How to use a pseudonym?

jeseymour · Jan 18, 2010

I've just signed a contract for my first novel, which is part of a series. I also have another series in mind, same genre, but very different. I was thinking of using a pseudonym for that, (to distinguish it from my other works) but I have no clue how to go about this. How do you handle things like sending out queries? I have quite a bit published under my real name, would I let the editor/agent know about that? Wouldn't that sort of remove any advantages of using a pen name? If I do just use my pen name, how do I get the mail delivered to me? (Forgive me if these are stupid questions!) I'm looking for advice as simple as how to write a query letter (I'd like to be able to mention the stories I've had published and the forthcoming novel.) Any hints? Thanks!

Jamesaritchie · Jan 18, 2010

You stil send everything out in your real name, and you still put your real name in the upper left corner of page one.

At the very least, your agent needs to know your real name and social security number, and any publisher that pays you directly also needs to know. They have to pay taxes, too, and the only way they can prove expenses to the IRS is by identifying the agents or writers they paid. The IRS will check to make sure they're paying real people.

johnnysannie · Jan 18, 2010

I use a format like this:

Real name
Real everything

Dear Agent/Editor/whoever:

And then - somewhere in the query, I just say something like this: Although I previously published MY NOVEL using my actual name, I have opted to write under a pen for (whatever reason) so "MY NEW NOVEL" will appear with PEN NAME as the author.

And when I'm sending a MS (novel or short fiction) that I want published under a pen name, I put everything real in the upper left corner but when I drop down for the title, I put

"MY FICTION"
by PEN NAME

IceCreamEmpress · Jan 18, 2010

The cover page of your manuscript should say something like "THE DARK HEART OF PASSION by Jane Smith writing as Esmerelda De Lancey-ffanshawe."

In your query, you say something like "I have published {your greatest hits} under my own name; this is the first book I have written as Esmerelda De Lancey-ffanshawe."

katiemac · Jan 18, 2010

Esmerelda De Lancey-ffanshawe

Stealing this, immediately.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 18, 2010

IceCreamEmpress said:
The cover page of your manuscript should say something like "THE DARK HEART OF PASSION by Jane Smith writing as Esmerelda De Lancey-ffanshawe."

In your query, you say something like "I have published {your greatest hits} under my own name; this is the first book I have written as Esmerelda De Lancey-ffanshawe."

You just put the pseudonym in as the byline. "Writing as" is unneceasary, and kind of a big turn off, for me.

johnnysannie · Jan 18, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
You just put the pseudonym in as the byline. "Writing as" is unneceasary, and kind of a big turn off, for me.

Exactly right.

IceCreamEmpress · Jan 19, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
You just put the pseudonym in as the byline. "Writing as" is unneceasary, and kind of a big turn off, for me.

It's the norm in romance and mystery submissions in the US. Good to know that it might vary in other genres.

Old Hack · Jan 19, 2010

katiemac said:
Stealing this, immediately.

You can't have it, it was meant for me!

(Jane Smith is my real name, for those of you who don't know!)

Jamesaritchie · Jan 19, 2010

IceCreamEmpress said:
It's the norm in romance and mystery submissions in the US. Good to know that it might vary in other genres.

Noone in my romance group ever did it. I belonged to the Romance Writers of America for a long while. And I know of no mystery writers, which is what I do most, who do it that way.

EFCollins · Jan 19, 2010

These guys have it right. I use a pseudonym (Because there are over 200 Ellen Collins's on FaceBook alone) and have always done it this way. (shown below)

Real name
Street Address
Phone number
email
website

Approximately ????? words

Title
by Pen Name

And that's it. This is the format I was taught to use and I have never had an editor tell me I was incorrect.

jeseymour · Jan 19, 2010

Thank you!

Wordwrestler · Mar 3, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
You just put the pseudonym in as the byline. "Writing as" is unneceasary, and kind of a big turn off, for me.

If the pen name is in the byline, should it be in the header, too? What about the e-mail address? Should it be [email protected] or [email protected]? If an author is building an internet presence under the pen name, does this make any difference?

Bookewyrme · Mar 3, 2010

You put your real name (last name only, if I understand what you mean correctly) in the header. I don't think it matters what name is on your email address, as long as it's a real email address that you check regularly.

I have an email for my pen name specifically, but that's because I want a separate email for my submissions so a reply doesn't get mixed in with the random advertisements from various things I'm signed up for and those damn chain letters my mother always sends me.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 3, 2010

The only real reason anything is in the header is to keep the manuscript together. You can write MotherGoose/Bubblegum/ pg 2, if you like.

It's the title and page number in the header that matter, not the name. Individual chapters get passed around, manuscripst get dropped, etc. Sometimes, when the work piles up and everyone is running behind, twenty may get dropped.

Webgsites, blogs, and eMail addresses depend on how separate you want to keep the pseudonym from you real name, or from otehr pseudonym.

I keep everything completely compartmentalized, and only my agent knows for sure. But it's up to you, and your publisher.

shaldna · Mar 4, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
You just put the pseudonym in as the byline. "Writing as" is unneceasary, and kind of a big turn off, for me.

i agree. it sounds pretentious.

shadowwalker · Mar 17, 2010

There seem to be quite a few forums on this subject, so I hope I'm using the right one for this.

I hadn't considered using a pseudonym with any seriousness, but I suddenly realized that while I'm starting (hopefully) my new career in writing, my son is also starting his career in "the arts", although in a different medium. So not only for privacy reasons, but because I don't want either of us to be tied to the reputation of the other, I've decided I should definitely consider this. (Our surname is unusual enough that the connection would be pretty obvious.)

So my question now is - I've read how others have chosen their pen names, but are there any "guidelines" for things one should steer clear of? Are there "types" of names that are more "marketable"? Or am I making this more complicated than it needs to be?

CaoPaux · Mar 18, 2010

Personally, I'd choose a name based upon who I wanted to be shelved between.

But I'd also want one that wouldn't be easily confused with anyone (in)famous, and was easy to remember and spell.

There's a few prevalent assumptions, e.g., using initials or gender-neutral names if you're a woman writing thrillers, or a man writing romances, and there's the usual controversy over names which suggest any particular ethnicity, but opinion varies on how much stock to put in stuff like that.

How to use a pseudonym?

jeseymour

Jamesaritchie

johnnysannie

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

katiemac

Five by Five

Jamesaritchie

johnnysannie

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Jamesaritchie

EFCollins

World Class Rambler

jeseymour

Wordwrestler

Bookewyrme

Imagined half of it.

Jamesaritchie

shaldna

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

shadowwalker

empty-nester!

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless