1. HisSweetheart

    HisSweetheart Member

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    Real Name vs Pen Name

    Discussion in 'Self-Publishing' started by HisSweetheart, Jun 30, 2017.

    What are the pro's and con's of writing under your real name vs under a pen name?
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Some people seem to really like the idea of seeing their name on the cover of a book. And you can do more local promo more easily with your real name (ie. your neighbour will buy your book but may not buy your book if your name isn't on it).

    Other than that, I think pen names are the way to go. More flexibility, more anonymity, more ability to choose a memorable-yet-appropriate name, etc.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2017
  3. HisSweetheart

    HisSweetheart Member

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    My thing is I am part of a church denomination where most people know most other people and it would be weird (to me) to have my name on the covers of books they might read. So I am curious if there are any big advantages or disadvantages to using one over the other.
    I'm presently leaning toward a pen name.
     
  4. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    You're not the first forum member to voice those concerns. And it usually involves a religious/conservative community or family members that might object to the subject material. It wouldn't bother me personally but I can see how you might have some qualms.
     
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  5. Brindy

    Brindy Senior Member

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    I write under a pen name and have an online profile too. I have only found 2 issues. Firstly, when I do school visits they never know whether call me by my real name or pen name - easily sorted.

    Secondly, people who only know me by my pen name use that when they post things to me. When I needed to collect from the Post Office I didn't have any ID in that name. Fortunately I publish under my real name so took a copy of my book to show the link between the 2 names and got my parcel (and a book sale).
     
  6. HisSweetheart

    HisSweetheart Member

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    I wouldn't have to worry about subject matter (except for those few people who can always find something to complain about). I just would rather not go to a meeting or revival and have people say, "Oh, don't you write those ____ books?" I hate being in the spotlight.
     
  7. ddavidv

    ddavidv Senior Member

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    Some of my work is borderline erotica. In my daily life I interact with a lot of people and have a very unique name. Though I am not embarrassed about my writing certain employers may find it off-putting.

    I do enjoy the anonymity and use FB and Twitter under my pen name which gives me more freedom.

    My pen name is actually the name I would have had if I had not been placed for adoption at birth. I like it better than my true name, so there's that.
     
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  8. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    I don't see a problem with a pen name, assuming you can come up with one that sounds vaguely credible; ideally not Aliza Van Shpurt you know?

    Since we're on the subject; for those who have climbed the hill into the land of the published under a nom de plume; did you approach agents/publishers under that pen name or under your real name? I ask because it's something I am wondering about, being someone with a very uncommon surname and someone working in a rather unexpected genre I do worry a bit about people googling my name, finding my facebook and youtube comments and deciding it's not worth the effort to try and sell me as an author. I think I'd be happier submitting work under a pen name (not even a weird one; it'll be my married name once we actually get married) but so far I've held back from it because I didn't want to get a call from an agent and end up explaining why I lied to them.
     
  9. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I doubt it's a deal-breaker either way, but I approached agents/publishers using my real name.
     
  10. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Fair enough. I'm sure it's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things but lots of book industry types talk about marketing the author and, well, I am not a dude that is marketable in the traditional sense so it is a worry to me.
     
  11. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    You can market the author under a pen name fairly effectively - I do interviews, etc. under my pen name. I can't capitalize on personal connections (like, asking my cousins and coworkers to buy my books) but otherwise I think it's about the same.
     
  12. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    I meant more in the sense of being an agent or publisher looking at prospective authors. There's some people (J K Rowling comes to mind) where the marketing just writes itself so it's easier to take a chance on them. And then there's some people where you can see that it's going to be an uphill battle. Not that I think it makes that much difference but my gut feeling is that if an agent feels that they are going to have to really flog themselves to get a publisher to take you seriously then they need to really really believe your work is worth that effort. It definitely feels to me that an agent might be ok with 'It's a great book, great characters with some weird, challenging themes' they might not be so happy with 'It's a great book, great characters with some weird, challenging themes and a difficult to sell author'.

    Maybe that's just me being paranoid but first impressions do matter, especially before you've spoken in person and if you put my given name into google the first stuff you find is me, including my bitchy comments on The Guardian and my facebook. That's not stuff I'd worry about too much if I was writing fantasy or sci-fi or even really any adult fiction, but I can certainly see an agent being given pause to see a thirty year old guy who writes teen romance, and then doubly so if they took two seconds longer to click through my facebook profile and find pictures of me shitfaced and groping teenage girls. Now that's me circa 2004/5, when I was a, well, a shitfaced teenager too, but that's not the side of me I want someone to be seeing as my first impression. I'd much rather they find out I'm a big hairy bloke in my present form once they're already on board with my book.

    It's a proper damned it you do thing. Thus far I've decided to be damned if I do and just be honest, banking on them not making the effort (I wouldn't) at least not before they've built more of a relationship with me. But every time I submit it makes me wonder if I should more be damned if I don't. At least my (soon to be) married name is common enough that there's plenty of them out there of both genders and so I could plausibly be any of those people and could easilly be a woman. At least that lets an agent presume that I'm a more stereotypical teen author until they've decided if they like my work or not, you know? But then of course they have that picture in their head and at some point I'm going to have deal with that.

    It's all just about scraping up the last half a percent of probability, you know? And I genuinely don't know which is the better option.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
  13. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    You could use initials instead of your first name.
     
  14. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    I swear to god my actual initials are S T D. Ever since year 8 sex education I have been dogged by being initialed for sexually transmitted disease. The worst part is my dad did it twice. My half-brother is V D, the previous initialism for the same thing. And I am not kidding how uncommon my surname is. A few years back an old friend of mine ran into someone else who shared my surname hundreds of miles from my home town and couldn't help herself asking if the woman she met was any relation. Turns out she'd just met my dad's ex-wife. The UK is not that big a place it turns out.

    And, well, I will be getting married and I will be taking my wife's name so it's seems a more natural approach.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2017
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  15. Parker101

    Parker101 Member

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    For these reasons I've seriously considered using a pen name, if I ever manage to get published. Even though my real name isn't super common, I could easily to come up with a hundred more interesting names in a few minutes. But I decided against it, because if I do finish my WIP, and go through the process of editing and all the rest of it, AND find a publisher at the end of it all I don't want to see someone else's name on the damn cover. I want the success to belong to me, as childish as that sounds.
     
  16. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    See I don't get that at all. I definitely won't be writing under my born name no matter what, for me it's just a question of how to facilitate the transition into a pen name :p. I mean, I utterly loathe my names, all three of them. I don't necessarily hold it against my dad for giving me shit initials because that's the kind of slow burning headfucky joke that I would do to my child, but I do sort of judge my mum a bit for letting him win out when they were picking names. The man had already proved he couldn't be trusted! Anyway, suffice to say I'd much rather create a persona that's mine rather than has a connection to where I was born. Aside from anything else; my surname is my dad's step father's name so I don't feel generations of connection and from what my dad says he was a twat anyway. Suffice to say that it appeals to me to leave all my family travails behind and make something I can say I did for myself.

    And, as perhaps the last nail in the coffin, when we do get married I'll be Samuel T Jackson which is just... Yes. The perfect combination of Samuel L Jackson and James T Kirk. I am happy with that. I am debating actually changing the T to Tiberius (since I have to legally change my name anyway I may as well...) So the sooner that I can start using it the happier I'll be. In fact I would actually legally change my name right his second but my fiancee believes (with some justification) that once I've stolen her name I won't bother actually marrying her. At least she wants a cake and a new dress out of the deal, a position which I respect.
     
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  17. HisSweetheart

    HisSweetheart Member

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    I guess that could work for me. Although some people know me well enough they might put two and two together. But then again they probably wouldn't because they wouldn't be thinking there was any connection between me and that author. And I'm pretty sure there are lots of people out there with RDK for initials.
     
  18. Parker101

    Parker101 Member

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    That's fair enough, if you don't like your name to start off with then there's almost no reason not to use a pen name, without even considering any of the other benefits. Aside from that, writing under the name Samuel Jackson would just be a minefield of similarity issues. People might expect your novels to contain the word "motherfucker" a lot, for example.
     
  19. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    I can probably manage that :D

    Although, in fairness I'm probably going for Sam Jackson as the better approach, but getting the chance to officially be Samuel T Jackson does make me happy.
     
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  20. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    When I submitted to my publisher, I wrote "My name is RealFirstName RealLastName, and I write under the pseudonym Laurin Kelly." I thought I'd just go ahead and kill two birds with one stone.
     
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  21. Robert Musil

    Robert Musil Comparativist Contributor

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    You could always go the Thomas Pynchon route. AFAIK that's his real name, yet the last known picture of him is from, like, the 50s. Of course it was probably easier to get away with that back then, and by the time the internet rolled around he was already well known enough that publishers didn't insist on him doing a lot of publicity in person.
     

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  22. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Oh that's quite a good idea. I genuinely didn't think of that.
     
  23. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    I know the feeling. I'm writing under an open pen name because, somehow, I can be more gutsy about being an author as Catrin Lewis than as Real Name Me.

    Besides, I write and preach sermons as Real Name Me. I like the idea of having a bit of separation between that and the novels, even if it's no secret among those who know me who Catrin Lewis is.
     
  24. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    :supershock:
     
  25. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Yeah, tell me about it.
     

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