A hard name to pronounce...

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Virector

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I have a surname which is really difficult for most people to pronounce- would this likely have a bearing on the sale of my books? I mean, think of names like Stephen King, J.K.Rowling, J.R.R.Tolkien those are easily learnable names. I on the other hand have a really difficult surname which starts with *Ngw*, which people find impossible to pronounce no matter how hard they try (I'm from Africa, see, so the names there are not the same as the surnames most people here are accustomed to). Will a complex name drive people from a book or is the author's name unimportant?
 

JoNightshade

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I think it does have some bearing. Have you considered perhaps doing an English-phonetic equivalent of your name? For instance, if it's "Ngwara" (using your letter combo, which does not exist in the standard English phonetic system), you might make it "Ungwara" or "Engwara." I think something like that would be much easier for most English speakers to remember and pronounce.
 

Beyondian

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I think perhaps this issue will have more bearing on how easily the readers remember your name, and therefore know how to find more books written by you. I don't get put off a book by the author's name (unless it's a writer I don't happen to like) but if the name is impossible to spell and pronounce, I'm going to have a harder time finding the author again.
 

Virector

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Oh dear... Maybe I should change my aspirations...
BTW, did you know that your example, *Ngwara* translates to *clever* in my native language? lol!
 

IceCreamEmpress

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I'm with Jo Nightshade--I find it hard to remember names that don't correspond roughly with English syllables. Japanese names, no problem, because it's easy to read a transliteration of "Yasunari Kawabata" or "Kenzaburo Oe" (even if my pronunciation isn't accurate).

Ngugi wa Thiong'o, not so much. I only remember how to spell his name because I taught one of his books. On the other hand, many Nigerian names are easy for me to remember, because the syllables correspond more closely to English syllables--Chinua Achebe, for instance.

The Thai writer Somtow Sucharitkul first became known in English under the pseudonym "S.P. Somtow" for similar reasons, I think.
 

dreamsofnever

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Hi Virector,
This is a good question. I can say that I personally wouldn't shy away from a book because of an unpronounceable name. I might even be intrigued. And if you are writing about something that has to do with African culture, it might even be a selling point. (not saying you have to write about that if you have African lineage of course!)

However, there is something to be said for an easily pronounceable/readable name. I'm trying to think of any authors with hard to pronounce names that I've read recently, and I can't think of any.

But when it comes down to it, you have to decide what you feel is best for you. And perhaps discuss a pen name with your agent once you get one. Though I can say I would never be able to do the pen name because I'm way too attached to my name. It's who I am. My first name is my heritage, my last name is my husband's heritage.

Good luck with this!
 

IceCreamEmpress

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If there's another family name that might be easier for English (and other European) readers to pronounce, maybe that would be a good choice for a pen name? That way you'd continue to honor your heritage while also enabling people to ask for your books in a bookstore.

I know that when I was teaching Ngugi, students would just say "The author" rather than try to pronounce his name.
 

Virector

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Yeah, I hear all of you, but just as dreamsofnever said, I find it extremely hard to contemplate using a name that isn't really mine when I get published. I mean, what's the point of succeeding and getting published if you can't even have your own name on the book??! Oh, dear... I have a headache now... :(
 

IceCreamEmpress

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what's the point of succeeding and getting published if you can't even have your own name on the book??!

It never bothered George Orwell or Mark Twain. Or Stendhal. Or Joe Hill. Or Gabriela Mistral. Or Pablo Neruda.
 
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DamaNegra

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Well, you'll stick out as "the writer with the weird name".

"I'm looking for a book."
"Author?"
"Uh.... N-something. The one with the funny name."
"Ngwege?"
"That one!"
 

Shweta

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I don't expect that people will pronounce my name properly either, Virector, but I'm sticking with it. Partly because I think people picking easy names leads to this sense of whitewashing of fiction.
And I don't like whitewashing.

Also, uh, I have short fiction published in cool places already so I can't exactly change my mind any more! :D

I'm with Jo Nightshade--I find it hard to remember names that don't correspond roughly with English syllables.

Weirdly, I've had the hardest time remembering Naomi Novik's last name. I keep remembering it as "N<vowel>v<vowel>k" and getting the vowels wrong.
So I'm not convinced that easy-to-pronounce always helps when it's an unfamiliar name.

...And pronunciation doesn't always help spelling. A large minority of the people here will always call me "Schweta", even when my username is staring them in the face. So that might end up biting me.

But I figure, if my story titles are memorable, google will help me somewhat for the rest. I google book names to help me remember the author name all the time. Surely I'm not the only one?

Yeah, I hear all of you, but just as dreamsofnever said, I find it extremely hard to contemplate using a name that isn't really mine when I get published. I mean, what's the point of succeeding and getting published if you can't even have your own name on the book??! Oh, dear... I have a headache now... :(

Many cool people have had pen names. And they are those people too; it's more a way of keeping your private life private than a way of making the books not be yours.

However. As I said above, I want to put my own name to my own writing, too. I think that's a totally valid way to think. However, yes, it does come with the risk that people won't remember how to spell our names :)
 

Smiling Ted

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I sympathize. My last name is always mispronounced, and it doesn't even have the cachet of Africa or India...just prosaic ol' Eastern Europe.

I've thought about contracting it, or using my real grand-dad's name...but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
 

lostgirl

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Pen names are especially useful if you write in different genres, in fact most agents and publishers suggest it if you write in multiple genres. Not to mention that a publisher will at most put two titles out by one name in a year, especially if you're a new author.. you increase your publishing exposure if you're prolific by having different pen names. :D
 

PattiTheWicked

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Hell, my last name is Wigington, which is about as WASPy as they get, and people STILL say it wrong. I've been called Patti Washington, Patti Wiggins, and even Tammy Wilmington (don't ask me how that last one happened, I have NO idea).

I honestly can't imagine changing my name to make it more pronouncable -- either people can learn it, or they can just know me as "Patti with that W last name".
 

VGrossack

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Here are some ideas:

(1) Change the order of your names. "Virector" does not look unprounceable to me - at least it has vowels in the right places. You could be N. Virector.

(2) Keep Virector and Ngw* in their current order, but add a new, meaningful and pronounceable last name - perhaps a state or a city? Then you can be VN Congo, or whatever

(3) Teach people how to pronounce your last name. We have a pronunciation guide (with audio supplements) that shows how to pronounce the names of our characters.
 

VGrossack

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I think JK Rowling herself made compromises on her name! She went with initials instead of her name because the publishers were afraid that a female name would keep male readers away. I believe that she added the "K" - that she had no middle name - but I'm not 100% sure on that. And the US Publishers insisted on changing the title of her first book - I guess because kids in the US would be put off by philosophers.

And Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Jane Seymour - lots of people change their names. I don't think names need to be waspy anymore - but pronounceable.
 

Virector

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I think JK Rowling herself made compromises on her name! She went with initials instead of her name because the publishers were afraid that a female name would keep male readers away. I believe that she added the "K" - that she had no middle name - but I'm not 100% sure on that. And the US Publishers insisted on changing the title of her first book - I guess because kids in the US would be put off by philosophers.

And Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Jane Seymour - lots of people change their names. I don't think names need to be waspy anymore - but pronounceable.

Oh yeah, I've read that J.K. used initials so she wouldn't put off naive little boys... *sigh*... On that note, I have a first name which is very commonly a girl's name, but I'm male (Vivian, to be precise)... That might be another problem, hey? *sigh* :(
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
Hey! All you people telling Virector not to go with an unpronounceable or hard-to-spell last name, the mod who publishes under the last name BASIEWICZ heartily disagrees with all of you!
 

Mac H.

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A bit of trivia:

When he started writing, people suggested to Isaac Asimov that he use a more 'Anglicized' name instead of his own. He didn't.

Later in his career, many people assumed that 'Isaac Asimov' was a pseudonym because it was such a great, distinctive name for a writer.

Fashions change.

Mac
 
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