Pen name?

Kharisma · Sep 11, 2006

Can anyone help me figure out when/why to use a pen name? My husband and I were discussing it and he is all for it but his reason is that if your stuff sucks when you are a newbie then you may not want it under your name when you 'make it big'. lol his outlooks on the world offer me amusement but could he be right?

I am a romance writer and I know the oh-so famous Nora Roberts started as J.D. Robb and I also heard somewhere that Stephen King penned under another name too.

Plus I don't have the most exciting name and I can day dream about a new name lol

thanks
sherry

Angela · Sep 11, 2006

I think that Nora Roberts actually started out as Nora Roberts, publishing romance with Silhouette or Harlequin. I think her agent then convinced her to publish her other stories under the J.D. Robb name.

And yes, Stephen King did publish under another name, one was Richard Bachman, and he wrote three or four novels under that name, until someone "found him out". I believe he also had a short story published under the name of "something" Swift? I can't remember the name, and it was only the one short story.

I don't really have any advice to offer regarding using a pen name, because it's something that I've also been curious about. I know that it might be a good idea to use a pen name if you've become established in one genre, and you suddenly write a book in another genre. The pen name might help keep from confusing your readers, especially if you write romance under one name and then you publish a book that's full of gore!

Maybe someone else has more info to offer in this area!

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 11, 2006

A lot of authors use pen names to make their names genderless, so that you can't tell if it's a male or female writing. Some use it for when they write in different genres.

I plan on using a penname because my story is such that I don't want my pastor and fellow church members lynching me.

But it's never occurred to me to write under a pen name "because I might suck."

kikazaru · Sep 11, 2006

Nora Roberts uses the JD Robb pen name because it is a different genre (futuristic suspense) than what is written under Roberts. Other writers do the same thing to differentiate a difference in genres to their readers. Jayne Anne Krentz for example writes contemporary romance, but her historical romances are under the name Amanda Quick and under the name Jayne Castle romances with a futuristic/sci-fi twist.

I think there are many reasons to use one - perhaps their own name is not distinguished enough, or it's unpronouncable or perhaps they just like the annonymity of it all.

If I ever publish, I will use a pen name because I don't wish my mother or worse yet my granny to read the sex scenes in it!

Evaine · Sep 11, 2006

Sometimes pen names are used to differentiate between two types of writing. For instance Jean Plaidy wrote historical novels and Victoria Holt wrote romantic mysteries - both being the same person (I think she had a third pen name for modern romances, too, but I don't remember what it was).

Also, Ellis Peters wrote the Brother Cadfael books, while Edith Pargeter wrote other types of story (and notice that Ellis could be a male name).

The most famous users of pen names, though, must be the Bell brothers, who were actually the Bronte sisters - the only way they could get published was to pretend to be male.

Kharisma · Sep 11, 2006

Thanks for the responses. It is all very interesting to know. First I have to write a book and get it published, then I can revisit this topic

opps. I meant WHEN I write a book and get it published.

-sherry

KiwiChick · Sep 11, 2006

I'm curious to know whether anyone thinks readers might be put off by an author surname that suggested his/her native language wasn't English (assuming the book's in English). My surname's distinctly non-English, though English is my first language.

What do you think?

Tracy · Sep 12, 2006

Where I live the author is as much part of the 'brand' as her books, so it would be v. difficult to have a pen-name, as you have to do interviews as yourself anyway, unless you're willing to forgo the essential publicity.
Sometimes people do a pen-name in order to, as discussed, publish a different kind of book, but it's always well known who the original author is.
I know what you mean about the sex scenes, however, I HATE the thoughts of my parents and other people reading what I have written. But, to me, that's just one more example of the courage of writers.

Saundra Julian · Sep 12, 2006

Some people use pen names to protect their privacy. There are some real nuts out there!

Mike Coombes · Sep 12, 2006

Use a pen name if you're a kindergarden teacher writing porn, or a porn star writing children's books.

Prawn · Sep 12, 2006

Saundra Julian said:
Some people use pen names to protect their privacy. There are some real nuts out there!

And in here too. Why else do most of use use an alias when we post here?

DamaNegra · Sep 12, 2006

There are nuts everywhere. The reason I'll use a pseudonym to publish my first two novels (when I finish the second) is that they're romance novels, and I'm not quite fond of the genre, so I don't want it to be associated to me. It's not much of a pen name, anyways. It's my second name and my second last name.

badducky · Sep 12, 2006

Also, don't forget the people with borderline embarassing names. If your name was "Adolfus Hilter", you'd probably use a pen name. Also, if your name was really embarassing, like football legend "Dick Butkus", you'd probably use a pen name. And, you'd probably also be tough as nails, and a boxer or pro football player, just like Dick.

Also, if you shared a name with a celebrity, you'd probably want to use a pen name. If your name was "Jessica Simpson", you'd probably want to use a pen name. Unless your book was a pop-up book about how tuna fish and chicken are the same thing.

ctheokas · Sep 12, 2006

Dean Koontz used pen names (I don't know them, but still) when he started out because he was writing genre fiction such as westerns and romance. I don't see why he should use one for westerns, but I can understand why he did for romance (back when he was writing romance, I don't think a male writer would have sold - but who knows).

Sassenach · Sep 12, 2006

DamaNegra said:
There are nuts everywhere. The reason I'll use a pseudonym to publish my first two novels (when I finish the second) is that they're romance novels, and I'm not quite fond of the genre, so I don't want it to be associated to me. It's not much of a pen name, anyways. It's my second name and my second last name.

Then why are you writing romance? That sounds like a waste of time.

Carrie in PA · Sep 12, 2006

ctheokas said:
Dean Koontz used pen names (I don't know them, but still)

Leigh Nichols and Owen West are two of them. The odd thing is that they're really not that different than his regular books. :Shrug:

Aubrey · Sep 12, 2006

Sassenach said:
Then why are you writing romance? That sounds like a waste of time.

Probably for the same reason I'll find myself writing some genre I generally hate reading. Sometimes an idea just grabs you and you go with it. I've actually done that with fan fiction, writing a couple I hate just to see if I could endear myself to them by putting my own flair on it. It worked, at least for that story. It's fun stepping out of the box.

And to the person above who question whether a foreign last name would create a problem, I doubt it. There are English stories written by plenty of Americans with non American surnames. There are also those who are immigrants writing in English. I pick out books because I like the story, I don't even notice who wrote it, unless it's some big time name.

Southern_girl29 · Sep 12, 2006

I've thought about using one because of my last name. It's very different, and no one ever pronounces it right. I'm thinking of using my first and middle name.

Sassenach · Sep 12, 2006

Aubrey said:
Probably for the same reason I'll find myself writing some genre I generally hate reading. Sometimes an idea just grabs you and you go with it. I've actually done that with fan fiction, writing a couple I hate just to see if I could endear myself to them by putting my own flair on it. It worked, at least for that story. It's fun stepping out of the box.

I think it's very unlikely one can write successfully in a genre one doesn't like or respect. I know a lot of writers believe that romances are "formulaic" and "easy to write." These people rarely, if ever, are published.

I don't know whether Dama Negra is in that category, but her post raised a few red flags.

Carrie in PA · Sep 12, 2006

Sassenach said:
I think it's very unlikely one can write successfully in a genre one doesn't like or respect. I know a lot of writers believe that romances are "formulaic" and "easy to write." These people rarely, if ever, are published.

I don't know whether Dama Negra is in that category, but her post raised a few red flags.

I agree. While romance is probably more formulaic (heh, I like that word) than many other genres, and generally easier to read (for me, anyway), it is soooo not easier to write.

SeanDSchaffer · Sep 12, 2006

I have a friend who wrote under a pen name, that was in fact a variation of his real name. He used the initials of his first and middle names, and used his full last name. That way he kept his privacy and used his real name. Plus, his pen name sounded--at least to me--more catchy than did the version of his name that he goes by in real life.

I've been thinking about doing something similar, myself.

Sassenach · Sep 12, 2006

That's not a pen name, but a variation on your name.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 12, 2006

Sassenach said:
I think it's very unlikely one can write successfully in a genre one doesn't like or respect. I know a lot of writers believe that romances are "formulaic" and "easy to write." These people rarely, if ever, are published.

I don't know whether Dama Negra is in that category, but her post raised a few red flags.

Well, I think romance novels are far and away the most formulaic novels out there. Easy to write? I wouldn;t say "easy," but I would say it's definitely "easier" to write a publishable romance novel than it is to write a publishable novel in most other genres. If nothing else, it's easier because the genre is huge, and the bigger the genre, the more slots there are to fill, and the less quality a novel needs to fill one of those slots.

PeeDee · Sep 12, 2006

My favorites are authors that I've read and read for years, and then later on discovered that they were using pen names and are, in fact, woman.

For example, just based on their books, I always thought that both A.C. Crispin was a guy (I'm sorry!) and Storm Constantine were both guys. By the time my wife and I started building our collection of old/rare copies of Andre Norton books, I already knew she was an elderly lady. Still, I like that I have a few books by her writing as Andrew North. I think it's cool.

Now, here's what *I* wonder, and maybe someone smart around here can answer me.

Can you name a male writer who's written/is writing under a female pen name?

Carrie in PA · Sep 12, 2006

PeeDee said:
Can you name a male writer who's written/is writing under a female pen name?

Dean Koontz = Leigh Nichols

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