Beware the nom de plume, a slightly different take on pen names

the addster · May 10, 2010

We get a lot of threads here about using pen names, this is just something to think about for everyone considering using one.

I started blogging under a pen name years ago. I chose it because it matched my user name on a message board dealing with the subject of my blog. Not a big deal, right?

Then I started writing about the subject for bigger paid blogs. Oh course I had to use the pen name, because that's what I was known by. Then I wrote some articles for print publications, all my credits were in my pen name, so I used it.

Last week I was speaking with a publisher about the new book I'm working on. We were speaking about how to proceed with the project. She knows I use a pen name because I have worked with her before. In that awkward moment on conference calls when everybody let's everyone else know what they want to be called, everybody decided just to call me by my pen name.

I'm pretty sure I'm stuck with it.

It's not a bad name, it is more "writerly" what ever that means. It was my real name at one point in my life, but I think I'm going to have to get something going in another genre to ever be published under my real name. It's not the end of the world, and the reasons I picked that name are still perfectly sound, but I thought I might be ready to just be me on this one.

Maybe next time.

Just something to think about when considering a pen name.

crazynance · May 10, 2010

But I see lots of books where it says Author X under his/her pen name: Nomde Plume.

Shadow_Ferret · May 10, 2010

the addster said:
It was my real name at one point in my life,...

I'm confused. You legally changed your name or something? Or are you using your maiden name?

I see no problem with using a pen name unless you have some reason to be able to brag to others, "Yeah, see? I DO write."

Me, I don't care if anyone I know knows I write. And in fact, I'd prefer to be unknown.

the addster · May 10, 2010

Yeah, but most of them are well known under both names. I don't think I quite have the recognition for that one.

At least I don't have to worry about folks with torches and rakes showing up in my front yard.

the addster · May 10, 2010

Shadow F,

I'm an adoptee, I use my birth name. It was changed when I was 2.

leahzero · May 10, 2010

Shadow_Ferret said:
I see no problem with using a pen name unless you have some reason to be able to brag to others, "Yeah, see? I DO write."

There are plenty of other reasons for wanting to use a specific name that don't have to do with bragging. Many people have notions of identity linked to a certain name. To not be able to use the name you want, regardless of where it comes from, can undermine your sense of self-identity.

OP, good post and food for thought. IMO people are far too casual about pseudonym use, but that probably stems from a combination of internet culture (where pseudonyms are the norm) combined with a lack of awareness about building a brand.

Namatu · May 10, 2010

If you used a pseudonym and then decided you wanted to use your real name, couldn't you do so and, in a brief bio line, note "has published similar articles under the name such-and-such"? Or is it more complicated than that?

the addster · May 10, 2010

Nah, it's more complicated than that. It's the branding thing. I suppose that I could insist on putting my real name on the cover, but I'd only be hurting myself. My platform is in my pen name.

It's more the identity thing that's getting me. Anybody I care about either knows the pen name or wouldn't give a damn. I'm not out to impress anybody.

Eh, I probably owe anything I've ever got published to my identity issues, it'll be alright.

I just wanted people to think about taking a pen name as a commitment.

Namatu · May 10, 2010

Platform is a good consideration. You can't rebuild that with a "has also written under the name" sentence.

Cyia · May 10, 2010

the addster said:
I just wanted people to think about taking a pen name as a commitment.

I'd drop my given name in a heartbeat and never use it again. I like my pen name.

CAWriter · May 10, 2010

I have a friend who encountered the same situation. She initially used a pen name because the subject matter of the book (infidelity and its aftermath) were sensitive and she wanted to keep her family from having to deal with the issues related to airing dirty laundry.

In her daily life I suppose she goes by her actual name, but now, anything related to writing (conference attendance, speaking engagements, etc) all are done under her pen name as that's where her biggest writing success and her 'platform' were established. It is hard to get the credit deserved under her actual name when it was earned under another.

kaitie · May 11, 2010

I've had friends call me Kaitie before, which is certainly not my real name. I don't mind at all haha. I'm probably sorta weird like that, though.

I do imagine having basically a separate identity would be weird, though.

shaldna · May 11, 2010

I was named after a bun (yes, you heard that right) so I don't tend to use my real first name very often. Most people call me by my handle or by one of my various nicknames.

JimmyB27 · May 11, 2010

shaldna said:
I was named after a bun (yes, you heard that right) so I don't tend to use my real first name very often. Most people call me by my handle or by one of my various nicknames.

Is that you, Hot Cross?

shaldna · May 11, 2010

ok, since i've been inundated with requests I can assure you all that I was not named after a chelsea bun. Lol. It's not quite that bad,.

I was infact named after a......................... chocolate eclair. Honest to god. My dad thought it was a sweet story, thankfully mammy made him drop the e and I just got Claire.

My best friend was named after a boat though.

Lyra Jean · May 11, 2010

It's one of the reasons that I now post under my real name. Although Jean is my middle name and not my last name. But I figure that's good enough.

shaldna · May 11, 2010

Lyra Jean said:
It's one of the reasons that I now post under my real name. Although Jean is my middle name and not my last name. But I figure that's good enough.

I always thought Jean was a really cute name.

JimmyB27 · May 11, 2010

shaldna said:
ok, since i've been inundated with requests I can assure you all that I was not named after a chelsea bun. Lol. It's not quite that bad,.

I was infact named after a......................... chocolate eclair. Honest to god. My dad thought it was a sweet story, thankfully mammy made him drop the e and I just got Claire.

My best friend was named after a boat though.

That's not a bun! That's a cream cake. Sheesh.

Also, what's wrong with Claire? My sister is called Claire...

Libbie · May 11, 2010

You can just do what I'll be doing later this year, and legally change your name to your pen name.

Personally, I don't look at pen names as "not being published under my real name." Perhaps because I've gone through a parents' divorce in the past which involved a name-change, then was married, and now will soon be single again, my name(s) don't have a whole lot of personal significance to me. I know that sounds weird. But it is what it is. I'm Libbie, and I don't care much what other labels are affixed to me or my work. It's usually quite easy to find out the real name behind a pen name, anyway, so I look at my current pen name and all future pen names I may use for branding purposes as costumes to wear. It's like having a secret identity that's easy to figure out -- because, really, who in Gotham DIDN'T know that Bruce Wayne was Batman? Come on! Who else is rich and bitter enough to be the Dark Knight? Everybody knew. They just respected both Bruce Wayne and Batman enough not to let on.

Any publishing I might do under subsequent pen names will feel just as legitimate and just as attributed to me as will any publishing done under my legal name. But that's just me.

RedRajah · May 14, 2010

I'm just miffed that my maiden name is probably too close to an already established published writer's name. My (full) married name is awkward, but if I only go by my husband's last name, I feel like I'm losing my identity. That what makes me "me" will yet again go unnoticed.

Mind you, it's all a moot point as I still need a successful query first...

Devant · May 18, 2010

Although I never got any real publishing, I got my nickname many moons ago (In my first roleplaying session, about 12 years ago), and stuck that much, that I kept using it for everything, to the point that some friends call me with it. I get called "Dev" a lot >.> The last two years, I am adding my initials to it (P.A.Devant). My real full name would be really awkward to use in a multilingual enviroment. (Being Greek and all).

aruna · May 19, 2010

I've got a similar thing. I wrote my first book under my maiden name, Westmaas. My publisher suggested I change it because a) it wasn't easy to remember and b) it began with W which meant a bottom shelf. Eager to please, I did, dropping the West. My website and all my books are published under that name, and my 15 minutes of fame were under that name.
My next book, which is non-fiction, is going to be under Westmaas. I'm going to insist this time; the name has a bit of history and reputation where I come from, and it only makes sense.

Otherwise, I don't really care; a rose by any other name, and so on.

This is all, of course, under the BIG caveat: IF......!!!!!

(To make matters even more compliated, neither of these names is my real, legal name, which is my husband's name. And it's so German I can't even pronounce it properly myself!)

shaldna · May 20, 2010

aruna said:
I've got a similar thing. I wrote my first book under my maiden name, Westmaas. My publisher suggested I change it because a) it wasn't easy to remember and b) it began with W which meant a bottom shelf. Eager to please, I did, dropping the West. My website and all my books are published under that name, and my 15 minutes of fame were under that name.
My next book, which is non-fiction, is going to be under Westmaas. I'm going to insist this time; the name has a bit of history and reputation where I come from, and it only makes sense.

Otherwise, I don't really care; a rose by any other name, and so on.

This is all, of course, under the BIG caveat: IF......!!!!!

(To make matters even more compliated, neither of these names is my real, legal name, which is my husband's name. And it's so German I can't even pronounce it properly myself!)

Completely unreleated, but I just ordered Peacocks dancing. gorgeous cover btw.

CalynMorgan · May 20, 2010

If you have a pen name, are you able to legally use that name to sign things?

Also, will the royalty check come in your real name or your pen name?

the addster · May 20, 2010

I've always used my real name to sign things, especially the back of checks.

There are ways that you can use a pen name, I've never looked into them because for me it's not a big deal if my real name is known. I'm sure some other folks will know what legal stuff you need to go through to make the pen name work for the business stuff.

Beware the nom de plume, a slightly different take on pen names

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