I want to use a pen name, yet I keep thinking of how authors these days are expected to allow readers into their lives as much as possible if their careers are to survive. In our world of weblogs, social networking sites, and nosy interviewers, does a pen name create too much distance from an author and potential fans?
Note: The intention of this thread is not to revisit the reasons why the oldies on this site do or do not use pen names, unless the reasons relate to marketing.
Other threads on pen names:
Pen Names (2005)
Pseudonyms (2004)
Pen names (2004)
Why use a nom-de-plum? (2004)
Pen names (2001)
Data / Opinions About Pen Names? (2001)
*Edited to separate the links from each other.
[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited March 17, 2009).]
"I have a lemming-like urge to be up front."
Regarding cross-pollenating on networking sites, that's not really a problem is it? As long as you use the pen name on the sites. Of course then if you want to also keep a personal profile with your real name, then that's two accounts to maintain when I barely maintain interest in one.
Glad you asked this question, because I've been wondering similar things. Working with a pen name can be complicated - when I think about the number of times I've had to email asking for a clarification of rules for submitting things, so I know how to indicate both my real name and my pen name to a potential publisher...! For the record, so far I've found they always require me to submit both names - one for the contract signing and one for publication name.
Unless someone insists I give my legal name, I always introduce myself by my pen name when doing something related to my fiction. It's a nickname I picked up at camp 15 years ago (gosh that's a scary thought) and it's as much a part of "me" as the name I was born with. There have been times my friends have had to shout the nickname because I'm not responding to my real name! :-)
At any rate, I digress. There are several hundred people who only know me by my nickname (though they do know it's not my real name and the kids especially like to play the "guess Kitti's real name" game). I don't feel like it creates any more distance between us than using my real name would. Some of these people know me far better than my "real-life" friends.
In terms of marketing, I'm sure my pen name will continue to cause me all sorts of headaches (see my first paragraph, above), but - for me - it's worth it. I am writing in two VERY different markets (academic non-fiction and scifi/fantasy) and I want to delineate between the two as clearly as possible. The point is not so much to "hide" my real name - the internet and search engines like worldcat mean anyone with enough determination can connect the dots - but to make it immediately obvious to my readers what type of work they are looking at.
My two cents. I'd love to hear from anyone else about what troubles/complications they've run into trying to work under a pen name.
Cheers,
Kitti
Irene S. Lockheed sets a different mood than Irene M. Spiffey. So, would readers avoid a hard-core sci-fi novel by first-time-author Spiffey?
Kitti, you reminded me that a pen name must be comfortable enough to use in regular communication. I think I'd respond poorly to another first name. People would pick up on my discomfort, making me less approachable. That's not good if signings (for novels), appearances on discussion panels, and interviews really are important in establishing a writing career. (Of course, I'm operating off the assumption that my work will be publishable in the near future.)
However, that doesn't mean one can't or shouldn't use a pen name. The reasons for doing so are completely up to the individual. I don't see any real need for a pen name, other than what I mentioned above, but I also don't see a need for texting on a cell phone. That's just how I roll.
(Having said that, my first short story published was under the name of "Stevie Washington". I thought all great writers used a pen name so I borrowed Stevie from an MTV cartoon 'cause I thought it fit the persona I was trying to be. Little did I realize at the time that 1) I'm not a great writer, and 2) my name doesn't make my persona. Though I believe there may be an argument against 2.)
[This message has been edited by rich (edited March 19, 2009).]
But I'm not operating with the notion of publishing under another name because somebody, say, thinks what I write will "go down better" if another name appears on it. Or if somebody wants to publish something "other than" what I've written, but wants another name on it to hide that the same guy, me, wrote both. I'm just not inclined to go along, short of a massive amount of money to do it.
Another reason--your name isn't very memorable. What if your name were Jack Smith. Even if someone picked up a story by you and liked it, would they remember it? Maybe not, because your first and last name are so common. Now, how about Yoon Ha Lee? Robert Jordan? Charles Coleman Finlay? I'm not saying those are pen names, but they do resonate in my memory much better than Jack Smith.
Another reason: searchability. I didn't consider my name very common, but if I do a google search on it, I come up with a full list of totally different people, and several on the first page are convicted felons. Again, with a more distinct name, you might be the only hit on a google search, which can make you easier to find if someone recommends your writing to someone else.
[This message has been edited by steffenwolf (edited March 19, 2009).]
Though in recent memory the most interesting case of a pseudonym would be Lemony Snicket. Though the creation of this persona goes beyond the assumption of a new name. Daniel Handler turned a pseudonym into a full fledged character to write A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket is not only a narrator researching the history of the orphans, he is a character that is tied into the story. Hadler's commitment to preserving the persona of Lemony Snicket goes so far that at readings and publicity events he attends as a representative of Mr. Snicket. Examining what Hadler has done with Snicket reveals one possible way to deal with a world that wants increasing access to its authors, but a world that still loves a bit of intrigue and mystery.
Whatever the case, using a pseudonym needs to be a thought out decision, because for better or for worse it will definetly affect how you will (and can) market your work.
I wish I had thought of "Tom Tomorrow"...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_notable_pen_names
To answer the question, if I had a pen name because I wanted to hide my identity, I wouldn't go to a conference, except perhaps in a mask and costume, like Batman.
If I were at a Hatrack conference, I'd answer quite happily to Pat, TaleSpinner, TS or even "WannaBeer?"
Another example of a sort-of pen name is William Goldman claiming that The Princess Bride was written by S. Morganstern. This worked really well in order to give it an entertaining framing story, and gave a lot of entertainment along the way as he explains what parts of the "original" he edited out.
Just one reason why an author uses a pen name. At writer's conferences he is Bob Mayer.
[This message has been edited by DB (edited March 19, 2009).]
*****
Thanks to the spelling of my last name, I have a unique name---or almost unique, because when I do an ego-Google-search, there's a couple of references to one who's definitely not me. But the vast majority of references are to me.
This at least is handy---or would be if I could ever sell something.
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Another reason for a pen name is to conceal one's identity for other than literary reasons---say, one wants to write an inside-job book on some subject, but one does not want anybody else on the inside to know who wrote it. The anonymity of a pen name would be valuable to this kind of writer.
I use my initials as a pseudonym, some of them for marketability reasons (Like Rowling, I used my initials to hide my gender when I thought such things truly mattered) but also for privacy reasons. I don't want fans to be able to easily look up my home address on the internet. But I've found it has it's downsides now. For instance, I don't like that sometimes readers think I'm a man, something that didn't bother me at all when I was younger (though in my own mind almost all people who use initials default to female, because most of the ones I know are female), and quite honestly I don't like being called TL in informal conversation. I went to my first big conventions last year and within the first day of WorldCon, I wished I had my first name on my badge somewhere. I quickly got into the habit of saying "You can call me Traci" as soon as they'd look at my badge. Some could remember, others couldn't and I got called some rather interesting permutations of Traci.
So... yeah. I don't think I'd go with a pen name, but if I did I'd need a lengthy review process of that name using the full powers of the internets to avoid accidentally publishing as a modern equivalent of John Holmes (the first one on wikipedia's disambiguation page of that name). Not being a connoisseur of the adult film genre, I'd probably miss something like that if I wasn't careful.
[This message has been edited by micmcd (edited March 20, 2009).]
Really. Pronounced "myanoo," all together, very quickly. It was an Arabic gentleman, and the back row of teenagers was trying their hardest not to spend the whole service snickering at the programs.
Anyhow, you might want to make sure the name under which you want to publish (real or pen) isn't a homophone for something awful in another language... you won't sell too many books in Quebec if your name is Jonathan Merde, even though they speak English too. Coca Cola had a fun time with that when they went to China, in one of the more famous "comically lost in translation" instances of modern business.
On second thought, if you are writing comedy, a name like Mr. Merde might be a big leg up!
Back in the 1970s, this guy published some SF stories, mostly in Analog, under the name "Tak Hallus." "Takhallus" is, I believe, Turkish, for "pen name." (He went by the name Stephen Robinette later. I wonder whatever happened to him? I thought he was pretty good.)
Traci's comments got me to thinking that a tentative pen name should be heard as well as read before used in a submission. I'm going to ask my husband to say variations of the pen name I'm considering.
At the moment, I'm considering a fraction of my maiden name. No one's ever told me it's a porn star's name, which coworkers have said about my legal (married) name.
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I feel the urge to point out today that nearly everbody here is kinda alread using a pen name, after a fashion. I worry that you'll get something published...but I won't know it's you because I don't know your name, only your handle...
In any case, I didn't enter under an alias for any desire for anonymity or because I think micmcd sounds better than Michael McDuffee... just because I use micmcd to log in to other stuff (with other passwords, of course). When prompted for a login ID, my first thought is never my full name.
What's the point of pen names? They exist for convenience (often, to avoid intrusions into privacy) or for marketing. When we choose screen names, we're choosing whether or not to market ourselves. Some names were chosen purely for convenience; for example, " micmcd". (Right?) However, most express how we'd wanted to be seen.
A strong desire to be seen as honest might lead someone to choose their real name for Web communication and publication. Pride in one's own cleverness might lead to a screen name like "Shoulders of Giants" and a pen name like "Robbie F. Jet". Someone who prefers to hide behind a veil of mystery might go with "shimmersinglass" and just about anything for a pen name. (By the way, I'm assuming I'm not using an existing Hatracker name in my examples.)
Screen names and pen names may give readers a different impression than the owners intended. We might also move away from what our chosen name initially meant to us. Yet, names affect how we see each other. They hint at our histories and mindsets.
I also think the use of handles here at this kind of site, in particular, is kinda counterproductive. After all, us would-be writers want to promote our own work---but how will us other denizens of this site (or at least the more casual denizens) know that that book that turned up last Tuesday at the front table of Books-a-Million was written by the guy who posted that reply in the thread about such-and-such?
Anyway, the Publications & Reviews forum allows us to promote our work to fellow Hatrackers.
*Edited for spelling.
[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited March 31, 2009).]
So why not post under that name?
Although, a screen name helping in offline marketing is an interesting thought. Potential new members might consider the long-term effects of their favorite screen names if they were to read your post.