10 Reasons To Consider Using a Pseudonym

Pseudonyms, sometimes referred to as a pen name are more popular than you may think. This topic of discussion came up at our recent Ascribe Writers’ meeting, as some of our members are looking into using a pen name for their works of fiction.

10 REASONS TO CONSIDER USING A PSEUDONYM:

1. PERSONAL – So your mother won’t know it was YOU, who wrote this week’s best-selling sex novel. If she knew, she might die of embarrassment when her friends find out and start talking about how in the world her daughter would even know about this “icky topic”… even though, these same ladies have ALREADY secretly downloaded their copies of the novel and are half-way through reading it. (This would also include your spouse and your children dying of embarrassment. The workplace water cooler chat and the playground top-of-the-monkeybars chat would never be the same again.)
2. PROFESSIONAL – If you are a doctor, do you think your patients would freak out, if they found out you were writing medical thrillers, where the main character (THE DOCTOR) is secretly murdering his patients? I doubt that would go over very well? Your waiting room might get very quiet… and empty.
3. GENRE JUMPING – Authors don’t want to get stuck writing one genre. They want to try out something else, without being ridiculed, or risking the reputation of the first genre that is selling millions of copies a week. Example: Joanne Kathleen Rowling writes YA Fantasy under the name, J.K. Rowlings. You’ve heard of the Harry Potter Series, right? That’s her. She wanted to write mysteries, so she started writing a detective series under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. (FYI – this information was leaked to the press by her lawyer. Oops!) Also, Joanne has two other pen names she uses for other things: Kennilworthy Whisp and Newt Scamander, both Harry Potter know-it-alls, publishing extra Potter knowledge.
4. SWITCHING IDENTITIES OR PERSONAS – Some authors want to switch up their nationalities or their genders. Example, men writing contemporary romance or historical romance, feel they can sell their book easier, if they represent themselves as a female. Or, you may be a plain Jane Doe and want to appear as an Exotic Pole-Dancing Erotic Romance Writer. Either way, the book would sell one hundred times better, coming from their new pen names, instead of their real personas.
5. EASIER NAMES TO REMEMBER – If you’re born with the name, Mary-Jane Margret Santini Flood-Usselbrown, thanks to parents and a new husband all wanting you to keep their name, you may want to opt for an easier to remember pen name, such as Mary-Jane Brown (leaving out all the unnecessary names in between). No point in making it harder for your readers to find your novels on the bookshelves, when searching for all the hyphenated surnames.
6. AUTHOR CONFUSION – If you were born with the name James Brown or Steve King, there may be at least one thousand of you, when readers google your name in a search engine. To avoid confusion, and for readers to find you quickly, go with something unique or slightly different, so people can find you easier. Also, try to avoid having the same name as an already famous author like Stephen King.
7. BRANDING – Writers try to match their new pen name with the genre that they write in. Example, if James Brown is your real name, and you want get noticed in your genre, you could change it up to something like J.R.R. Brown for writing Fantasy Fiction, Richard S. Brown for writing Historical Fiction or Ricki Brown for writing YA Romance. Plus, when using a branding pen name, if one name fails, you start over with a new name.
8. AUTHOR COLLABORATIONS – When two or more authors co-write the same novel, they may want to decide on one new pen name for publication. It is easier to remember, and makes it easy for them to continue on writing as a team, long after their single author career dies.
9. SELF-PROTECTION – Some authors become quite famous, so using a pseudonym, protects their crazy and aggressive fans from stalking them, finding out their home address and showing up at their daughter’s five-year-old birthday party, where they obviously aren’t wanted.
10. NEED A NEW START – Sometimes, life sucks. Things happen in your world that you have no control over. Example: Your spouse goes to jail for a hideous crime that you had nothing to do with, and you want to hide from the world. You still want to write, so you may want a new start, a new name, a new town, almost as if you are entering a witness protection program. This would work. Use a pseudonym.

** In case you are wondering, using a pseudonym is legal. Quite often, it is considered a wise business choice. Choosing a pseudonym will be one of the biggest decisions you will make as an author. It will also be one of your biggest creative challenges. Believe me, when I say it’s not as easy as saying, I want to write under the name… Penelope Cruise, or maybe, Nora Roberts? Yeah, you need to do your research. Those two names are not only taken, they are both EXTREMELY famous people, and they would probably sue your butt off, if you tried to use the same name.

Did you know these famous authors use a pseudonym?

• Stephen King (his real name) writes Horror Fiction. He also writes as Richard Bachman, Eleanor Druse, Steve King and John Swithen.
• Dean Koontz is a busy man. He writes under his own name, plus: Aaron Wolfe, Anthony North, Brian Coffey, David Axton, Deanna Dwyer, John Hill, K.R. Dwyer, Owen West and Richard Paige.
• Eleanor Marie Robertson (her real name) writes Romantic Fiction under the pseudonym of Nora Roberts. She also writes as, J.D. Robb, Jill Marsh, and Sarah Hardesty.
• Lisa Gabriele, a Canadian TV Producer, writes under her real name when writing Womens’ Fiction; plus she ghostwrites for famous people, like Kevin O’Leary (Shark Tank), AND she uses the pseudonym, L. Marie Adeline for writing her best-selling Erotic Fiction novels.
• Benjamin Franklin had three pseudonyms: Polly Baker, Mrs. Silence Dogood and Richard Saunders.
• Agatha Christie used Mary Westmacott for a pen name.
• Michael Crighton had three pseudonyms: John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and Michael Douglas.
• Allistair MacLean (his real name) writes Mysteries. He also writes under the pen name of Ian Stuart.

Piece of Advice on using Pseudonyms:

If you are going to choose a pseudonym/pen name for your writing projects, do your research, and don’t go overboard with creating a whole new fake identity. Meaning, don’t take out a bank account in their name, and don’t fake any of your credentials. Be cautious. Your bio, your photo and your credentials should match your own REAL ones. Be truthful. If, or should I say, WHEN you are exposed to the world, you want your readers to feel comfortable with it and not get angry and feel you betrayed them with lies. If you betray them, you will get dumped, like yesterday’s boyfriend! Your career will be over.