pseudonyms and privacy

Transatlantic · Sep 18, 2012

Have you been tracked down and bothered by someone (previous acquaintance or stranger) -- in real life or online -- as a result of publishing under your own name?

Or do you use a pseudonym to avoid this happening?

I'm planning to switch to a pseudonym to avoid attracting the attention of people I don't want any more contact with, in case I end up getting any publicity someday.

I'm interested in people's experiences with maintaining privacy in such situations.

WeaselFire · Sep 18, 2012

Never an issue with me. Though I'm not afraid of anyone in my past either. Besides, my fans are nice. Both of them.

Jeff

MrsBrommers · Sep 18, 2012

I use a pseudonym, partially for privacy but mostly because my actual surname is quite forgettable and so common you can't really Google it. The people who I wouldn't want to find me already can't do so because of my actual name.

Here's something to consider: when you are published there is a copyright page in the front of the book. Even for writers who use pseudonyms, sometimes that copyright is under your actual name. It seems to vary among publishers which name they will put it under.

shaldna · Sep 18, 2012

Transatlantic said:
I'm planning to switch to a pseudonym to avoid attracting the attention of people I don't want any more contact with, in case I end up getting any publicity someday. I'm interested in people's experiences with maintaining privacy in such situations.

Folks have different reasons for choosing a pseudonoym and all of them are valid reasons.

However, in this day and age, with the availability and ease of sourcing information, if someone really wants to find you that badly, they will.

jjdebenedictis · Sep 18, 2012

shaldna said:
However, in this day and age, with the availability and ease of sourcing information, if someone really wants to find you that badly, they will.

The pseudonym might keep them from having you at the top of their mind, however.

If a writer has a stalker in their past, they have to worry about that person tracking them down no matter what steps the writer takes to hide themselves.

However, if the writer just has an ex-neighbour who was a mooch and laboured under the delusion that they and the writer were the best of buddies, then using a pseudonym might be enough.

The mooch probably isn't actively hunting for the writer, but they might make the effort to get in touch again if they see the writer's name on a book in the bookstore.

heza · Sep 18, 2012

jjdebenedictis said:
The mooch probably isn't actively hunting for the writer, but they might make the effort to get in touch again if they see the writer's name on a book in the bookstore.

This is the primary reason I think about using a penname. I have an ex who... makes a nuisance of himself with ex-girlfriends. I feel like I've finally fallen off his radar, but if I'm ever successful enough to be visible, he'll likely pop back up to see if he can get anything out of it. But that won't matter if I end up using my married name.

The second reason is that my name is difficult to pronounce and spell (despite having only six letters and being fairly phonetic).

quicklime · Sep 18, 2012

"moochers" and other family and friends.....that's exactly why I intend to as well. In fact, a neighbor was browsing my bookshelf and saw "On Writing Horror" in there and said "Are you planning to write a book?" I sort of fumbled that one and said I liked to read essays...

dangerousbill · Sep 18, 2012

Transatlantic said:
Have you been tracked down and bothered by someone (previous acquaintance or stranger) -- in real life or online -- as a result of publishing under your own name?

My friends Google me, just as I Google my friends. Employers will Google you, too. Since I write and publish erotica, and don't want some of my family and professional contacts to know it, I hide behind two pseudonyms. I never use them together in one document, nor in the same document with my real name.

Every now and then, I Google myself to make sure my security is intact.

Filigree · Sep 18, 2012

I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not working with kids, I'm not in a local PTA, and I will never again knowingly work for employers whose religious beliefs would make them balk at my fiction. I keep my different pen names separate more for market clarity than privacy.

Given the market focus on erotica right now, if anyone 'outed' me in my local community I might just grin - then own a tenuous connection with E. L. James and the other erotica flavors of the month. I'm already an artist. Everyone knows we're crazy to begin with.

There are one or two folks who might surface if I ever won a lottery (or had the publishing equivalent), but I'll deal with them then.

Theundergroundauthor · Sep 18, 2012

Nah. Bring it on! You're not really famous til you have your own bona fide stalker!!

FloridianWriter · Sep 18, 2012

I have a pseudonym only because I live in a small town and anytime I got involved in something or the few times I won something people would ask the most obnoxious questions. I mostly just want to avoid that.

ironmikezero · Sep 18, 2012

I've had it happen (because I didn't use a pen name) related to some non-fiction material (training texts, seminar syllabi, presentations, etc.) intended for a select/restricted clientele.

It was work related and more of an unwelcome annoyance rather than a real problem. Reinforcing the cautionary warning about the confidentiality of the material at the outset seems to have significantly ameliorated the problem.

For works of fiction, especially those based on or inspired by actual events, I've determined a pen name is the best way to go - at least for me.

Old Hack · Sep 18, 2012

I've had a bona fide stalker, and I'm not remotely famous.

And pseudonyms won't help protect your privacy at all: they're far too flimsy to do that, I'm afraid.

Captcha · Sep 18, 2012

Old Hack said:
I've had a bona fide stalker, and I'm not remotely famous.

And pseudonyms won't help protect your privacy at all: they're far too flimsy to do that, I'm afraid.

I disagree that pseudonyms won't help AT ALL. I agree that they can be unraveled by someone who is dedicated to the quest, but they certainly help protect your privacy from casual or accidental breaches.

I have a dozen books on the market and there are only four people in my life who know about my hobby. If I weren't using a pseudonym, the number would surely be higher, if from nothing other than casual google searches of my name and then putting two and two together. So, yeah, the pseudonym's given me some protection.

dangerousbill · Sep 18, 2012

dangerousbill said:
My friends Google me, just as I Google my friends.

I recall an event where a member of another forum published erotica under her own name. A righteous born-again at her workplace found out and outed her in front of her coworkers and her boss. She was forced to give up writing erotica or lose her job.

Transatlantic · Sep 19, 2012

MrsBrommers said:
Here's something to consider: when you are published there is a copyright page in the front of the book. Even for writers who use pseudonyms, sometimes that copyright is under your actual name. It seems to vary among publishers which name they will put it under.

Gah! Surely if you were adamant you didn't want your real name there, they'd let you use the pseudonym? Anyone know for sure?

jjdebenedictis said:
The mooch probably isn't actively hunting for the writer, but they might make the effort to get in touch again if they see the writer's name on a book in the bookstore.

Yes, this is what I worry about. Personality-wise, the people I'm thinking of fall somewhere between mooch and stalker. I don't want them getting interested in me again plus knowing where I live via finding things in a Google search.

Captcha said:
I have a dozen books on the market and there are only four people in my life who know about my hobby. If I weren't using a pseudonym, the number would surely be higher, if from nothing other than casual google searches of my name and then putting two and two together. So, yeah, the pseudonym's given me some protection.

dangerousbill said:
I recall an event where a member of another forum published erotica under her own name. A righteous born-again at her workplace found out and outed her in front of her coworkers and her boss. She was forced to give up writing erotica or lose her job.

Gah! Well, fortunately I don't think that sort of thing will be a problem for me because of the circles I move in and the nature of what I'm writing.

But yes, it's all about those Google searches. If certain people see that I'm doing something visible (and maybe have industry connections, or cash, or just deserve their jealousy and revenge -- who knows what goes through crazy people's minds?) and at the same time notice that I've moved to a place that's interesting to them, it could motivate them to try to contact me or who knows what. I don't want that.

And on the incredibly off-off-off chance that your books were more successful than you expected, to the point that you'd be hearing from random past acquaintances out of the woodwork, plus acquiring crazy stalkerish fans, it would then be too late if you hadn't used a pseudonym from the start. (I admit I secretly entertain this tiny sliver of a hair of possibility.

Because who knows? If I've learned one thing in life, it's that it isn't predictable.)

I'm interested to hear about more people's experiences in this area.

T J Deen · Oct 10, 2012

Wow, i'm so glad i found this topic. I have been considering a pseudonym for some time because I work with very dangerous criminals for a living and the job has good days and then there are some very violent days.

I just don't ever want anything being traced back to my wife or children.

granted, most criminal are very dumb, but that doesn't mean they don't have friends or associates that aren't.

is this a valid enough reason for an agent/publisher to work with you on using a pseudonym?

jjdebenedictis · Oct 10, 2012

T J Deen said:
is this a valid enough reason for an agent/publisher to work with you on using a pseudonym?

Any reason is a valid reason. It's your career, not the agent or publisher's.

And to them, it makes no difference because the readers just want a name to remember you by. You can build your reputation under your own name or a made-up name; it won't change anyone's profit margins.

Old Hack · Oct 10, 2012

A pseudonym isn't much protection. Anyone who really wants to find you and your real name will be able to do so without too much trouble. And if you're already working with dangerous criminals, who presumably know your name, how will using a pseudonym for your writing prevent them from knowing who you are?

shaldna · Oct 11, 2012

Old Hack said:
A pseudonym isn't much protection. Anyone who really wants to find you and your real name will be able to do so without too much trouble. And if you're already working with dangerous criminals, who presumably know your name, how will using a pseudonym for your writing prevent them from knowing who you are?

This was sort of my thought on it.

T J Deen · Oct 11, 2012

Old Hack said:
A pseudonym isn't much protection. Anyone who really wants to find you and your real name will be able to do so without too much trouble. And if you're already working with dangerous criminals, who presumably know your name, how will using a pseudonym for your writing prevent them from knowing who you are?

They only know my last name as it is printed on the Name plate below my shield. Many of them can't even pronounce it and just refer to me as 'Officer T'. Then there are others who take the time to pronounce it and ask me if they're saying it right and whether they are or not i always say something like 'you got it' or 'sure'. The latter is rare but every now and again you find a career criminal who actually finished high school and may have some college.

I'm not sure i understand your question about how it will prevent them from knowing who i am. Are you referring to the part of the business where a publisher tries to market an author instead of the story? If so i don't know how to approach that yet. But i just have a general assuption that a pseudonym could prevent the bulk of the malfactors from googling my name and finding links to trademarks and copyrights registered in my real name, no? Or am i still a long way off from understanting how this works?

Susan Coffin · Oct 11, 2012

dangerousbill said:
I recall an event where a member of another forum published erotica under her own name. A righteous born-again at her workplace found out and outed her in front of her coworkers and her boss. She was forced to give up writing erotica or lose her job.

What kind of job did she have?

veinglory · Oct 11, 2012

Pen names also help with marketing as Googling won't bring up you swim team medal and blog about petunias etc, just your books.

WeaselFire · Oct 11, 2012

There are a lot of reasons to use pseudonyms. While they may not be the greatest at hiding your identity, they provide an alternate designator for the particular book(s) you're writing. But that's really about all they do.

Jeff

Old Hack · Oct 11, 2012

T J Deen, what I'm referring to is that the people who you work with already know your real name, and that real name is going to be far more useful for them if they want to find out where you live and so on. How will using a pseudonym when and if you are ever published stop them doing this when they're already well aware of what your real name is?

pseudonyms and privacy

Should be writing!

Benefactor Member

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

is watching you via her avatar

all out of fucks to give

Retired Illuminatus

Mildly Disturbing

Believe in yourself!

practical experience, FTW

Such a nasty woman

Retired Illuminatus

Should be writing!

A Necessary Evil

is watching you via her avatar

Such a nasty woman

The cake is a lie. But still cake.

A Necessary Evil

Tell it like it Is

volitare nequeo

Benefactor Member

Such a nasty woman