How do people address authors with pen names?

[Waz]

Some background: My last name is not exactly the easiest to pronounce and spell (Wasielewski), so I'm considering the use of a pen name. I thought about going with the fantasy tried-and-true type of Initial.Initial. Full Name (C.S. Lewis / J.R.R. Tolkien / J.K. Rowling / etc.). My leading idea so far is C.W. Brier. By the way, it's completely true that coming up with a pen name is far harder than creating a character name.

This got me contemplating about how people address authors with abbreviated or pen names. When the author's not present, we tend to use the whole name or last name only (C.S. Lewis or simply Lewis). But what about when the reader is addressing the author directly?

I'm sure good friends call J.K. Rowling "Jo" or "Joanne." But what about a fan asking a question directly to her? Does he address her as Ms. Rowling or something else?

 

[cupiscent]

Not too long ago I was reading what author Marie Brennan has to say on just this topic! In the last few questions on her website FAQ, she notes:

Why do you use a pen name?
Because my legal name is Bryn Neuenschwander, which has caused me problems all my life. People mistake my first name for Bryan and think I'm a man, and they all-too-frequently can't spell or pronounce "Neuenschwander." ...

What should I call you, then?
Honestly? Marie. If I'm wearing my writer-hat, that is the name I tend to use -- kind of like you you might be Katie at home but Katherine at work. And it's the name I want people to remember, since it's the name they put on my books.

 

[Waz]

Thanks cupiscent. That's a good bit of info and helps with pen names that have a first name, which I was curious about.

But what about pen names with initials instead of a first name. I'll return to the J.K. Rowling example. What do people call her if not J.K.? Are there any examples that you Mythic Scribes know about?

 

[CupofJoe]

But what about pen names with initials instead of a first name. I'll return to the J.K. Rowling example. What do people call her if not J.K.? Are there any examples that you Mythic Scribes know about?

Ms Rowling springs to mind...
I may be being very BRITISH and have therefore read far too many guides to etiquette, but I am not a personal friend of Ms Rowling so I would not think of addressing her by her [given name or] initials when first we met unless and until she suggested it....

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

People who know R.A. Salvatore call him Bob. I don't know him, so I only called him twice.

But in his case, the initials as pen name is the publisher's idea, and they are his actual initials, so he's always Bob or Mr. Salvatore. Marie's case is different as she uses a name she made up.

 

[wordwalker]

About that example: Lewis and Tolkien were both British and contemporaries (famously so), and examples of an older Brit tradition that authors used their initials. Joanne Rowling doesn't have a middle name, but her editor convinced her to invent a second initial so she could sound more traditional (and less female, actually).

So a pen name doesn't have to use initials. That might still be the right choice, but it's a complex marketing decision.

By the way, here's a post by Kristen Lamb on who has the best reason to use pen names: https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/pen-names-necessary-evil-or-ticket-to-crazyville/

 

[Russ]

When I meet an author for the first time, unless they are very young, I address than as Mr. or Mrs. Pen name.


If they want me to call them something else they can tell me.

 

[spectre]

The Waz has dumbfounded me. I have no idea. My pen name was going to be Beneford Andrews. I decided not to use it though (short story and I'm still not telling why). The only thing I can say about pen names is I chose to use one because it had --I've been using this word a lot lately-- aesthetic and because I'm not fond of attention. That says more about me, or about Mr. Andrews.

 

[Hainted]

I second the Mr/Ms Author name unless they say otherwise. I'm in the habit of addressing all writers/actors/artists/etc I meet at functions that way unless told otherwise.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Joanne Rowling doesn't have a middle name, but her editor convinced her to invent a second initial so she could sound more traditional (and less female, actually).

Yeah, I heard about that too. A part of me is pissed off that J.K. Rowling's success may have been, in part, due to her gender-ambiguous pen name. Then there's the realist/cynic in me that figures whatever outrage Rowling should feel over concealing her gender is probably buried in a mountain of money.

Hopefully, between Rowling's success and the trend of self-publishing becoming a more viable option, gender is no longer perceived as a barrier.

 

[cupiscent]

Hopefully, between Rowling's success and the trend of self-publishing becoming a more viable option, gender is no longer perceived as a barrier.

I also hope we're trending in that direction, but then I read things like Shannon Hale talking about gender restrictions on her school visits and I think that the pressures of "boys won't read stories from a female author" (which was the reason I heard for Ms Rowling going gender-neutral) are still very real and present - or at least perceived to be so by adults who should know and behave better.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Okay, so this is a touch off topic, but I'm starting a new job, and the manager of the office introduced himself to me by his given name, but it feels odd for me to call a superior by their given name rather than Mr./ Ms. SURNAME. I even have the same issues querying agents, who often put "Use ATTN: Samantha in your email subject" in their querying info. It just feels too personal for a business relationship to me.

I've considered pen names too, partly because I don't love my given name, and partly because I agree that it feels (and may be reality) like men won't be inclined to read a female author's work, prejudicing it as "soft" in a way. If I wrote romance novels, I'd have no such inclination to want to use my initials or an invented name altogether, but there it is. I write gritty fantasy and I'm afraid I'll be grouped in with women's fiction rather than standing proudly as a fantasy author. It's silly, really, to have these sorts of issues plaguing great female writers, but I still think there's enough merit to the suggestion, to err on the side of caution as a new writer at least. Once established, I think those worries fade.

 

[stephenspower]

It took me a long time as an editorial assistant to get used to calling my superiors, especially the president, by their first names. That changed when the president, in a sign of favor, started calling me Meatball. I remember when my friend Greg was called Peckerhead in a meeting, and we all greeted him afterwards like Henry Hill was in "Goodfellas" after keeping his mouth shut in the police station.

 

[stephenspower]

As for a woman taking a male name or using initials, it does go the other way too on occasion.

Back in the '90s another editor at Avon had a problem. She offered a guy $4000 for his, I think, vampire romance, but she also wanted him to use either initials or a woman's name because romance readers weren't going to buy a book by a guy. He was ticked. He said that if he couldn't use his name, then he wanted $7000. The editor didn't have that much money to offer, and she didn't want to lose the book. Then a solution presented itself. She went back to him and said, "You misunderstand the situation. Your book's not worth $7000 with your name. Your book's worth nothing with your name. It's only worth $4000 with initials or a female pseudonym." Confronted with economic reality, he signed for $4000.

I wish I could say the name he took was "Stephanie Meyers," but I don't remember.

Best pseudonym story I know, which I might have posted here years ago. Donald Westlake once said that because he was under contract to one publisher as Donald Westlake he had to use a pseudonym for a book he was publishing with another house. He was amused that a review of that book noted, "He writes just like Donald Westlake."

 

[cupiscent]

As for a woman taking a male name or using initials, it does go the other way too on occasion.

Oh yes, absolutely. Tim Pratt also springs to mind here, who writes urban fantasy with a kickass female protagonist under the pseudonym T.A. Pratt. Since he also writes in other genres, one could wonder if that was just brand separation (like Rachel Aaron / Rachel Bach, or Catherine Webb / Kate Griffin / Claire North) but I think it's telling that it's the female-driven urban fantasy that gets the gender-neutral name, but the stuff he writes as Tim Pratt is more "boy stuff" - Pathfinder and D&D novels, and Westerns (or maybe steampunk? can't quite tell from the covers).

There's definitely a skewed underlying assumption that needs to be confronted, and it seems to me (especially given what CagedMaiden said above!) to hook into the idea that romance is "women's stuff"; that men can't or won't write it, and that if women write books they will have it in there (and men don't or shouldn't want to read it). Which is constricting, demeaning and annoying for everyone.

 

[Caged Maiden]

It absolutely does. I didn't at all mean my comment as any sort of personal sexist insight. I know with most of my books (fantasy with romance as a strong sub plot), my given name will stand up fine, but I worry about some of my grittier stuff. Like, will men want to read it if they think I only write one sort of thing? My WiP is 50% love story (not romance) and 50% spy games and subterfuge and I worry that it would fall into the "women's fiction" category and therefore not be read by male readers. That would disappoint me, which is why I tend to like my first initial and my surname as my published name. Not because I'm embarrassed to be a female writer (because I include plenty of violence and male characters who I believe authentic and convincing), but because I'd be hurt if readers missed an opportunity to enjoy my work for the simple fact that I'm a woman, so therefore I must be blowing the love story out of proportion and be downplaying the elements of political intrigue.

I'm not trying to validate the archaic belief that women aren't as smart as men or as raw, or as gritty (because I'm way tougher than most men I've met, and I've seen a lot of gritty shit in my lifetime), but I want there to never be a moment where someone sees my book and says, "Hm...this was written by a woman, what does she know about swordplay? Must be terrible." Or whatever you want to fill in there.

We've had this discussion before after Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns) said, "Would people have not read my book if the author was Mary Lawrence?" (paraphrased). It's sad, but it's a big enough issue that people have to make tough decisions.

I can't remember where that article is anymore, but there was even a poll attached and I can't remember the results.

I think women writers can write grit as well as any man can, but readers are the ultimate decision-makers in whether they buy, and I don't have a simple answer as to how to get male readers to select female authors as equally as males. I don't think my father owns a book written by a woman, but that may be more due to the age of his collection rather than any conscious sexism. I just wonder how many people fall into the trend, whatever their reasoning. I think it's sad, but pen names avoid the issue, so it just seems like the easier choice.

Speaking of my parents, I've only recently revealed myself as a writer to my mom, and no one else knows. I just feel like they'd pat me on the head and say, "Oh, that's nice." and think I'm an idiot. Another reason I might choose a pen name...so I can keep my private life well separated from writing. I worry mostly that some of the issues in the stories I've written would reflect poorly on me, or worse, my family. I have characters with serious daddy issues, or horrible mothers, and I'd just be crushed if I offended my loved ones with what could simply be summed up as "the shit that happens in my fake world" but it felt more...real? Yeah, that's a serious concern because I don't ever want my stories to appear some sort of angsty therapy session, and I deal with a lot of serious character stuff involving friends and familial relationships.

 

[Russ]

I think that we are lucky in the fantasy genre that the gender of the writer is not a big issue these days.

That certainly does not hold true in other genres though...say thrillers for instance.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I don't get to meet a lot of well known authors, so I can't really comment on their situations. For me I don't use a pen name, but I have contracted my name. I did this for two reasons. First my name is Gregory Curtis, but I personally hate Gregory. Only my mother ever calls me that and it usually means I am or was in trouble. All my life I have simply been Greg and that is who I choose to be known as as a writer.

My second reason was more pragmatic. When I googled my name as so many do, I discovered that there are two other prominent writers out there with the same name as me. But both are Gregory's. One is a Republican senator who it seems from reading about him, is not popular. The other writes books about art history. I simply didn't want to be confused with either of them.

I could have gone to initials, and G or GM Curtis could have been me, but I find initials hide personality. G Curtis could be anyone. Greg Curtis, at least in my mind, is a regular, easy going guy next door. My actual neighbours are Brian and Jackie, not B and J.

So my suggestions for choosing a pen name would be:

1. Google whatever you come up with, just to see if it's unique or you end up finding yourself linked to others.
2. Try and work out what the name means to you and others. What image it conveys. Professional? Friendly? Serious?
3. Never change it. Whatever name you decide on, keep it. Make it yours. It will help you as a writer to sell, because readers often follow particular writers. They can't follow those who change their names.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[K.S. Crooks]

Readers will call you whatever you put on the book cover. Using initials is not a big deal, as you can see from my name. Using a completely fabricated name is something that takes more thought as for why and what name to use. Even if a real name is difficult to pronounce it may be worth using because people will remember its uniqueness. If people around the world can learn to spell and say Schwarzenegger then all should feel at ease. Also if a person becomes a famous author, there will always be more places where their name looks foreign than regular. In North America we are used to seeing names of all types.

 

[Reilith]

This actually got me thinking a lot, since I had a plan somewhere in the back of my mind to use a pen name when I finally finish and decide to try publishing my story. The reason for this is that I am from a small European country that has a bit hard-pronounceable last names that most of the world tends to read wrong. So what came to my mind here while reading this topic is to either use my real initials A.P. and add something distinguishable but common to make it sound good, or use my given first name, that I love and just use another last name with it, thus avoiding the pronunciation problem.

So I extend a question to you scribes, which would sound more convincing in the long run?