NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ANNE FRASIER
Thursday, June 24, 2010
THE NAME GAME
Sometimes I can't keep track of who I am. I started out writing under my real name, but when I switched to crime fiction the marketing department thought I should use something new. My middle name is Anne. My editor suggested Frasier, and that was pretty much that. At about the same time, I moved from Iowa to St. Paul where I met a new group of writers and booksellers, and they came to know me as Anne. I gave up trying to use Theresa, because nobody could keep it straight. I even had trouble emailing various people at the publishing house because they didn't know who Theresa Weir was, and I quickly realized I had to make a full transition in order for my career to move smoothly. And now I will eventually be transitioning back. It's possible that I'll continue to write suspense under Frasier, but at this point that's unclear. The hardest thing to change will be email. I've used the Frasier email address for so many years. Just not sure how to make that switch, but at the same time I'm afraid continuing to use Frasier will be confusing for people. And what's really weird is that in a lot of ways I feel more like Anne Frasier than Theresa Weir. I've been Anne for ten years, and I left that old life and that other name behind long ago. I'm sure I'll eventually get used to being Theresa again, but it all feels so strange! Sometimes I wonder if I just shouldn't get my name legally changed to Frasier.
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I think of you as both.
ReplyDeleteBut I understand the wacky pushes and pulls of identity. ;) And I also understand how you could feel more like Anne than Theresa.
in my address book you're under W
ReplyDeleteAnne is shorter to type though
And so, I'll continue to call you Anne, but know who you really are...wait, who are you?
jason and bonnie, i like that. maybe i should just not worry about it, continue to use the frasier email, and see what happens. because i do feel like both. i am both.
ReplyDeleteanne
there
i don't think i can ever sign my blog as theresa. it just wouldn't seem right. it's almost like TW is my pen name! so weird.
You can always sign your emails Theresa and keep your Anne email address.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's the email I check most often, I use my real name email when posting to blogs, but only if it is visible to blog author only, but I still sign/log in to comment as Heather Dearly.
I'll call you whatever you want. :-)
You know, I thought of you as Anne Frasier before I started reading you on the old blog. I didn't know anything else. Now I think of you both ways. Identity is an odd thing. There is a part of me that, no matter what, will always answer to "Kimberly Randall" even though it hasn't been my name for almost 25 years.
ReplyDeleteyou can have your anne frasier email address automatically forward anything to your new email addy. Usually, you can find it under settings or managing your account.
ReplyDeletewho is the adorable girl on the bad karma cover? she's cute...lol. okay, sidetracked there a bit. :)
You're still "Mom" to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good point for those jumping into the pen name game. I've kept mine off to the side and disassociated everything to do with it. It's a different entity. Have a great day Teresa Anne. ;)
ReplyDeleteheather, that's probably what I'll do. At least for now. I think I have to use both. Just yesterday someone asked me for a cover blurb for a mystery. they aren't going to want a blurb by TW.
ReplyDeleteanne
Kim, the whole identity thing IS really odd. some old friends still call me terry, and i kind of do a mental adjustment depending on the name being used. i think i feel more confident and business-oriented as frasier. really weird that a name evokes those things. terry is kind of an immature fuck up. but fun!
ReplyDeleteemeraldcite, i do that now. i actually have a TW gmail account as my secondary account. But it takes forever for emails to go through.
ReplyDeleteand the girl on the cover? no idea! i guess she is somebody somewhere!
anne
martha, but you have to deal with the confusion of my two names. oh, my mom is this person, but she's also this other person when she's writing or signing books or blogging or tweeting. hah! and a lot of her friends call her by this other name that has nothing to do with us. that has to be weird too!
ReplyDeletemom
carrie, i'd planned to keep them completely separate, but it just became impossible when most people were calling me anne. i write full time, so i don't have this other place where i'm known as TW. i do like the separation of anne as the writer, and theresa being theresa. that has always been total separation. but now it won't be. :D this is really messing with my head. heh!
ReplyDeleteanne
I can hardly keep track of one name.
ReplyDeleteOh, I see...I thought two writers share this blog. Well, i guess they do, don't they? Or do they. I'm serious. I'm glad you straightened all of this out. Theresa or Teresa or Anne or Ann. Hmmm...
ReplyDeleteHow about Anne Theresa Frasier-Weir?
ReplyDeleteBut I understand the strangeness and the difficulty, both practical and emotional.
ricky, yes, it's confusing! :D
ReplyDeletebertina, i was thinking of going Frasier-Weir, at least online. it would be like being married to myself.
something i just thought about -- the memoir could bomb, so i shouldn't toss the frasier name. it's somewhat of a brand, and frasier sales figures look especially good in today's market.
ReplyDelete