There's a pretty good recent thread on the subject here: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/living-with-a-pseudonym.150259/#post-1522615
Thanks for the link. I went through to see if there was a recent topic like it and must have missed it. I'll take a look.
Should I ever fulfill my dream of becoming a published fiction author, I will use a pen name, because my main career is science and I should have my given name on at least one scientific paper within the next year. I don't want to use the same name for both.
For a while, my preferred pen name was Lisse Dahl Moon, but all parts of the name were taken from either books or authors that I enjoyed, and I decided I wanted something that was more me. I'm still stewing over what I want my pen name to be. I use "Mara Lee" on a blog I run, but I don't like that nearly enough to use it for a pen name for publishing. Most of my friends call me Amaranthe (not my given name), so I want that to be part of my pen name, but I haven't come up with a good surname for my pen name yet.
I didn't choose my name, why the hell should I be ok with it? Of course I'll never publish anything under a name that I hate and haven't chosen myself. (This is the short version of all I'd have to say in the matter.) Shame is not even a variable here. Just my two cents.
My pen name is this one, Frank Wallace. I guess it's my real name too, as I have many, so I get to choose which bits I want. I don't have any reason to go by 'Frank' other than branding. Self publishing is a big adventure for me, and one that might not work, so I guess if it doesn't I can fall back on my other names. The only problem I can foresee is if 'Frank' becomes a success and people keep asking for 'Frank', and I'll be looking around, thinking 'Are they talking to me?' It'll confuse the hell-out-of the wife and kids too.
I'm trying to choose a name to go by for both writing and making music. I don't want to use my real name because I'm a private person. I typically write romance, fantasy, and thriller when I'm writing stories or novels. When I'm writing music, I usually write something that's upbeat with an instrument like the ukulele or guitar. Ghost- It sounds somewhat mysterious and I feel like it fits me. It's also the name of my dog, which I find kind of funny. There is already a rock band named Ghost, but I think it would still be okay since I'm not a band, I'm just one person. Misha- It's a name I could've had if I'd been born a different gender. I think it sounds kinda cool. Jean-Luc- I don't want to explain why, but this name means a lot to me. That's all.
Some writers might choose a pseudodym in order to reduce the possibility of having their real names be the cause for their writing's rejection. This happens due to ethnic discrimination. A name that indicates membership in a persecuted ethnic group will inevitably run into this situation. Some actors do it for the same reason-to avoid being turned down for movie parts and to fit in better within the society in which they are forced to compete. For example, during the Nazi Germany era a writer with the name of Cohen might have concluded that using that name was not such a good idea. Today, under the Trump administration and its focus on the erradication of ilegals, using a Latino name might not be such a good idea. Rejection of the work might be viewed as a show of patriotism in an effort to MAGA and the writer's manuscript might be unceremoniously tossed in the rejecton bin sas soon as the author's name is read.
Well, you're asking a false name for two drastically different genres of artistic expression. Music is one thing, as long as you keep your face from being shown everyone is going to have to call you by what you say your name is. Writing is another. In writing, your psuedonym is a false name. if you called yourself "Ghost" as an author, no one is going to be able to tell the title from the name of the author unless expressly told that the author calls themself Ghost, for example. An example of a psuedonym is Stephen King's alter ego, Richard Bachman. Richard Bachman is a believable name that might exist, definitely moreso than Ghost, or Marshmellow, or whatever djs call themselves nowadays.
...If you call yourself ghost, please don't ghostwrite anything, the blurb on the book cover would be madness! Ghost - a tale of love after life. Ghostwritten by Ghost.
It is always best to use new names, meaning not a famous character or say a famous person, just so you don't get shadowed by their popularity.
