What happens when an author gets paid, and their accounts are in a different name. I know its a thick question, I think I would have a pen name, but wondered about the technical money side of it all.
the pen name only appears on the work... all correspondence, contracts, payment, etc., is done in the writer's legal name...
If you want to conduct business under a pen name, let’s say ‘Charlie Light Speed’, then acquire a DBA (Doing business as). This only pertains if you wish to conduct ‘business’ as such. You can then present yourself as such a person. It is perfectly legal in the States. You can then be interviewed on television as ‘Charlie Light Speed’. I agree with Maia. I’m just going one step further; just in case you were wanting to present yourself under that name. But that’s in the US. I don’t know of the equivocal method used in the UK.
hello Thankyou so much for that, I had never heard of DBA and am unaware of any similar method to taking a pen name over here, I wonder if there is one.
I've never heard of this DBA thing. It seems unnecessarily complicated... When you submit a manuscript, the name on the byline (beneath the title) is the only one which would appear on a published work. This you put as your pen name. But for the rest of the correspondence is conducted under your real name, i.e. on the cover letter, at the top of the manuscript, etc. This is the normal way of doing things, and it doesn't require any forms or anything like that.
Ahh I get it, thankyou so much. See I had visions of cheques going in the wrong name and bank accounts and all sorts of daft senarios. then ringing up to correct the mistakes, not that I will ever be published any way.
I guess DBA is an American thing. If I want to publish my book as 'Joe Desk' (being my name), then I will have a pen name as Joe Desk. But if I want to take correspondence, monies or promote as Joe Desk, then I need a DBA. Over here, I just walk into my local tax office and request a DBA. If it doesn’t match any listed names on file, I pay $10, get it and move on. How do you know if an author is really using their real name in business? This is a form of 'assumed identity'. I was only responding to your piece: ‘I think I would have a pen name’. In the US, a pen name can be assumed identity. In my case, I sell my little writings under a pen name. I collect payments as Joe Desk (again, just a random name). And yes, some people just like a nice little story. They spend a dollar. And they like it on a nice e-book. But I never have to reveal my real name to the public. I would have to be in a lot of hot water. As I posted earlier, I’m going one step further. This only applies if you want to be that person. So take your pen name. And do so much more.
The Author gets paid all the money he/she deserves, just under the pen name. It's quite simple, actually. Everything goes to the person but under a different name.
