Querying under a pseudonym

MsGneiss · Jun 18, 2014

If you intend to publish under a pseudonym, would you also query under a pseudonym? At which point would you have the real name - pseudonym discussion with your agent?

I am not facing this problem as of yet, but I am curious about your opinions.

Thanks!

alleycat · Jun 18, 2014

You'll need to use your real name in business dealings.

veinglory · Jun 18, 2014

You query under your real name and append "writing as [pseudonym]".

Anninyn · Jun 18, 2014

I always just say 'Writing as (pseudonym)'.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 18, 2014

There's no point in even mentioning a pseudonym in a query. This is not the time or the place. A pseudonym is meaningless until after you sell something, and right up until you start filling out contracts. Some contracts have a line where you fill in your pseudonym. Until you reach this point, it's meaningless.

When you do actually submit the manuscript, just put the pseudonym in the byline. This will take care of everything.

Siri Kirpal · Jun 18, 2014

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Usually you query as REAL NAME writing as Pen Name.

In my case, because my pen name is also the name I prefer to use in all interaction, except legal documents, I write

Siri Kirpal Kaur Khalsa (pen name, spiritual name, preferred name)
Legal Name (legal name)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

WendyN · Jun 18, 2014

Jamesaritchie said:
There's no point in even mentioning a pseudonym in a query. This is not the time or the place. A pseudonym is meaningless until after you sell something, and right up until you start filling out contracts. Some contracts have a line where you fill in your pseudonym. Until you reach this point, it's meaningless.

When you do actually submit the manuscript, just put the pseudonym in the byline. This will take care of everything.

If you have prior publication credits or a social media presence with your pseudonym, an interested agent may want to know. I'd include it as the previous posters have mentioned: "[YourName], writing as [Pseudonym]"

MsGneiss · Jun 18, 2014

Thanks guys. Very useful info!

Ken · Jun 18, 2014

Though it would be neat if you could just use your pseudonym and leave it at that.

Dear Agent so and so,
Blah, blah, blah.
Sincerely,
Johnny Awesome

veinglory · Jun 18, 2014

Ken said:
Though it would be neat if you could just use your pseudonym and leave it at that.

Dear Agent so and so,
Blah, blah, blah.
Sincerely,
Johnny Awesome

This is someone you propose being in a contract with... so they do tend to want to know your legal name from the outset.

Ken · Jun 18, 2014

veinglory said:
This is someone you propose being in a contract with... so they do tend to want to know your legal name from the outset.

That's understandable.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 18, 2014

WendyN said:
If you have prior publication credits or a social media presence with your pseudonym, an interested agent may want to know. I'd include it as the previous posters have mentioned: "[YourName], writing as [Pseudonym]"

This has always been the advice I've heard. It seems like the simplest and least troublesome method.

Although perhaps some agents have a thing against people wanting to write under a pseudonym as debut authors?

veinglory · Jun 18, 2014

IMHO even if that were the case, and I have never heard of it, better to have that discussion up front. It is not like anything in a query is a drop dead presumed non-negotiable, so why not just be accurate about any plans and intentions that are in place?

thedark · Jun 18, 2014

I wanted to share Janet Reed's recent post on pen names. To quote my favorite bit:

I don't know why some agents consider pen names at the query stage to be "thinking too far ahead." That's rubbish. If you want a pen name for any reason, you're smart to get started NOW. If you want a pen name to protect your true identity (you write dinosaur porn and you're a pre-school teacher for example) you'll want to get an EIN and an LLC set up in your pen name so you can cash checks made out to that name. That takes a while.

Being prepared is always better than not.

I know several people who use pen names and I met them thinking it was their "real" name.

This led to a discussion with my attorney yesterday, where I began the process of legally establishing my pen name as a legal entity. I wish to query with a pen name from the very beginning.

If you have a reason to write under a pen name, and you are serious about your privacy and/or security, start now.

veinglory · Jun 18, 2014

I would question how much of a "legal entity" a pen name needs to be. It can be something like an LLC, but it is rarely necessary for it to be anything other than the name you put on the book.

Siri Kirpal · Jun 18, 2014

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I set up a legal DBA (doing business as) name through the Oregon State Department of Commerce. I fill out a form, then once every two years I have to send a renewal fee. Not a lot of legal hoopla.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

thedark · Jun 18, 2014

veinglory said:
I would question how much of a "legal entity" a pen name needs to be. It can be something like an LLC, but it is rarely necessary for it to be anything other than the name you put on the book.

In order to receive checks and mail as a fictitious name (and one that doesn't end in "LLC"), in my state, that name needs to be registered as exactly that - a fictitious name. Of course, that's also public record... so if you're going for privacy, you have an LLC, and the LLC registers the fictitious name.

LLCs are also public record, but only the registered agent's information, and law firms are happy to be that registered agent for a small fee, or in my case, as part of the creation fee for the LLC (both entities run around $400 total to have an attorney do; or about $160 if you do it yourself).

Fun fun.

Jim Riley · Jun 18, 2014

In Louisiana, one can register as a LLC or S Corp and also a DBA at the same time for $85 online. Takes about 5 minutes.

JustSarah · Jun 18, 2014

It becomes problematic if it might be awhile to formally legally change your legal name (in case your an author that doesn't perfectly follow the gender binary.)

While it shouldn't be a problem to use the former legal name, you never know if the person your dealing with might not be GLBT friendly.:/ (That's a big hurdle I'm having to think about.)

In either case, I generally do "Real Name by Pseudonym."

Chumplet · Jun 18, 2014

I queried and had my first book published under my maiden name, which happens to be my pen name. When the legal stuff came around, I did it all under my legal name. Payments are made in my legal name.

Nobody gave me any guff over it.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 18, 2014

What's the point of the fictitious names and LLCs? Is the idea that you don't tell your agent or publisher who you really are? Because if you do trust your agent and publisher and your bank, how else would anyone figure it out if they didn't slip up?

Chumplet · Jun 18, 2014

Public persona is public. Your real name can easily be private. The name on the contract and cheques shouldn't matter as long as you are honest with the agent/publisher once the book is in play.

I already had a brand going with my first book, and a website, and a blog, and a twitter account. I didn't mind corresponding with potential agents/publishers with my pseudonym, as long as I let them know my legal name when it came to working together.

It wasn't a case of hiding my true identity, it was simply communicating with potential publishing partners with a name that was already out there in the Interwebs.

These days, I use both names in queries, but continue to use my pseudonym in my Internet presence.

thedark · Jun 18, 2014

Liosse de Velishaf said:
What's the point of the fictitious names and LLCs? Is the idea that you don't tell your agent or publisher who you really are? Because if you do trust your agent and publisher and your bank, how else would anyone figure it out if they didn't slip up?

For me, personally, the extra step of the fictitious names and LLC is indeed to use a pen name from the get-go, as my only name with my agent and publishers. There are some security issues on my end, tangentially related to my WIP, that could result in danger to my family if my real name were known.

As a family, we're already in a confidentiality program and take some pretty hefty steps to protect our personal privacy. Anything I do, anything, that could result in publicity under my real name has consequences, and I carefully consider what level of risk I'm willing to expose us to.

I want my WIP out in the world (don't we all?). But I need to keep my family safe, and thus, I go the extra step with the legal documentation. My agent will know I'm using a pen name, and they'll know why.

If I just didn't want my friends/family/coworkers to know I was an author, I'd use a pen name online and query under my real name, as suggested earlier in this thread. But I want that extra layer of security. I don't want to put anyone else in the position of slipping up -- if they don't know my name, they can't accidentally share it.

It's overkill for most. Kinda par for the course for me.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 18, 2014

thedark said:
For me, personally, the extra step of the fictitious names and LLC is indeed to use a pen name from the get-go, as my only name with my agent and publishers. There are some security issues on my end, tangentially related to my WIP, that could result in danger to my family if my real name were known.

As a family, we're already in a confidentiality program and take some pretty hefty steps to protect our personal privacy. Anything I do, anything, that could result in publicity under my real name has consequences, and I carefully consider what level of risk I'm willing to expose us to.

I want my WIP out in the world (don't we all?). But I need to keep my family safe, and thus, I go the extra step with the legal documentation. My agent will know I'm using a pen name, and they'll know why.

If I just didn't want my friends/family/coworkers to know I was an author, I'd use a pen name online and query under my real name, as suggested earlier in this thread. But I want that extra layer of security. I don't want to put anyone else in the position of slipping up -- if they don't know my name, they can't accidentally share it.

It's overkill for most. Kinda par for the course for me.

I guess I was think of people without major extenuating circumstances, but it's good to keep in mind other perspectives.

I wonder if there are authors who do operate only through pseudonyms on a trade publishing route. Is that even possible or legal?

(Short of non-fiction that could get someone killed, anyway...)

thedark · Jun 18, 2014

Liosse de Velishaf said:
I guess I was think of people without major extenuating circumstances, but it's good to keep in mind other perspectives.

I wonder if there are authors who do operate only through pseudonyms on a trade publishing route. Is that even possible or legal?

(Short of non-fiction that could get someone killed, anyway...)

It is possible, and legal. I wasn't sure until this week, how it could be done, but it can be.

And that's kinda my problem -- the non-fiction end that's tangentially related to my WIP.

Maybe I should just stick to fiction.

Querying under a pseudonym

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