The Writer’s Circle recently posted an article on some famous authors and their pseudonyms. It made for interesting reading. The article is here if you’d like to read it.
I think the only one I’d heard of in a significant way was JK Rowling’s, especially seeing as it happened since I became a published author. But the others weren’t that familiar to me, and in spite of enjoying his books, I never knew what Dr Seuss’ full name was. It was nice to discover that ‘Seuss’ was actually part of his name. It would have seemed odd if he was really Fred Smith, or something like that. Although, if it was Fred Smith, I can understand why he thought a name like Seuss would be more memorable!
When my debut novel was accepted for publication, I gave serious consideration to writing under a pseudonym, but decided against it. While it can be useful for reasons of anonymity, I wanted to see my real name on my books. Another driving force was the fact that I already had my real name ‘out there’ in the writing world. As Lynne Stringer, or Lynne Bennett (my maiden name), as I was for one of them, I won two journalistic awards from my days as a journalist and editor. I’d also written a screenplay under my real name, so there didn’t seem to be much point in inventing a nom de plume for my fiction. It seemed a better idea to link them all.
Amongst all my author friends, as far as I know, only one writes under a pseudonym. I don’t know her reasons for doing it, and I sometimes wonder what they are. Was it for reasons of anonymity? That’s definitely one that I think most likely; to keep your personal self and your public persona separate. I’m not sure what other reasons authors might have these days. I know that Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot) chose her name because she believed she would not be taken seriously as a writer if people knew she was a woman. This was also one of the reasons why Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte chose Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell as their pseudonyms (although they were also motivated by the desire for privacy). I hope that’s not required by female authors these days, although perhaps it is in certain genres.
Are you an author? Do you write under your real name or a pseudonym? Why did you choose to do that? Are you a reader? What do you think of authors using pseudonyms? Leave a comment in the comment section below and let me know.
Actually, according to an article I read recently, publishing houses are still biased towards male writers, except for the Romance genre. I’ve heard of men who have used female pseudonyms to get published in that field. I have a writer friend who uses a pseudonym for her erotica books (she’s not a Christian), to protect herself from strange men who think she’s just waiting for them to call. (It’s actually happened to her. She’s had a few stalkers!) As I don’t write in either of those genres I decided to just use my initials and leave things a tad mysterious. 🙂
Yikes! I guess that genre would attract some unsavory types.
Hi Lynne – Interesting blog. It’s something I’ve thought about too, but like you, I think I’d rather go with my on name at the moment.
I think there’s a difference between people who use a pseudonym for privacy and those who use it for other reasons. Re privacy, some people may be writing about sensitive topics and don’t want to implicate family and friends (e.g. in cases of abuse) or perhaps they just want to keep their private life separate from their professional life (e.g. the doctor who writes novels about hospital scandals and malpractice suits).
But I know of other authors who use different names to distinguish between the different genres in which they write, but it’s no secret. For example, Kim Wilkins writes her fantasy novels under her own name, but her women’s fiction under the name of Kimberley Freeman. I also heard Lee Child being interviewed once and he said that one reason he chose ‘Child’ as a pseudonym was because the Cs are usually in a good position in bookstores. I guess there could also be a time when a person’s name didn’t fit the book they were writing. For example, it might be hard to sell a romance novel by Ethel Splogg, but you never know.
Good point about the Cs. I think having an S surname is a disadvantage. Maybe I should have decided to use my maiden name. B is a lot earlier in the alphabet.
I’ve come across two reasons for choosing one.
1) Some authors have chosen a name they like better than their own. That must be like living out a dream in more ways than one.
2) Sometimes they write more than one genre and choose to keep them separate and not lose fans. In these cases, they may go with their real names for one.
Yes, I think both those reasons are good ones … especially the first! 🙂
Hi Lynne
I’m with you, using your ‘real’ name seems the best idea to me. (Unless privacy is an important issue). As a writer and speaker it seems logical to promote a book with your own name on it. And isn’t it exciting to see your own name on the cover of a book!?
Thanks for your post.
It certainly is exciting. 🙂
There was never any thought about using a pseudonym for my books although I can understand using one for anonymity. It’s also nice to see my real name on my books and saves having to explain why I would choose to write under a pseudonym. Each to their own I guess.
Yes, there would likely be a never-ending stream of people who would ask, ‘Why did you do that?’ It might get tedious.
Another reason of using a pseudonym – or at least using a variation of one’s own name (initials, married versus birth name, nicknames, etc) – is social media visibility. Either there is already a very well known author with the same or similar name that perhaps writes in a genre inimical to your own (eg s/he writes erotica and you write sweet romance) – or your name is so common it is very hard to distinguish yourself from everyone else with that name – e.g. Jane Smith might want to go by her middle name (or invent one).
Very true.