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Pseudonym?

CaliforniaMelanie

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I did a search and came up with nine bajillion results, so I'm asking here.

Who here uses a pseudonym, and what are your reasons?

I'm considering it for privacy, but that may be paranoid of me... :D So I'm wondering about others' motivations and how they handle this.
 

eqb

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I published five books under my IRL name, but I switched to a pen name this year for a couple reasons--partly because the latest books are different from my earlier ones, partly because the pen name is easier to spell and pronounce.
 

kmarcks

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I do. I am a registered nurse and some of the subject matter I've dealt with, while not explicitly sexual, might embarrass my employer. They know that I write and I have mentioned some of what I have written but I have no idea if my boss has ever read any of it.
 

DancingMaenid

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I use them right now for a couple reasons:

1. While I'm not actively writing it right now, I have written erotica in the past, and using a pseudonym for erotica is extremely common. I really don't need my family and co-workers to associate me with that.

2. I use a separate pseudonym for my non-erotic writing right now because I'm really private and feel weird about being easily google-able. I have a unique name, and don't particularly want random strangers to be finding out exactly where I work, or trying to friend my personal Facebook page. I'm not invested in making sure that no one connects me to my writing, and I know that a determined person could probably make the connection, but for now I think I'd rather keep a layer of privacy in place.
 

MontyBurr

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I use my pen name because food plays a big part in my plots.

Say my name to a classically trained cook and they get it. (see cryptic sig below.)
 

Chris P

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So far, I've published under my real name. However, for children's stories I plan to use a more grandfatherly sounding pen name for marketing purposes. For my non-kids stories, I'm not sure yet. My real name has no platform, so there's not much point in keeping it, and a new start might be nice (although it would take some pretty targetted Googling for someone to find connections to my previous work). Privacy will be part of the consideration, not for fear of being mobbed by adoring fans, but certain family members have reacted strangely (let's just leave it at that) to my work and I'd rather not deal with them.
 

Lolly12

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I used a pseudonym for my first self-published book. It was a mix of nicknames from my childhood and I felt that it just suited writing for children, plus I really like the sound of it. I'd find it confronting using my own name as I'm a bit shy about publishing at all.
 
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D. E. Wyatt

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I'm using my real initials and last name. I guess I'm doing it because it sounds more sophisticated.
 

Krimigen

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I don't necessarily need anonymity, but I want several degrees of separation between my real life and my writing. Also, my dayjob manager wouldn't agree to let me use my fake name. She's a real killjoy. :Shrug:
 

Dona St Columb

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Yes, I write under a pen name. It was a fairly easy decision for me as I write both YA and romance and wanted to have a distinction between the two. I'm sure it wouldn't take a genius to 'uncover' my secret identity (in fact, I'll probably end up accidentally 'outing' myself at some point!) but it was never really about that.
 

vicky271

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I haven't decided. I've been weighing pros and cons for a while. On one hand, it would be nice to keep my personal life separate from my writing life. On the other, my friend pointed out to me that I have a very writer name. And Victoria Evans is a very common name. Plus it would be nice to see my name on a cover of a book I wrote.
 

Elenitsa

writing as Marina Costa
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I write under a pseudonym because my first publisher told me that I need a shorter name, to be remembered. (And I didn't like any he suggested, so I took the one I loved). But it is no secret, the publisher says in the publisher's note at the end, where my brief bio is presented, that Marina Costa is a pseudonym for me.
 

bapeery

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I suppose using my initials is a type of pseudonym (ish) because it doesn't immediately reveal who I am. It doesn't take a long search to figure it out though, which is ok because I'm not trying to hide. However, I 100% would publish some of my more dark, twisted, and sexual works (currently housed in the deepest pits of my computer- will probably never see the light of day) under a pseudonym. Can't have my mother reading that under my name! HA!

I think if it makes you more comfortable to share your work under a pseudonym, by all means go for it!