They use this name for their websites, social media, and to sign up for newsletters and such. That doesn't work out so well for branding. Sure, some may remember your name, but not in a positive way.
The best branding requires using your own name. Not the title of a book, not the name of your hero in a book, but your own name because that is what you want remembered in connection with the kind of story you write.
7 Tips to Win the Name Game
1. Use your own name for a domain, blog, or social media profile.
2. Use your imagination to come up with a logical variation of your name if someone already claimed it. Sure, you can go after .net or dot whatever--there are a lot to choose from now--but just about everyone thinks websites are dot com. So try to come up with a logical expression of your name if you want a dot com. John Smith Author or Author John Smith or John Smith Writes. All those work.
3. Don’t make your variation too long. Shorter is better in the domain naming world.
4. Don’t use symbols like the underscore to separate names i.e. Joan_Reeves.com that make it hard to read when it’s in a clickable link. When links get underlined, they obscure the underscore. Everyone who has ever used the Internet and email know that names and words run together. Your eye gets used to seeing joanreeves and knowing it says Joan Reeves.
5. Don't use more than 1 dash or hyphen.
6. Make it easy to spell and pronounce.
7. Try to be intuitive in titling. If someone is looking for you, what would they most likely put into a search engine? If you choose to pick a colorful name, be sure it lends itself to appropriate marketing in all kinds of venues. Try to get something that won’t offend more than it attracts.
Takeaway Truth
Choose your brand name carefully. Brand everything. Once you’ve settled on a name, extend the brand to email, blogs, social media, etc. Always put links in your signature line for email. Have cards printed with your brand on it. Use your web addresses anyway you can.
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