I am an author who has changed their name

[Michelle]

Hi,

I am a transwoman and have changed my name to Michelle McMurrie. Books I wrote under my previous name of Michael Pugh are listed on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

The books are registered with the ISBN agency Nielsen under both names (as I am going to continue writing under my new name).

How can I get the books under Michael Pugh transferred or copied over to my new name and Goodreads page?

Many thanks,
Michelle

[Paula]

GR normally lists books under the name they where published under initially.

When you publish / re publish one of the books currently under Michael, Michelle will be added as the secondary author. Where you publish a new book under Michelle that name will appear on an author profile for Michelle (Michael will not be seen).

You can either relinquish the Michael profile or claim the Michelle profile also once you have a book on GR under that name.

You may want to contact GR Support if that is not acceptable as Librarians will not change the names on the books currently under Michael as that is against policy

[Michelle]

Hi Paula,

Thanks for your reply - sorry that it's taken me a while to get back to you.

It might be easier (for me) if I talk about myself in the third person for a moment:

I'm not sure that I follow you - Michelle McMurrie is legally the same person (and is listed with the ISBN people as both writer and publisher alongside Michael Pugh) - so why should she be listed as a secondary anything?

I will contact GR Support and ask them to fix this, it's not a Librarian issue, as you say.

Thanks again! :)

Michelle

[Scott]

Simply, because the originally-published name is always kept as the primary. This applies to big-name authors who used now-obscure pen names, everybody. It is to enable combining of old and new editions, and also because GR is a database, and people with older copies of those books need to be able to look them up as much as newer readers.

[lethe]

In another thread it was said that the earlier name should be listed first on books originally published under that name: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

(Personally, I think it would be a good thing if that policy were changed.)