How harmful is it to change pen names/usernames?

[RiverKai]

Hey friends!! I haven't been vocal on here for awhile, but I've been silently reading posts every once in awhile and always enjoy how much feedback we all give each other.

I was hoping I could get some advice and/or start a discussion about changing or altering a pen name that is already in existence.

While thousands of people now know me as Kai Lynx on various social media platforms, Kai is not my first name, it's my middle name. This may not seem like a problem at first, but it is quite a complicated issue for me because Kai Lynx is a play on words off of an old name that I am in the process of legally changing and that I strongly dislike. I don't completely hate Kai Lynx as a whole, however, and most people simply refer to me as Kai anyways. Therefore, I'm on the fence about how much I might hate my current pen name in the future, and if it's too late to change it.

My real first name, River, in combination with my middle name, Kai, sounds pretty much like a pen name itself. My concern is that changing my pen name from Kai Lynx to River Kai would mean a completely new identity in the eyes of many people and a possible huge issue for business reasons when handling a comic and artwork over many platforms -- a lot of marketing is about branding your name which I have done thoroughly in the past. And the combination of names as River Kai Lynx just does not sound good to me or easy to remember. The only other handle I have is riv-kun, which is super weeabo (lol, not ashamed but it's not as professional) and even further away from my original pen name.

I'm very aware that if I am going to change it, the sooner the better. Thankfully, readers also don't always notice the author's name when reading the comic, but at the same I wonder if that's lessened once I've added it into a lot of personal interactions. For example, my instagram account completely plateaued once I changed to Kai Lynx due to people no longer recognizing my username, and I feel that it wouldn't be smart of me to assume that might not happen again.

But how horrible is that really?

In your opinion, when is it too late to change your pen name?
As a reader or fellow artist, how confusing is it to see someone's internet handle change?
Does it make you forget all of the work they have done in a detrimental way, or do you eventually get used to it enough and remember it all?
Have you changed your pen name before, and if so, how did your followers react? Did you lose business from it?

Thanks for reading, I'm looking forward to your responses!

[Pandastrophic]

People would probably get used to it, especially here on tapastic where people are more likely to search for your comics name rather than your username so just change it if you'd like. I changed my username twice (from pandastrophic to rievanchi then back to pandastrophic) and there wasn't a huge issue.
The difference with insta is that people search your username and if you change it and they try searching your old username they won't be able to find you.

[WednesdayAsh]

I'd go with, not damaging at all.

Go ahead and change it up as you like

[mg78]

imho pen name doesnt matter at all
if some1 follow u, its for what u create, not for your name. if change name, it's not the same for what u draw...

[insomniascrawl]

So long as you're not deleting everything and starting all over it should be fine (made that mistake... twice).
Anyway, I think you're readers will just get used to the name change, especially if you announce it and it's something you plan to stick with. Should be okay.

[Kayke]

I went from using just my pen name, Kayke, when I was younger to using that in combination with my given name on most sites and I don't really think there was ever an issue with it like loss of followers or confusion. Considering Kai would be in both your old user name and new, I think that would really help with the transition.

I get a mix of people calling me Kayla and Kayke, which you can probably expect as well with River and Kai.

[ratique]

Better now than later!

Most of us are probably doing just fine with changing a pen name, since we are not THAT well known. If Stephen King suddenly decides to call himself "Fluffy McFlufferson", that would be a different issue.

If there is an avatar attached to your name I would probably keep that the same. I recognize people on the web often more because of their avatar than their name.

If you decide to change your name, write into the forum thread about changing usernames, and I will update your forum name for you.

[RiverKai]

especially here on tapastic where people are more likely to search for your comics name rather than your username

That's what I really believed too! I actually thought of you when this issue was coming up for me because I remembered you changed your name, and that since I followed you closely it didn't matter.

[RiverKai]

Thank you, Ratique! I really appreciate that! And that's a great point with the web avatar, especially because artwork and comics especially are so visual.

[thekampe]

Yeah this is a great question because I really want to change mine, I've been theKampe forever but kinda have grown disenchanted with it. But I really think that as long as you keep your icon the same it makes the transition easier since at least one aspect of your online personal hasn't changed.

[Mharz]

I don't think it's a big deal you just need to inform you're audience that you'll be changing your username especially if the username has already became a brand of some sort.