William Dye to Chad Leito

Hello,

My name is Chad Leito. Welcome to my website!

            As you may be aware, I formerly published under the pen name ‘William Dye.’ I thought the name was catchy, and I saw it as desirable to keep my identity separate from my writing. But now, for reasons that I will list, I believe that it would be advantageous to use my real name, Chad Leito.

            Reason number 1: It is easier to market with my actual name. I find that if I tell people about my work, it is sometimes difficult to remember my pen name. This is one reason why I have chosen to drop it.

            Reason number 2: I like my real name.

            Reason number 3: I feel as though I haven’t been as proactive about marketing in the past as I would have liked. This has led me to the desire to start over. I would like to develop new habits in my publishing life, and see changing my name as a great opportunity to signal this.

            Reason number 4: Real names promote transparency. There will be two sub-points attached to this point. Sub-point 1: I personally enjoy feeling as though I know artists. Pen names are another barrier blocking this goal. Sub-point 2 (arguably the most important warrant I will give): I would like to start using 100% of my ebook earnings to support a charity. I will talk about reasons for this at another time, but for now, I will focus on why changing author name to my genuine name is beneficial.

            One of the heaviest predictors of success for any person or organization that is trying to give to charity is that they be transparent. My vision is that I will write a check (or echeck, or pay via a card of some kind) for my ebook earnings and give that to charity every month. In promoting transparency, I will post proof of my earnings and the receipt from the charity online in one-month intervals. I believe that people will view the process as more genuine if my actual name is on all of the documents. This will encourage people to spread the word, advocating a unique way to give.