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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

One of a million



I need some advice. 

With our move I’m going to lose the email address I’ve been using for my writing. It comes through our internet provider which will no longer be our provider when we move. I’ve looked to Gmail to get a new one but my name is so common there is no combination that isn’t already used. 

Does anyone have any advice on how to get around this? Are there other, reliable, free, and professional email services? Are there ways to use my name that are unique enough I’m not the millionth person out there using it? I’ve thought about doing  ‘(my name)author’ but is that presumptuous or off putting? 

I need to get this figured out so I can start transferring everything but I don’t have a clue what to do. Maybe I need a new name. Anyone else have this problem?

As a bonus I hope you enjoy this article on what not to say to an author. 

17 comments:

  1. I had the same problem. I had to add my middle initial and a number at the end when I started using gmail. You may have to do that too. But it'll work. And I like gmail. I don't see as many people being hacked as with yahoo, where I also got hacked. Good luck with the move.

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  2. I just had to add a number to my name to use Gmail. I think that is fairly common and won't look odd during the query process. I also don't see anything wrong with adding the word "author", if that is your preference. After all, you are one. Just not a published one...yet. :0)

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  3. Sara, maybe you'll have to add a number or another initial.
    spbowers
    sarapbowers
    sara-p-bowers
    writersarabowers
    sarabowerswriter
    sarabowerswrites

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  4. I set up an email address through my web hosting service, which is international. Don't know if you have a webpage, but that's the best way to go--then you can customize your address to be pretty much what you want.

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  5. I had to do the same thing and put author after my name with my initial. I guess I should have appreciated my weird maiden name more. LOL.

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  6. ugh that's so frustrating. One solution is to pay (a VERY small fee) for a Google site, and then you get your own web site, a bunch of cool tools, and an email address - spbowers@spbowers.com or whatever. I don't think it's off-putting to put 'author' after your name, though!

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    1. I will have to look into that. I need to do a website at some point. Glad author doesn't sound too bad.

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  7. There is a lady with an email similar to mine and the poor woman gets some of my insane friends' emails. She has gmail, mine is ymail. I might look into the google thing Liz is talking about.

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  8. Oh Sara… I have no clue… I'm sooooo not tech savvy… but hopefully these comments above me have solutions… and you're moving?!?!? Epic!!!

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  9. I don't think it's off-putting! If it's still available to use, I think that would work best. I agree with Liz and Crystal - seems like you can take advantage of a wider range of services by paying the small fee for a Google site.

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  10. Good luck, Sara! I'm just lucky that my name is very unique.

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  11. I like Peaches's ideas. I use Cluculzwriter because it's where I live and it's so unusual. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn, Sara!

    I like WriterSaraPBowers@

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  12. AuthorSPBower@whateverserveryouchoose Promote yourself.

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  13. I actually used my personal email address (that doesn't have my name in it, just a silly "screen name") as my main email for a while, until recently. Now I'm ShelleySly2 (at gmail) because ShelleySly was taken. I think a number or "author" or "writer" works.

    Good luck with your move!

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  14. How about SaratheAuthor, SaratheScribe, or TheSaraBowers?

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  15. That is tricky. Lately I've been using dropbox for my writing, but I assume you want an email for a writer. May have to keep playing with letters until something works. :)

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  16. Good question. I like sticking with Gmail because I have access to my blog and YouTube channel and everything. If Google+ was as popular as Facebook I'd be happy to drop Facebook. I think putting author in your Gmail name is a good idea.
    Do you keep all your emails like I do? How are you going to save them once the provider's email is gone? (Don't mind me, just being nosey.)

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