using a pseudonym

Ronda · Jun 21, 2005

Opinions, please?

A friend suggested to me that perhaps I should use an alias for my fantasy writing. I live in the Bible Belt in a small community, and I write fantasy and supernatural stories. She is concerned that I might get a lot of flack from fundamentalists because of the supernatural elements, mages, etc.

I can see her point.

But I'm not sure if that's what I should do. I am becoming more and more known in the community because of my massage and my column. It would make sense for me to promote my work in the local libraries, bookstores, etc. I have visions of putting on a wig and a disguise to appear as my alias.

What do you think?

KTC · Jun 21, 2005

Don't do it! Be proud of what you write. Don't let others dictate you. Ever.

Christine N. · Jun 21, 2005

Hey, it works for Lemony Snicket.
But I'm with KTC. Write what you want, don't let them get to you. The only reason I would use a pen name is if I wrote something out of genre and I didn't want to confuse readers. I write MG fantasy, but I've also penned a crime thriller. I would probably pub the crime thriller under a pen name, so that kids wouldn't pick up the other one thinking it was for them.

Or something like that.

Roger J Carlson · Jun 21, 2005

Well, I wouldn't, but I can't speak for you or your community.

Do you think you will be threatened in some way? If so, that might be a reasonable precaution. On the other hand, if you're concerned that you might be shunned, ask yourself if you really care what these people think. My guess is for every hardcore detractor, you'll find several admirers.

If you publish and are even moderately successful, your town will be proud of their "published author" regardless of the genre.

PattiTheWicked · Jun 21, 2005

Ronda said:
Opinions, please?

A friend suggested to me that perhaps I should use an alias for my fantasy writing. I live in the Bible Belt in a small community, and I write fantasy and supernatural stories. She is concerned that I might get a lot of flack from fundamentalists because of the supernatural elements, mages, etc.

You are who you are, and really, as long as you're writing things that YOU are ethically and spiritually okay with, it shouldn't matter what others think. Besides, look how many more books JK Rowling sells when the fundies start protesting.

Eventually, you'll run into someone who doesn't like what you write, for a variety of reasons. You can either hide behind a name that isn't yours and be safe, or you can be yourself and be honest.

I've been openly pagan for half my life, spent ten years in the bible belt, and presently live in a very conservative suburb in Ohio. I've never hidden anything about myself, because I'd rather be hated for who I am than liked for something I'm not. Just my nickel's worth.

Ronda said:
I can see her point.

Ronda said:
But I'm not sure if that's what I should do. I am becoming more and more known in the community because of my massage and my column. It would make sense for me to promote my work in the local libraries, bookstores, etc. I have visions of putting on a wig and a disguise to appear as my alias.

What do you think?

I can see good reasons for using a pseudonym. Let's say you write sexy vampire fiction on one hand, and chaste Regency romances on the other. Sure, you might want to use different names, to keep the markets separate. Or if you write kids' books as well as adult novels, maybe. Or maybe your real name is Stephen King and you don't want to be confused with some other guy, or maybe your name is hard to pronounce or just plain embarassing and you hate it. All good excuses for changing your name. But I think using a pseudonym just so people won't know who you are when they criticize your book is kind of a cop out reason.

Your mileage may vary.

scribbler1382 · Jun 21, 2005

If I lived in a bible belt, I think I'd be more concerned about rubbing people than telling stories.

Seriously, unless you need to use another name because you're saturating the market with your real name, just be you.

jackie106 · Jun 21, 2005

You could try explaining that fantasy is not necessarily anti-Christian. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein more or less invented the genre and they were both devout Christians. (This may not work if your books has a lot of hot hobbit lovin'.)

Jackie

JerseyGirl1962 · Jun 21, 2005

I have to agree with the others of the post

I considered, briefly, using a pseudonym when I first got serious about getting my writing published (a couple of years ago). It was the privacy thing.

But then I thought...why do I have to hide behind a name that's not mine? What's wrong with my name? Now, my maiden name was 11 letters long and although it was simple to pronounce once I explained it away in a phrase, most people got it (including my hubby). But of course you don't get a pronunciation key for the author's name in a traditional book, so it might be worth coming up with a pseudonym in that instance.

So...I could understand if you feared for your life from someone in the community, if your last name was long and hard to pronounce (as noted above), or for some reason you just hated your name altogether. But if you like your name, you like what you write, and you get published, wouldn't you be jazzed to see your name "in lights," so to speak? I know I did (although I did add in my middle name because it sounds better to me).

I hope you give this a lot of thought and come down on the side of using your real name. Just my 2 cents, of course.

PattiTheWicked · Jun 21, 2005

jackie106 said:
(This may not work if your books has a lot of hot hobbit lovin'.)

I'll probably regret posting this later... Out In The Mountains : Arts - Hobbit Love

JerseyGirl1962 · Jun 21, 2005

Oop, one other thing

jackie106 in her post makes a very good point - JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were both Christian writers and their works are almost universally looked at by fundamentalists and other religious as being good, moral stories.

I love Tolkien's stuff, but I personally found The Chronicles of Narnia a bit boring; but I digress... ;-)

JerseyGirl1962 · Jun 21, 2005

Patty....

LOL!!! ;-)

Jamesaritchie · Jun 21, 2005

Ronda said:
Opinions, please?

A friend suggested to me that perhaps I should use an alias for my fantasy writing. I live in the Bible Belt in a small community, and I write fantasy and supernatural stories. She is concerned that I might get a lot of flack from fundamentalists because of the supernatural elements, mages, etc.

I can see her point.

But I'm not sure if that's what I should do. I am becoming more and more known in the community because of my massage and my column. It would make sense for me to promote my work in the local libraries, bookstores, etc. I have visions of putting on a wig and a disguise to appear as my alias.

What do you think?

That's a perfectly legitimate use of a pseudonym. If you wish, you can even avoid local bookstores and libraries, as long as you visit others.

The thing about a pseudonym is that even when people know it's you, there's still something of a disconnect that happens. That know it's you, but it sort of isn't really you since it isn't your name.

There's never anything wrong with using a pseudonym, it's purely up to the writer, and some awfully famous writers use pseudonyms for all sorts of reasons. A bit more peace and quiet may be the best reason in the bunch.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 21, 2005

JerseyGirl1962 said:
jackie106 in her post makes a very good point - JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were both Christian writers and their works are almost universally looked at by fundamentalists and other religious as being good, moral stories.

I love Tolkien's stuff, but I personally found The Chronicles of Narnia a bit boring; but I digress... ;-)

That's because both LOTR and Narnia are considered by many to be a sort of retelling of the Bible in the guise of fantasy. Many of the the same fundamentalists who love Tolkien and Lewis are violently o

azbikergirl · Jun 21, 2005

People always mispronounce my last name, even though it's pronounced *exactly* as it's spelled. (duh) I'm doing a pseudonym partly because my real name is kind of boring, partly because of the privacy thing.

I think I'll also have a supermodel pose as me for my jacket flap photos. :ROFL:

James D. Macdonald · Jun 21, 2005

I've found right-wing fundamentalist tracts that attempt to prove that C. S. Lewis was a Satanist. There's no pleasing some people.

Write the best book you can ... and let the readers decide if its "good."

jackie106 · Jun 21, 2005

James D. Macdonald said:
I've found right-wing fundamentalist tracts that attempt to prove that C. S. Lewis was a Satanist. There's no pleasing some people.

Wow. If a person is that ignorant and narrow-minded, do you really want him to like your work?

Jackie

hpoppink · Jun 21, 2005

I plan to use a pseudonym. People have always had a very hard time remembering, pronouncing, and spelling my married last name. Doesn't seem like very good PR to me.

As such, I will probably use my maiden name. It is both memorable and easy to spell.

zornhau · Jun 22, 2005

Pseudonyms give you "plausible deniability": you can always say - "Sorry, mate, you must have got the wrong end of the stick."
If you're a parent, they have the big advantage of protecting your kids from having out-of-context bits read out in the playground.

Nakhlasmoke · Jun 22, 2005

I will be submitting all my work under what should have been my real surname if my father had not been adopted, purely because I do not see my husband's surname as my own (and I don't like it. natch.) and my real maiden name is alliterative and just looks so cheesy because of that.

So maybe that's a stupid reason - *shrug*

Ronda · Jun 22, 2005

Wow - that generated a lot of comment!
My last name is hard for people. I'm forever spelling it. Del Boccio - easy to "botch up" I always say.
I thought of using Dell as a last name for childrens' books
Then there's Ronda, which almost EVERYONE but me spells with an H - my family apparently had fights about who I should be named after, so I got Ronda from my father, Ron , and Jean from my mother. Her name's Aletha Jean, and I'm forever grateful they didn't call me Aletha, even though Aunt Aletha was a terrific woman.

I work as a massage therapist in a hair salon (owned by fundies) and I have some of the novel available for people to read. So far nobody has accused me of being a satanist or anything (not that I personally care if they did).

I'm sure fundies would come up with a way to "prove" Jesus was a satanist if he wasn't Jesus. ANyway, thanks so much. I enjoyed reading all your responses.

Warmly,
Ronda

Kiva Wolfe · Jun 22, 2005

Hi Ronda:

Great question. Fundamentalists, jeepers, I would first worry about your parents finding out. All kidding aside, I think it is who and what you are on the inside that counts. You are writer, no matter under what name you choose to write. If it is important for your entire high school graduating class to know you have written a book, use your real name. If you are writing in more than one genre, if privacy is an issue because you are under witness protection, or if your birth name would actually hurt book sales, consider using a pseudonym. It is harder to use one when you are writing non-fiction, then publishers typically insist on the real name. When my husband published his memoirs, a guy he didn’t know, who happened to be a realtor, looked him up on the county property tax registry and showed up at our front door. Talk about a bad day at Black Rock...

Whatever you write, if it is under a pseudonym, I am of the opinion that it is as much you as you are. I do not differentiate between Stephen King and Richard Bachman. It is all Stephen King to me. You own it so use it, and take pride in what you have accomplished.

Jersey Girl, nice Malamute!

JerseyGirl1962 · Jun 22, 2005

Thanks, Kiva

I like yours, too.

BTW, Kiva, do you actually have a Mal as a pet? The avatar reminds me of our first Mal, Misty, and our young, goofy boy, Sam. Our other dog is part Mal, part Siberian Husky, and part...Ingredient X (for any Power Puff Girls fans out there). His name is Frodo, and is the sweetest dog I've ever known.

So you know how nutty hubby & I are about Tolkien. :tongue

~Nancy

Kiva Wolfe · Jun 22, 2005

Hey Nancy, yes, I do live with a Malamute-mix, or maybe it is the other way around. I rescued him from a home-based puppymill. He's two years old and we call him Bogie, because he wouldn't answer to Khufu, and besides, our other dog is called Baby. Being a film fanatic, it suits me. Half the time, he still won't come when called and has a penchant for used Kleanex, but he sits very well, though not very long, and we love him. I've learned sooo much about the breed. It's aged me, for sure.

MadScientistMatt · Jun 22, 2005

I'm not sure there is really any need to worry about it. Just because many of your neighbors are fundementalists doesn't make them extremists. There's a big difference there. A fundementalist believes that the Bible is the Inerrant Word of God, but can still look through the Bible, note that there is no commandment against letting bookstores sell obviously fictitious stories about gods that the author clearly intends to be fictitious, and let the matter drop. An extremist, on finding no such commandment, concludes that there ought to be one anyway.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. The sort of religious types who really do believe the Bible cover to cover are already constrained by commandments against violence and lying, so the most they might do is a little bit of criticism. Whereas with extremists, they can be set off by just about anything that they happen to disagree with - not necessarily fantasy. You can irritate them with any genre you choose - the one that really gets their goats, of course, is Christian writing.

Just a few comments from a sort of fundementalist. Who really likes reading fantasy novels.

Richard White · Jun 22, 2005

Personally, being from Southern Mo originally AND a practicing Baptist (who also writes Fantasy), I could be a tad offended at being stereotyped by the original poster. However, I don't know the town she lives in, so she knows her situation better than I do. But, just because someone's from the Ozarks and goes to church doesn't make them an extremist any more than someone from X means they're Y.

There's all kinds of weirdos out there. I live in Maryland now and find myself surrounded by very intolerant people all the time, and it has nothing to do with them being religious fundamentalists, but being secular fundamentalists. (If you don't agree with their current beliefs, then you must be put down and laughed at). They're easily as annoying as religious fundamentalists.

Personally, write what you believe in and stand up for what you believe in.

The heck with the rest of them.

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