- Joined
- Apr 7, 2007
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I'm wondering, if the addition of a 'Dr.' in front of a pen-name would be illegal for a writer who has no Ph.D or M.D. ?
I'm guessing yes.
I'm guessing yes.
Depends. Are you writing a non-fiction book making health/diet claims? If so, then you might be straying towards the fraud line.I'm wondering, if the addition of a 'Dr.' in front of a pen-name would be illegal for a writer who has no Ph.D or M.D. ?
I'm guessing yes.
That'd be a smart choice.Depends. Are you writing a non-fiction book making health/diet claims? If so, then you might be straying towards the fraud line.
I'm wondering, if the addition of a 'Dr.' in front of a pen-name would be illegal for a writer who has no Ph.D or M.D. ?
I'm guessing yes.
I'm wondering, if the addition of a 'Dr.' in front of a pen-name would be illegal for a writer who has no Ph.D or M.D. ?
I'm guessing yes.
It might be OK if it's Dr. Firstname, a la Dr. Ruth or Dr. Phil. I think that's a rule. Or something.
No one's mentioned Dr. Seuss?
I'm with Katie Mac -- with nonfiction you wouldn't want to lie about that; with fiction, nobody cares.
That was my first thought. If I saw a Dr. Something penname, I would think of animals wearing accessories. That might not be the desired result.
I don't know, I'd say that depending on the subject matter and the way it's presented, even if it's fiction, I might care. For example, a book about child abuse written from a psychological angle. Even if it's a novel, the fact that the writer has a "Dr." in front of their name might lend it some more credibility--"Hey, a doctor (presumably a psychiatrist) wrote this book. They must really know what they're talking about. I bet it's totally realistic and everything!"
And yes, I'm writing this with a fictional book in mind, one I saw at Amazon recently. The writer, I don't believe they're a doctor per se, but they mention that they're a therapist with much experience in the area in question, meaning (again, presumably) that they know where they're coming from.
So it all depends.
(I thought Dr. Phil wasn't really a doctor...?)