35 Comments

I'm a bit confused... use a nickname but a real photo of yourself? Love the nickname idea, but a real(ish) photo gives you away still? Or did I miss something 🤔

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I chose Shlee because my name’s Ashley and my nickname’s always been Ash. But a few friends back in the day thought it’d be funny to use the last half of my name instead, and it stuck 🤷‍♀️

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It's probably late to start using a nickname given that I've been writing for 2+ years under my real name. Anyway, I don't see why I'd do that. But thanks for the advice. Let it be an option I could benefit from in the future if need be.

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Great post. It’s a modern turn on the pen name idea - Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, George Orwell, Agatha Christie were all nicknames. You’re part of a long tradition.

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I think it really depends what you’re building. If it’s something like a YouTube cash cow, yes. But if you’re bootstrapping something, then leveraging your existing network. Whether it’s to do market research, have beta testers, “building in public” and being able to build a list of leads at the same time… if you’re writing, kind of the same, you’d be starting from scratch. But it can be a choice, to throw away the head starts for anonymity.

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I actually love this. I write under my first name and that is all. I'm just Josee!

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Freedom is telling the truth and taking accountability. Be who you are.

Another liberty is to use a nickname, alter ego, or an alias.

No old baggage and no cultural strings attached.

You start fresh like an actor who dresses up and becomes a character in a play.

The audience experiences the character's point of view and actions.

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Love this! Had no idea Dan Koe wasn’t his real name. Hmmm what if you’ve already started with your real name? Is there a way to slip into a partial alias—or would it make everyone think they jumped timelines (Mandela effect).

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Wow, my head just exploded! I sent you a dm on Slack as I'm in your (really excellent) Writers' Challenge and Mastermind, but I wonder if it's too late for me

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As my name is Rigatoni Capital, I agree with this post.

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I also faint around needles and my real name has been blacklisted by the blood bank.

This is really brilliant advice, for all the reasons you mentioned. Thank you!

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Well, I went with option one, and using a nickname gave me much of the courage!

This was my first time ever hearing of Avicii, What a tragedy. I was probably delivering fans to his EDC show, as a Taxi driver in Vegas. I was heavy into Psychobilly at the time.

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What do you think of Cherry Cherry or Meesha I'm not Russian but have good aquaintance there who is lovely person and helped me solve a long equation of epic value. It's a wonderful idea. Disappearing I go with your vote and anyone else and for the last time MMM Michelle Marie Mariscal my now dead name. Subconsiously this is very aligned for me anyway!

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Too complicated. I don't mind the smoke.

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Great article,

Who doesn’t want to be a. Super hero! 😊

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There’s a lot of freedom in writing under a different name

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