I want to publish under a pseudonym, so when should I start using it? Is it okay to send queries under the pseudonym? If I get a request for a partial or full, what name do I put on the cover page?

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who has used a nom de plume before, or knows the publishing world enough to know for sure what I am supposed to do.

Submit under your own name. The pseudonym is a secondary consideration that is determined at the contract stage. I've also read that one may submit using one's real name and in the byline use one's pseudonym.

Hopefully someone here has had direct experience relating to writing and publishing under a pseudonym and can give us a definitive answer.

That way, the check should be made out to your real name and not your pen-name.

I've always done this, because that's what I've always been told to do, but some editors don't seem to understand things and I've received checks made out to my byline/pen-name.

So I still recommend that you format your manuscript as above, but also, when you communicate with the editor in the case of a sale, specify that the check should be made out to your real name, please, and make sure the editor understands that the name under the title should go on the published story.

There's not actually a legal requirement to use your real name so long as there is "no intent to defraud".

(Friend of a friend always signs her checks with famous names ...like George Washington...!)