Serious byline question

So if I say "Lighten up Francis," would that be outing?

 

thank you malcom.

 

If we could still change our names here, I'd switch to John F. DoIcare.

 

Time for you to exit, Terminator X it.

 

and you would look damn fine with it, sir.

 

Ah, you American women, classic on the taking the husband's name thing.

We keep our given born names 'till we go to the great Beyond, unless we legally change them like shortening Danielovich to Daniels. Saves money after the divorce, and shows everyone we're no one's "property"

So byline remains with the maiden name, and the hubby likes it because you have to know him to know he's married to me, and therefore he doesn't get the gears for something I write or get peppered with questions about how his wife spends her days with half-naked multimillionaires.

Except for last week, when the section front desker had to re-type my byline manually because the layout for the spotlight feature is different – and the doofus spelled it wrong.

 

It's your byline. Do what you want with it. Personally, I've never used it because I don't know of any other Jason Haupricht that exists in the country (maybe in Germany, but I doubt it. Jason isn't a popular German name.) If I had a common name, my byline would appear as John L. Smith or something like that.

 

Use whatever you feel comfortable with. It's your name. And considering what editors do to stories, it may be the only thing you typed that doesn't change. Adding a middle initial to a byline isn't nearly as pretentious as The Ohio State University.

And if you got an X, definitely go with that.

And if you don't dig the name you have, you can always change it. I did.

 

I'm in the "it's your byline" camp, and I'll explain why.

As a personal aside, I regret now not doing something a little more zippy with my byline -- maybe just using initials, maybe taking a pen name, maybe calling myself Karl Hungus, I dunno. Because believe me, there's a fuckload of guys named "Chris Jones" in the world, and at least a shitload of those assholes write for a living.

Sure, over the years I've tried to rationalize my early byline miscue. Part of me likes how my name looks on the page -- there's a kind of punchy symmetry to it -- and another part of me thinks it sets up a good challenge, trying to make a name that a lot of people own mine and mine alone. And if plain and simple is good enough for Gary Smith...

... But more of me thinks I should have been more creative at the start.

Too late now, though, and I kind of regret that.

And therein lies my answer to you.

 

I don't mind the middle initial in a byline, but I am confused about the initial in front of the name. I'm not sure what the purpose for that would be.

 

Oh, I know. Never thought you were. I also never thought anyone reads those taglines.

 

All I know is, C. Thomas Howell would slap the shit out of your dirty mouth.