Writing Life

When You Share a Name With Another Person

By Steve Laubeon May 19, 2025
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A great question came our way:

Although I have been cultivating my online presence as a writer, I have found that someone who shares my name already has a significant online presence. This person does not live a Christian lifestyle: in fact, I would be terribly embarrassed and my professional integrity could be harmed if anyone mistook me for this individual. Perhaps other authors may face the same dilemma.

Are there any suggestions for a new author who has to overcome the presence of another online? Would it be necessary to write under a pseudonym?

That is a tough one.

When Karen Ball worked for us an agent, she was also an accomplished novelist. She discovered that someone by the same name was a practicing psychic. So when she created her website she used karenballbooks.com since karenball.com was taken at the time. (Later, Karen dropped that site and created a wonderful new site for writers called WriteFromTheDeep.com.)

You could do something like JohnSmithWriter.com or RememberJohnSmith.com (to be “memorable”). Or add your middle initial to the domain name.

But if the other person is well known, or their site is terribly “flagrant” (if you know what I mean), you could decide to use a pen name. But if you’ve already gone far down the path under your real name, then it’s too late.

If you only just started writing or have a limited online presence, website-wise, then you have an opportunity to reboot.

Be careful before jumping into using a professional pen name. Read from others who’ve done it well. (Linked here is a good article from the Science Fiction Writers Association.) Check what the rules are in social media for using a pen name because using a fake name can be problematic, for obvious reasons.

We have several clients who write under their maiden names. One was because her married name is unspellable. Another was for protection. Another did it that way because she published before she got married; she had started her career and social media presence under that name and had no trouble keeping it that way.

Ultimately, it is your decision. But once you make it, stick with it.

And one little reminder to everyone: If you have a domain name, make sure that the email associated with your registration is up-to-date. (Double-check with your domain registrar today!) We had a client whose domain name was his real name (like stevelaube.com), but the registration expired. He had changed his email address a couple of years earlier but did not update his domain registration. The registrar sent him a notice saying it was time to renew his site, but he never got it. The day his domain name became available, a “Date Older Women” site took it and redirected all the traffic intended for his author website to something very unseemly. It took two years for him to get the domain name back.

Don’t let that happen to you!

 

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Category: Book Business, The Writing LifeTag: Author Names, The Writing Life

How to Write a Novel Faster Using Dictation Software With Misty M. Beller

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on May 13, 2025
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The Apostle Paul didn’t write his letter to the Romans—at least not by sitting down alone with paper and ink. He dictated his ideas to an amanuensis, a scribe or secretary who took dictation in shorthand and later rewrote the letter in full. This explains Paul’s conversational yet intricate writing style. And Paul’s dictation of the book of Romans isn’t some fringe …

Read moreHow to Write a Novel Faster Using Dictation Software With Misty M. Beller
Category: Technology, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Technology, The Writing Life, Writing Craft, Writing tools

How to Write Your First Novel – an Interview

By Steve Laubeon January 20, 2025
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write your first novel book cover image

Thomas Umstattd Jr. interviews Steve Laube   Thomas: So, you’re thinking about writing a novel. You’ve tried your hand at writing a few times, but the story just hasn’t come together. Or maybe you wrote and wrote, but you didn’t quite like what you wrote. The method of starting to write and hoping for the best is the hardest way to write a novel. It’s like trying to …

Read moreHow to Write Your First Novel – an Interview
Category: Steve, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Craft, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

By Steve Laubeon September 23, 2024
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Multi-colored paperclips

“I don’t feel like writing today.” Ever said that to yourself? I’m saying it today. But if I followed through on the impulse, this page would be blank. Why You Won’t Write Today (1) Physical Illness can strike without warning. And some people suffer from chronic conditions. I have clients who pray for a “good” day so they can put a few words on the page. …

Read moreWhen You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Category: Career, Craft, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Ever Had One of Those Days?

By Steve Laubeon June 24, 2024
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You are going along with your tidy to-do list decorated with empty check-boxes waiting to be marked. And then, WHAM! You get hijacked like the rhino in today’s picture and carried off to some unknown destination. Hours go by, and you are tossed to and fro by this new crisis and that new task. Before you know it, the day is done and your eyes find that tidy to-do list. Still pristine as the …

Read moreEver Had One of Those Days?
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Interruptions, The Writing Life, Time Management

What Do You Do When Your Technology Fails?

By Steve Laubeon March 25, 2024
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Today, I tell the story of an author’s tragedy. We had a client who lost their entire manuscript the day of their deadline. Poof. It was gone. Their thumb drive malfunctioned too; it was empty. Because they had borrowed a laptop, the author didn’t know it was programmed to empty the trash each time it was rebooted. The author had moved the manuscript to the trash after emailing it to …

Read moreWhat Do You Do When Your Technology Fails?
Category: Book Business, Career, Technology, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Career, Technology, The Writing Life

Why I’m Not Mysterious

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 13, 2018
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I don’t believe in being mysterious, especially as an agent. Since I used to write books for publication, I know what it’s like to put your career in the hands of others. As a writer, I wouldn’t want to send off my precious work and then hear no updates or any word from my agent. I realize any agent will update a client when a contract offer is made. And I realize that, technically, that’s all the …

Read moreWhy I’m Not Mysterious
Category: AgentsTag: Agents, Contracts, Rejection, The Writing Life

How Authors Make Money

By Bob Hostetleron August 29, 2018
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So, you’ve written a book. Good for you. Now the money will start rolling in, right? Not exactly. There are a number of ways authors make money, but writing a book is only one step in a long and arduous journey. And, though the details vary widely from one author to another (and one book to another), there are six basic ways an author makes money. An advance When you sign a book contract, the …

Read moreHow Authors Make Money
Category: Book Business, Money, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Money, The Writing Life

Embedded Writing

By Dan Balowon August 28, 2018
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During World War II, one of the highest profile journalists who wrote about the war for Americans back at the home front was Ernie Pyle. Ernie was one of the first “embedded” journalists in wartime and he lived and wrote while among the soldiers. He focused his stories on individual soldiers and their daily struggles. The troops loved him because he “got it.” The generals and politicians weren’t …

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Category: The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Four Myths about Fame

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 23, 2018
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Being rich and famous solves every problem, right? Let’s give that some thought. 1)  Once I have my first book published, I’ll be famous and the journey will be downhill from there. We’re tackling two myths here. One, once you are published, it’s not likely you’ll be famous, at least not Billy Graham famous. But as a Christian writer, you may become well known and loved in Christian circles. And …

Read moreFour Myths about Fame
Category: Awards, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Fame, The Writing Life
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