Pen Names - Pros - Cons - Problems getting Paid ?

JPT · Mar 19, 2012

Hello,
I'm working on a book of true stories that are pretty edgy...wondering if I should use a pen name?
(this will be self published and sold online)

also...If I do, will there be an issue with Paypal or any other online retailers as far as getting paid?

I'm a first time writer and though i've learned a lot about the type of book i'm writing,
(like not using real names etc.) i'm still a novice..
any tips would be appreciated regardless of how obvious they may seem to an experienced writer.
thanks..

Cathy C · Mar 19, 2012

As far as getting paid, you can't really use the pen name. You need to sign up for PayPal and sign agreements with Amazon, Smashwords or Lulu or others using your real name. You can generally register your copyright with a pen name. Find out the details at the U.S. Copyright office website.

I do hope you've been getting good advice about using real people in your work from an attorney, because just not using real names is not nearly enough to prevent someone from successfully suing you for libel or defamation of character. If you haven't already contacted one, please do.

merrihiatt · Mar 19, 2012

With Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing you register with your real name and you can publish under your real name or a pseudonym.

amlptj · Mar 19, 2012

Cathy C said:
Aa far as getting paid, you can't really use the pen name. You need to sign up for PayPal and sign agreements with Amazon, Smashwords or Lulu or others using your real name. You can generally register your copyright with a pen name. Find out the details at the U.S. Copyright office website.

I do hope you've been getting good advice about using real people in your work from an attorney, because just not using real names is not nearly enough to prevent someone from successfully suing you for libel or defamation of character. If you haven't already contacted one, please do.

I was going to ask a similar question like this. But in my book i'm not using the real people's names. I was told that was a legally ok thing to do. Was that information wrong?

Cathy C · Mar 19, 2012

But who were you told BY? There are legal standards that need to be met when publishing real life stuff to protect yourself. In some cases, it's not just a case of the names, but the situation & descriptions that would allow the person to recognise themselves in print. Usually the publisher takes care of this when it's a NY pub, but when self-pubbing it's really worth the money to have an IP (intellectual property) attorney take a look at any passage featuring a character who, in real life, might have a personality that would cause him/her to sue you.

amlptj · Mar 19, 2012

I have a friend in law school, I was told that if the physical descriptions and names were changed I wouldn't have any problem.

Old Hack · Mar 19, 2012

You seem to have been badly advised.

It's not enough to change names and physical descriptions of the people involved. You could be heading for serious trouble. Get proper legal advice, and don't rely on unqualified friends.

randi.lee · Mar 19, 2012

I just recieved another check made out to my penname. This has happened several times and I keep calling to have it corrected. Getting a little annoying at this point.

Terie · Mar 19, 2012

Cathy C said:
I do hope you've been getting good advice about using real people in your work from an attorney, because just not using real names is not nearly enough to prevent someone from successfully suing you for libel or defamation of character. If you haven't already contacted one, please do.

(my bold)

Even if someone sued you and was unsuccessful, can you afford the legal fees such a lawsuit would entail?

Get proper legal advice from a qualified IP-specialist attorney now, before this comes back and bites you.

Maryn · Mar 19, 2012

Libel law relies on identification. An example I found memorable was, say my memoir is about the police investigations of the murders and disappearances later credited to Jeffrey Dahmer.

Okay, so I change the names of the cops and the chief of police. I change their genders, ages, racial or ethnic groups, until I don't have a single one who's close to the real human beings.

Just to be safe, I also set my book in Scottsdale, Arizona, instead the Milwaukee, wisconsin area.

But as soon as I present my disguised police force as bumbling the investigation of a serial killer who committed rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism, those officers and their chief are immediately identifiable despite the many changes I have made. They can sue me, and they will probably win.

The litmus test for identification, as I understand it, is that people who are intimately familiar with the real people and events do not recognize them.

Maryn, stressing that she is not a lawyer, but that people covering real incidents need one

Cathy C · Mar 19, 2012

Your friend in law school should have a chat with the head of the IP department at his school before he starts giving advice again. But he should be prepared for a tail chewing (both for giving legal advice before passing the bar--however limited--and for not researching the topic better). I'm not only a 30+ year paralegal with a specialty in IP but pay an IP specialist attorney to look over stuff. When I asked about this very topic (in my case, the person was deceased) he gave me a VERY long list of potential issues that made me rethink using real people ever again.

JPT · Mar 19, 2012

thanks for the info - keep it coming if there's more...

just to clarify,i'm not using real names OR fake names..I simply am not using names at all, job titles occasionally but no names - i'm approaching this from a different angle - this book is about the stories and adventures,not about the people in it besides my character of course. I'm writing it from my perspective and due to some of the content i'm not even using my own name - I do describe people occasionally but some of these stories are 30+ years old..a lot of these people are dead and the chances of any of the others reading this are slim..even if they did most wouldn't recognize themselves as my name isn't attached and most of this i'm sure has been forgotten..

JDKinman · Mar 19, 2012

JPT said:
Hello,
I'm working on a book of true stories that are pretty edgy...wondering if I should use a pen name?
(this will be self published and sold online)

also...If I do, will there be an issue with Paypal or any other online retailers as far as getting paid?

A pen name will not shield nor protect you from being sued. Lawyers are particularly adept and practiced at "following the money."

JPT · Mar 20, 2012

JDKinman said:
A pen name will not shield nor protect you from being sued. Lawyers are particularly adept and practiced at "following the money."

thanks..my concern mostly is for my own reputation,i've been pretty careful about disguising people and it's a longshot that anyone in this book will ever read it.

I know there's a very good chance that this won't sell and I don't want it coming back to bite me in a background search for employment (if I ever have to get a real job in the future)

JPT · Mar 20, 2012

Writers Paranoia..

I'm brand new to this but make part of my living through music licensing.In the music world A LOT of people waste their time and energy worrying about their music being stolen - there's nothing wrong with copyrighting your stuff (and I do) but that's where it ends for me.

Once you realize how hard it is to get anyone to even listen (or in this world read) you realize how ridiculous this can get.

I'm in the process of writing a book of true stories about my adventures in the restaurant business.The funny/edgy tales (sex & drugs mostly) start from my cooking days as a kid,on through being a chef and eventually to being a cafe owner.I've done away with using names and just use job titles, this is being written from the first person and some of these stories are 30+ years old.A friend with some writing knowledge is helping me along the way and this will be self published and sold online.The stories are pretty good and if it's written properly I may sell a few copies...then again I may not sell any at all.

Should I be concerned about the slim chance of someone reading this and saying..hey,I think that's me and then suing me? (i'm using a pen name as author as well)

Or should I just write the damn thing and chalk that up as paranoia?..i'm not really trashing anyone here and most of the time poking fun at myself.The edgy stuff happened 20-30 years ago in my youth and alot of these people aren't with us anymore..So i'm about 10k words into this and wondering if I should continue or bail and write some fiction.I'm on a break from music as not to burn myself out and really enjoy writing...

experienced writers please chime in as i'm REALLY new to this..thanks

Old Hack · Mar 20, 2012

JPT, please don't start multiple threads about the same thing. I'm going to merge this with your other thread, where you've already received some valuable advice.

shaldna · Mar 20, 2012

JPT said:
also...If I do, will there be an issue with Paypal or any other online retailers as far as getting paid?

I use a couple of different names and I've never had trouble getting paid. My paypal is set up with my real details, and I use it for most places that I can't get a cheque or a bank transfer from.

With the likes of Amazon, you register your account with your real details, and then you can put whatever name you want as the author.

KathleenD · Mar 20, 2012

randi.lee said:
I just recieved another check made out to my penname. This has happened several times and I keep calling to have it corrected. Getting a little annoying at this point.

You can go to your bank and file a "doing business as" form. Then you can cash the checks made out to the pen name.

JPT · Mar 20, 2012

Old Hack said:
JPT, please don't start multiple threads about the same thing. I'm going to merge this with your other thread, where you've already received some valuable advice.

Sorry...I thought it would be a bit off topic here

Bubastes · Mar 20, 2012

JPT said:
I'm brand new to this but make part of my living through music licensing.In the music world A LOT of people waste their time and energy worrying about their music being stolen - there's nothing wrong with copyrighting your stuff (and I do) but that's where it ends for me.

Once you realize how hard it is to get anyone to even listen (or in this world read) you realize how ridiculous this can get.

I'm in the process of writing a book of true stories about my adventures in the restaurant business.The funny/edgy tales (sex & drugs mostly) start from my cooking days as a kid,on through being a chef and eventually to being a cafe owner.I've done away with using names and just use job titles, this is being written from the first person and some of these stories are 30+ years old.A friend with some writing knowledge is helping me along the way and this will be self published and sold online.The stories are pretty good and if it's written properly I may sell a few copies...then again I may not sell any at all.

Should I be concerned about the slim chance of someone reading this and saying..hey,I think that's me and then suing me? (i'm using a pen name as author as well)

Or should I just write the damn thing and chalk that up as paranoia?..i'm not really trashing anyone here and most of the time poking fun at myself.The edgy stuff happened 20-30 years ago in my youth and alot of these people aren't with us anymore..So i'm about 10k words into this and wondering if I should continue or bail and write some fiction.I'm on a break from music as not to burn myself out and really enjoy writing...

experienced writers please chime in as i'm REALLY new to this..thanks

Have you read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential? Your work sounds like it would be similar. He changed the names of some people he wrote about. I don't know the details of how he handled this issue, though.

JPT · Mar 21, 2012

thanks for the reply..yes I have read Kitchen Confidential and another book or two by Bourdain but my book is going to a different place,
I like to think of what i'm working on as a mix between KC and Thompsons "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" - of course not written as well as i'm a first time writer - it would be a shame not to write it as there are some great stories in here...this isn't a wannabe celebrity chef book or anything that might be promoted on the Food Network..it's stories and wisdom from a veteran of the real restaurant business..not the one you see on Tv :}

I thought I was fine with what I was doing not using names and being careful about descriptions of people...

but then I read some of the posts on this thread..now I don't know if those opinions are the norm in the writing world or leaning towards being a bit too careful..people write true stories all the time, don't they?

I was just hoping for some opinions from writers who have done this sort of thing...thanks

shaldna · Mar 21, 2012

KathleenD said:
You can go to your bank and file a "doing business as" form. Then you can cash the checks made out to the pen name.

If you are in the UK then you may need to set up a business account in order to do this - which usually have an annual fee attached to them.

Captcha · Mar 21, 2012

randi.lee said:
I just recieved another check made out to my penname. This has happened several times and I keep calling to have it corrected. Getting a little annoying at this point.

Is this from Amazon? I just had a similar problem with them, and they acted as if it was totally unheard of...

Old Hack · Mar 21, 2012

JPT said:
I thought I was fine with what I was doing not using names and being careful about descriptions of people...

but then I read some of the posts on this thread..now I don't know if those opinions are the norm in the writing world or leaning towards being a bit too careful..people write true stories all the time, don't they?

I was just hoping for some opinions from writers who have done this sort of thing...thanks

I've edited non-fiction, and I've written it too. I'm not a lawyer but have spoken to them about this issue in relation to several of the books I've worked on. Most of the advice you've been given in this thread--that changing names etc. isn't enough, and specifically the advice you've been given by Maryn and Cathy C--is spot-on.

This isn't the case of writers here "leaning towards being a bit too careful": it's good advice designed to help stop you getting sued and losing your home.

But don't take our word for it. Pay a good IP lawyer for advice. You should not be asking for legal advice online from people you don't know and who aren't qualified to advise you properly. Not if you want to protect yourself properly.

JPT · Mar 22, 2012

Ok thanks..

Pen Names - Pros - Cons - Problems getting Paid ?

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