picking a pen name

for me, i write horror, which, to my family and friends, seems like the last thing i would write, i want to keep it that way, but still get things out there, also, because i can write in more than one genre, if i do write in another genre and use my own name, it seems like i am still writing.

also, being someone who has a name that sounds like 3 first names, it gets irritating trying to explain it to people, thus, taking out any need to question the name, i can get on with the writing

 

pretty much anything is ok as long as it doesn't lead anyone who knows/knew you to guess it's you...

should be something you're comfortable with, not anything we like...

 

exactly, itll be something i know no one that i know, will know, except from the person i trust to read through it

 

I'd avoid something like Lupo Xenon. It's too obviously a pen name, and people would go "Oh, come on!"

I'd also definitely avoid something deliberately offensive or provocative, like "Adolf Hitler Smith" or something like that.

Just pick a normal name, something easy to spell and remember, and preferably something that does not deliberately hide your gender (like just using initials instead of a full first name).

 

fair point dude, should really reconsider the name...

 

I have two I will use: One is for children's and YA. The other, for adult readers. I like how they sound.

 

I always use a surname that starts with "A", and something short and easy to remember rather than overly artistic. It's a big advantage online when writers are listed in alphabetical order, or on the publisher's website for readers to post reviews.

 

I agree with madhoca that it should be easy to remember. Also, if it can fit the genre to some degree, it might be even easier to remember. For example, I think "Garth Nix" is a perfect name for a YA fantasy writer. It's so good I thought it was a pen name, but it's actually his real name. It's easy to remember and fits the genre.

My name is soooo common; I definitely need a pen name of some kind. I've personally met two other people that share it, AND there's even a fairly successful writer with my name. So... yeah.

 

I always go under my name usually

I remember using the name Dennis more than once but I don't remember why I chose that name
I figure using DeathandGrim or just Grim would be a bit morbid

If I'm trying to conceal my identity I probably would use the name R.A.N. (Random Ass Name)

 

I assumed that about "Karin Slaughter" - after all, the surname "Slaughter" is way too obvious for a crime writer. But I was wrong; it's her real name.

 

I just picked another name that I liked (not that it matters. I've only been published in a university publication under my real name). I didn't want it to sound crazy or have a lot of meaning. Just another normal person name of someone you might meet. I want it to sound like a person's name, not a screen name.

 

Some of my favorite author's have used pen names and I have often thought about it myself. I am unfortunately cursed with not only a common name but the same name as many authors.

My questions are:
1. Do you use a pen name?
2. If so, what is it?
3. Do you use a variation of your name or try something completely different?

Just some examples I know off hand:

George orwell = Eric Arthur Blair
J.K. Rowling = Joanna Rowling
Lewis Carroll = Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
Mark Twain = Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Orson Scott Card = Ken Krogue

 

For one of the blogs I run, yes I do. It gives me more freedom to speak my mind on sensitive topics without having to worry about the larger issues internet anonymity brings about. I stand by everything I say it's not that I can't stand by my words. It's more like having armor to deal with the flamers, trolls, and various nuts the internet has to offer. If they have no way of finding my actual name it makes it easier for me to avoid being harassed if I tick someone off. Speaking your mind on the internet is completely different from speaking your mind in person. In person you can walk away. On the internet people have 24/7 access to you.

I can't say or there'd be no point to me using it.

I used something completely different. My last name is extremely common.

 

I haven't decided on this matter yet. So I'm interested in the thread but don't have much to contribute. I did sign up on Goodreads with my real name incase I decide to use it.

My son has no problem with Net anonymity. He has email and Facebook all in his real name. I think it's a generation thing.

 

When (if?) I'm published, I'll use a pen name. The reason is that my real name is difficult for most people to spell or pronounce. Obviously, from a marketing perspective, I have to have a name people can search on Amazon, etc., so I'll use a pen name.

 

I agree. Pen names let you do that. Charles Bukowski is another example - his stories were autobiographical but he used the name Henry Chinaski.

 

I actually use my legal name, which I never use except on government documents. It sounds super foreign, which throws people. That amuses me.

 

I don't think I'll ever use a pen name. My name is easy enough to pronounce/spell, and unless I'm writing erotica or something like that, I have no reason not to use my real name.

 

1. Yes.
2. T. K. Trian
3. It's a combination of my name and my husband's name because we write together. Not sure if we'll use it if we get published (something else than self-pub), but right now it's shorter. Our surnames are quite weird as well as difficult to remember, but we do mention them in our blog 'cause there's really no need for us to hide who we are.

 

I use pseudonyms for everything. I don't like my real name, so I go by a nickname in real life, and there are a few different names I use online because I don't want anyone to be able to find me. Not that anyone would have any reason to, but still.

If I were to be published, I'd want to use a pen name, but I'm not sure what it would be. Something that sounds nothing like my real name. That way, if it becomes famous for being the most awful piece of garbage to ever be published, I'll still be able to show my face in public

 

i use a pen name its combination of my gender the last two digits of the year i was born and it mentions a piece of equipment that i use everyday.

 

Yes, I do. Anthony Martin, which is a variation of my full name.

I choose to write under a pseudonym for similar reasons. Anonymity is certainly not one of them.

 

in my 'old life' i used 2 pen names... one for the x-rated short stories i wrote and another for 'adventure' and 'crime' novels that i didn't want to be immediately id'd as being by a woman, since back then [80s-90s] that was a more major drawback for a novelist than it is today... though i suspect it still exists today to some extent...

 

I used to use a pen name. I write erotica, so I wanted something that people wouldn't associate me (failed when a proud ex decided he wanted to show everyone an anthology I was included in). Now I don't care. I'm credited in radio/film/articles by my real name, so I've decided to revert back to it for my fiction writing too. By 'real name' I'm referring to a name I chose for myself at age 18, rather than the name my parents gave me.