pseudonyms...?

[Dragon tea]

So, not remotely near finishing even an outline, but my brain dances around different details and sometimes one keeps my focus and it becomes hard to think around it...almost like having a headache and your trying to do long division...or your taxes

Anyway, recently my brain has decided to focus on creating and using a pseudonym if I ever create anything worth anyones time. I'm wondering, if I DO get published, does anyone need to know my real name?

Where I live is pretty small, and while I know I will be immensely proud (I hope ha) of my book, I'm thinking because of certain content that it would also be mortifying to find out if certain members of my family were to read. Like would probably die on the spot haha.

Then good ole brainy here is asking how does one pick a pen name?? I guess that's more research to make sure no one else is using it?

HALP!?!

 

[A. E. Lowan]

This is a pen name, created way, way back when dinosaurs walked the earth and brick and mortar bookstores were the Way. Amazon did not exist, neither did YouTube, or Google. But in the Fantasy and SciFi section of most bookstores Lackey and McCaffrey sat on opposite ends of the same shelf, right at eye level, and so would Lowan, when the time came. Also, it looks better to have one name on the cover than three, so there's that.

By the time it did arrive, it didn't matter and we're exclusive to Amazon, but that's another story.

These days, just find a name that sings for you. Maybe one that sounds in keeping with your subgenre of choice, like ours is Urban Fantasy so initials and make it punchy. I will tell you that with social media being as it is, if your name is at all unusual, like mine, then nothing you do will keep you separate from your pen name, especially if you cross-post anything or reference yourself in any way. Now it's a matter of a three minute internet search to connect me with this pen name, because I am our social media person as well as our drafter. There may be some who have good advice to offer for distancing yourself from your work. I just haven't found any that worked for me.

 

[pmmg]

Picking one is up to you. It might be clever to pick on that shows up next to someone else in a search.

Someone will have to know its you to know where to send a check.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Ha! No one has found my first name yet! The proof is all the stupid emails I get saying, "Hey, L."

Or maybe not.

Sincerely,

L. James Rice

 

[pmmg]

Sounds like a challenge. I bet I could find it out.... But then why? To me, you are more Dems than L. James.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I'm sure it's only difficult for automated systems scraping names for their mailing lists, but I take every small victory. It's pretty safe to ignore any email that calls me "L."

 

[Gallio]

Hmm... if I am ever fortunate enough to publish, I might use a pseudonym. I would probably choose the surname of one or other of my ancestors. I have several with unusual surnames.

 

[Finchbearer]

I know a lot of authors use pen names…but I don’t understand it, why not just use your name?? My name is pretty standard boring name anyway for example, what would be the advantage to using a pseudonym?

 

[Gallio]

Nobody can pronounce my surname. Even I don't pronounce it correctly.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I know a lot of authors use pen names…but I don’t understand it, why not just use your name?? My name is pretty standard boring name anyway for example, what would be the advantage to using a pseudonym?

Because not only is it unusual that anyone can pronounce my name, I'm the only one with it on the English side of FB, at least last I looked. It used to be a closely held secret, but it got harder to keep so I finally just gave up. Now, I'm a woman on the internet without a mask.

Plus, there's three of us. On the same note, one of us is pretty young, not quite thirty, and a pretty girl. Just after our first con, some rando messaged her on FB I think, and told her that he had found the pic of all of us sitting at our table... and that he was masturbating to it right then. Life online for women, everyone! I had her report and block him and that ended it, but it is something to consider when balancing the pros and cons of a pen name.

Pen names also give you the freedom to have series (or books. Who writes one book? ) in different genres. Using different pen names helps satisfy reader expectations. If they're used to reading Epic Fantasy from you, and suddenly out pops a Steamy Romance, that's going to bring some readers up short. Best to keep them separate until you become a bigger name.

 

[Finchbearer]

Because not only is it unusual that anyone can pronounce my name, I'm the only one with it on the English side of FB, at least last I looked. It used to be a closely held secret, but it got harder to keep so I finally just gave up. Now, I'm a woman on the internet without a mask.

Plus, there's three of us. On the same note, one of us is pretty young, not quite thirty, and a pretty girl. Just after our first con, some rando messaged her on FB I think, and told her that he had found the pic of all of us sitting at our table... and that he was masturbating to it right then. Life online for women, everyone! I had her report and block him and that ended it, but it is something to consider when balancing the pros and cons of a pen name.

Pen names also give you the freedom to have series (or books. Who writes one book? ) in different genres. Using different pen names helps satisfy reader expectations. If they're used to reading Epic Fantasy from you, and suddenly out pops a Steamy Romance, that's going to bring some readers up short. Best to keep them separate until you become a bigger name.

I agree with all of that, and of course it works for your team of three writers who want to have one eponymous name to bind you all together. Pun intended.

And I understand why across different genres you’d want to have different pen names. That also makes sense.

Women ‘in the olden days’ like George Eliot had a purposely ambiguous name, or a name that could pass as a man’s name because it used to be harder to be taken seriously as a female author. Also understandable but not wholly necessary these days.

And life as a woman on the internet, Ah yes, that. I think while they’re always going to be the creeps, it’s a shame that we should have to hide ourselves for that reason, but it’s understandable to do so. Taking back that power and being yourself online shouldn’t be a precursor to an undermining of that. I think Emily Ratajkowski is a good example of a woman taking back that power with her book My Body. But that’s probably a whole thesis right there.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I use a couple pen names, one for rather light SF and the other for somewhat steamy mainstream work. I do not make any real effort to hide who is behind them, in that I consider my 'real' name (which also appears on a bunch of books) to be a created identity as well. That is, Stephen Brooke the author is not strictly 'me.' Anyway, I do keep some separation between all three names and do not draw attention to who is behind them, but I'm not particularly concerned if anyone knows. And yes, I do drop in elements from real life some might recognize. It's up to them to deal with it!

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I agree with all of that, and of course it works for your team of three writers who want to have one eponymous name to bind you all together. Pun intended.

And I understand why across different genres you’d want to have different pen names. That also makes sense.

Women ‘in the olden days’ like George Eliot had a purposely ambiguous name, or a name that could pass as a man’s name because it used to be harder to be taken seriously as a female author. Also understandable but not wholly necessary these days.

And life as a woman on the internet, Ah yes, that. I think while they’re always going to be the creeps, it’s a shame that we should have to hide ourselves for that reason, but it’s understandable to do so. Taking back that power and being yourself online shouldn’t be a precursor to an undermining of that. I think Emily Ratajkowski is a good example of a woman taking back that power with her book My Body. But that’s probably a whole thesis right there.

ROFL at the pun.

Is concealing your gender necessary these days? Depends on what you write, really. We're lucky in that Urban Fantasy is a very chick-heavy field. It's the guys that stand out. Same with Romance. But get out of these safe zones and that's where we run into where the trouble is still festering in that it's considered gauche, but not taboo, to declare one only reads male authors because women can't tell a good story, aren't funny, can't write men (what?), the advent of the Sad Puppies and the Mad Puppies allowed to happen without publishers stepping in to police their worst offenders, etc. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

Book sounds fascinating. Gender studies is an entire flipping major. I know, I almost went that way. Then I just minored and it cleared up so much. Just asking the question, "Does this character have to be white/cis/hetero/abled/neurotypical?" and then flipping the script we've been handed all our lives us shockingly liberating.

And last, yay George Eliot! Total badass.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I use a couple pen names, one for rather light SF and the other for somewhat steamy mainstream work. I do not make any real effort to hide who is behind them, in that I consider my 'real' name (which also appears on a bunch of books) to be a created identity as well. That is, Stephen Brooke the author is not strictly 'me.' Anyway, I do keep some separation between all three names and do not draw attention to who is behind them, but I'm not particularly concerned if anyone knows. And yes, I do drop in elements from real life some might recognize. It's up to them to deal with it!

And I commend you for it. Being able to exist on the internet without harassment is a wonderful thing. I'm going to go out on a limb, here, and assume that with the name of "Stephen" that you're a guy. (I did know a Brooke a while back. She was a stripper.) Being a guy gives you some perks coming out of the package. Insta-respect - no one questions that you know what you're talking about, because of course you do, and this will continue until you massively screw something up in a public fashion. Same goes with an insta-perception of competence. You have to actively screw something up to be considered unable to complete a task. You're also less likely to have coworkers assume you used sex to get that promotion, you're less likely to have visitors look right over your head to your male partner and address all questions to him.

You're less likely to have to make up a boyfriend to get a stranger to leave you alone, because they will respect you as another man's property before they will respect your bodily autonomy. Fun!

And now I'm curious about this steamy stuff you're writing. I don't meet too many men who write in my neck of the woods, and the ones who write steamy are all writing MM and are gay.

 

[Ned Marcus]

Choose a name you like that's not being used by another writer or anyone famous. Personally, I'd check if I could get the .com domain name + the social media channels in the pen name.

 

[Finchbearer]

Choose a name you like that's not being used by another writer or anyone famous. Personally, I'd check if I could get the .com domain name + the social media channels in the pen name.

That is a good idea. Bonus if it’s your actual name.

 

[Finchbearer]

Is concealing your gender necessary these days?

I think it’s a very personal choice at the end of the day - but it doesn’t change my view that women and other marginalised groups should hide who they are for the sake of others. But shouldn’t is idealistic and doesn’t deal with the issues at hand.

Gender studies is of interest to me but I think my brain would explode.

I do also like to question what characters I’m creating from a diversity point of view but I’m aware that I need to take care, because although I’m in an oppressed group - I’m also white and hetero, so I wouldn’t want any of my characters to feel like some sort of a tokenistic add on.

 

[Rexenm]

and that he was masturbating to it right then.

I found a guy on online chess called Vincent Sant Quentin, and I hear Macy Grey stole her name, but you should hold a vigil.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think it’s a very personal choice at the end of the day - but it doesn’t change my view that women and other marginalised groups should hide who they are for the sake of others. But shouldn’t is idealistic and doesn’t deal with the issues at hand.

Gender studies is of interest to me but I think my brain would explode.

I do also like to question what characters I’m creating from a diversity point of view but I’m aware that I need to take care, because although I’m in an oppressed group - I’m also white and hetero, so I wouldn’t want any of my characters to feel like some sort of a tokenistic add on.

I am white and cis... and therein ends my tour of the common narrative. Every other aspect is underrepresented and that's just criminal because it basically means that the vast majority of people don't get to see themselves in the media they consume, and only rarely are they the hero. So, I find that representative writing is both a matter of practice and doing my homework. And from experience and researching, I've discovered that the best way to avoid tokenism is to present your characters as well-rounded people, which I know you can do since you write character-driven stories, too. Urban Fantasy at the least should be urban, which means that our cast is not only diverse, but they are complex, they are flawed, and they are human, even when they aren't. If writing beyond the common narrative is something you want to attempt, here are some great sources to get you started.

First, this is why we stretch ourselves.

This is where we start. I also recommend this entire blog. It's a treasure trove of information, modded by the very people we want to represent, in their own words. And most of them are authors, too! And I see their Ask box is open, which doesn't happen often.
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F94223998982
And this is a humorous little bit on what not to do.
Readers Lampoon Common Tropes Used by White Writers

Honestly, there is oh so much information out there written by writers of color, much directed at us to help us understand and to do this right. It's an education all on its own. I'm more than happy to dig up more. I think I might have all of them.

I found a guy on online chess called Vincent Sant Quentin, and I hear Macy Grey stole her name, but you should hold a vigil.

We can hold a vigil if I ever find the guy. She's my little sister and I am not the sort to quietly sit by while simple injustice is happening. When it's someone close to me, I'm not a terribly nice person.

 

[Insolent Lad]

And now I'm curious about this steamy stuff you're writing. I don't meet too many men who write in my neck of the woods, and the ones who write steamy are all writing MM and are gay.

That's what I write under a...female pen name, that being Sienna Santerre. I really chose to use the pen name there (initially, anyway) because I set it in the time and place I grew up (Naples FL) but once I'd created it for that reason, it also gave me the freedom to be more explicit than in my other writing. For the stuff under my own name I stick to what I call the Ian Fleming Rule—never go further than Fleming did in his James Bond stories.