Thank you, James. I appreciate the thought you put into this. It helps a lot. I also like that “elaborate” helps describe what I try to do as I write. To elaborate a position or idea.
A few years ago, I read a wonderful series of cozy mysteries. I looked for more by that author but couldn’t find any. Researching a bit, I found an author FB page where, in one post, she mentioned she was starting a new series and wanted readership input as to which pseudonym she should as for her author name this time. It turned out her publishers insisted that each series must have a different author’s name and none of them were her real name. My comment was “If your publishers really want to sell your books which your readers already obviously love (by sales records), they would put the same name on every series so they would be easy to locate.” Changing names should have purpose.
Changing your Substack name should have a real purpose. It should mean you gain readership, create a more immediate understanding, etc. but I personally would challenge the excuse the present name is “too poetic” because there is nothing wrong with poetry. We need more of it. Plus, will people wonder where you have gone, because they can no longer find your original name.
That being said, I grew up in the United Church of Canada. At that time it was a fairly staunch blend of its original Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian churches. They frowned upon evangelical churches. But my father had a wonderful life mantra which was “We are all different, but we are all equal.” No matter where we travelled on our summer holidays, we always went to church on Sundays. Sometimes they were evangelical. But that didn’t matter, it was church.
Given my recent introduction to The Four Stages of Faith (McLaren), I think there is always room for evangelism as long as it allows for faith to truly grow as demonstrated in the stages as presented by McLaren. I don’t have an issue with your present name, but the Evolving Evangelical is intriguing. Because faith is always evolving, moving as we move through our lives. It’s when churches try to stifle growth (and many denominations do this) that faith wilts. If you feel changing the name has real purpose, then change it. But it has to have meaning for you.
Thank you for these insights. I've taken them to heart.
I do like "The Unfiltered Scribe." But, I also think it creates a need for the reader to "do their homework" on me as a writer. There are benefits to this, but I'm not sure they outweigh the immediacy of a well-chosen, easy to understand name. Obviously, I haven't made a change yet, but I think it's coming.
The Evolving Evangelical (evolving means growing, shifting, advancing, becoming clearer, unfolding)
The Elaborate Evangelical (elaborate means complex, made or done with great care or detail, having many parts that are interrelated)
I love the challenge, and honor your asking readers the question. Hope this helps stimulate the answer that rings true to you.
Thank you, James. I appreciate the thought you put into this. It helps a lot. I also like that “elaborate” helps describe what I try to do as I write. To elaborate a position or idea.
Elaborate is also a broad word that gives you a huge landscape for your writing to go many directions through time.
A few years ago, I read a wonderful series of cozy mysteries. I looked for more by that author but couldn’t find any. Researching a bit, I found an author FB page where, in one post, she mentioned she was starting a new series and wanted readership input as to which pseudonym she should as for her author name this time. It turned out her publishers insisted that each series must have a different author’s name and none of them were her real name. My comment was “If your publishers really want to sell your books which your readers already obviously love (by sales records), they would put the same name on every series so they would be easy to locate.” Changing names should have purpose.
Changing your Substack name should have a real purpose. It should mean you gain readership, create a more immediate understanding, etc. but I personally would challenge the excuse the present name is “too poetic” because there is nothing wrong with poetry. We need more of it. Plus, will people wonder where you have gone, because they can no longer find your original name.
That being said, I grew up in the United Church of Canada. At that time it was a fairly staunch blend of its original Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian churches. They frowned upon evangelical churches. But my father had a wonderful life mantra which was “We are all different, but we are all equal.” No matter where we travelled on our summer holidays, we always went to church on Sundays. Sometimes they were evangelical. But that didn’t matter, it was church.
Given my recent introduction to The Four Stages of Faith (McLaren), I think there is always room for evangelism as long as it allows for faith to truly grow as demonstrated in the stages as presented by McLaren. I don’t have an issue with your present name, but the Evolving Evangelical is intriguing. Because faith is always evolving, moving as we move through our lives. It’s when churches try to stifle growth (and many denominations do this) that faith wilts. If you feel changing the name has real purpose, then change it. But it has to have meaning for you.
Thank you for these insights. I've taken them to heart.
I do like "The Unfiltered Scribe." But, I also think it creates a need for the reader to "do their homework" on me as a writer. There are benefits to this, but I'm not sure they outweigh the immediacy of a well-chosen, easy to understand name. Obviously, I haven't made a change yet, but I think it's coming.