Serious byline question

actually, C. can step to the fucking plate, to be honest.

 

Do what you want to do.
Walter Wellesley Smith did.

 

thank you Buck Fuckin' Weaver.

 

Thanks for stopping by, "Scoop" Jackson.

 

or is that: Fuckin'

or is it: Fuckin' B. Weaver?

 

My wife, a feature writer and columnist, is known in her part of the world by three names, including her maiden name and her first husband's name.

Because she's a brand name, of sorts, I never was particularly interested in seeing her change her name to mine when we got married in 2004.

This summer, in observance of her ... _0th birthday, she's planning to drop the ex-husband's name and just go my her maiden name again. Which suits me fine.

 

I have a serious question here: when a woman with a byline or masthead name gets married and changes her name, how much recognition or credibility does she actually lose? When readers see "Jane Smith" instead of "Jane Jones" do they think it's a different person?

Obviously women with a higher profile are less likely to be affected, or perhaps would keep their original name as a professional name, but what about those who aren't as well known?

The best non-writing example I can come up with was Kate Sobrero of the US Women's National Soccer Team, who married and became Kate Markgraf. I like to think I follow the WNT regularly, but the first time she took to the field I honestly thought they had called up a new player. The announcers sounded like a broken record repeating "...the former Kate Sobrero..." so the audience would know who she was.

 

jane jones once sucked a golfball through a hose. jane smith, well, not so much.

needless to say, big difference between the two.

i hope this clears things up.

 

Yes, but are readers able to catch on? If Jane Jones is the education reporter at the Podunk Press, and then one day the byline turns to Jane Smith, how far of a jump is that? What if she is Jane Jones Smith for a few weeks, then strictly Jane Smith? Does that ease whatever transition there may be?

 

does it really matter if jones is sucking a golfball through a gardenhose?

 

I would think that, unless the female writer is an institution at said paper, the readers and such will adjust in due time. I've seen it a couple of times in newsrooms where I worked. The adjustment time wasn't too awkward.

Going back to your example, notice it didn't take too terribly long for fans to get used to Kate Markgraf. Now Mia Garciaparra? That would have taken some getting used to.

 

I often use Slappy McGullicutty as my byline...