Ben Franklin used many pen names. Should you?
by Anne R. Allen
Should you use different pen names if you write in different genres? Do you need to write under a pseudonym because people at work might find out you write steamy romances? Is it easier to write freely if you hide your real identity behind a fake name? Should you use a different pen name for each genre you write in?
Not anymore.
Recently I talked with a veteran author who’d heard from an “expert” that she should only publish books in one genre with her real name, and should republish all her books in other genres under separate names.
I had to tell her she’d been listening to some very outdated advice. You can show genre with cover design, blurb, logo, and many other cues, but publishing under lots of names in the digital age is a recipe for disaster.
Or as social media guru Kristen Lamb says, it’s a ticket to Crazyville.
Multiple pen names aren’t practical in the age of social media. You would have to maintain separate social media accounts and blogs for every one of your personas.
Facebook won’t let you have personal accounts under fake names, so most of your names would be shut out of interacting on Facebook. (And many authors think Facebook ads give you the most bang for your buck in book advertising.)
Plus the new publishing paradigm is blurring genre lines. These days, position in a brick and mortar bookstore isn’t the primary factor in selling books—name recognition is.
Yes, Lots of Writers Have used Pen Names
I know pen names seemed de rigueur in the last century. Aspiring writers used to spend lots of time thinking about possible pseudonyms. I know I did. It was exciting to fantasize about having a literary persona separate from my boring old self. Early in my career, I submitted some stories under the name Anna Rogers, (Rogers is my middle name.) Luckily the magazines rejected my stories and I didn’t have to deal with the hassles of multiple identities.
Historically, there have been lots of good reasons to use a pen name.
In the 19th century, women authors often used a male pen name in order to have their work taken seriously. The Brontës disguised themselves as the Bell brothers; Mary Ann Evans called herself George Elliot; and Amandine Lucie Aurore Dupin became George Sand.
Male authors also routinely chose to use a pen name, often to protect family members from being linked with their public personas, or to keep their real names from being attached to radical political or racy writing. Jean Baptiste Poquelin called himself Moliere, and Benjamin Franklin used dozens of pseudonyms from Alice Addertongue to Richard Saunders.
Sometimes authors wanted to hide their ethnicity or make their names more memorable or pronounceable. Harold Rubin called himself Harold Robbins, and Ford Hermann Hueffer took the more memorable pen name, Ford Maddox Ford.
More recently, some male authors have used female pen names in hopes of selling better to women, who buy more novels. But there’s not much evidence that matters anymore.
1) Big Publishing Made Pen Names Necessary, but That has Changed
In the 20th century, an author would usually use a different pen name for a different genre or even a different series. They also often needed pen names because they wrote “too fast” for traditional publishing. (In those days, they were only allowed one book a year under most contracts.)
- Horror writer Dean Koonz has written under over a dozen pseudonyms, including Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige, Anthony North, and Brian Coffey.
- Erle Stanley Gardner wrote his P.I. mysteries as A.A. Fair and also wrote under the names Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr.
- Romance author Jayne Ann Krenz first wrote under the name Jayne Castle, her maiden name. But she signed a contract allowing one of her publishers to own the name, and, after leaving that publisher, she couldn’t use that name for ten years. So she began writing as Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Stephanie James, Amanda Glass and Amanda Quick.
- Stephen King wrote some of his more psychological work as Richard Bachman—complete with a phony book jacket photo and fake bio. (When Bachman was outed as King, Mr. King wrote that Bachman had died suddenly of “cancer of the pseudonym”.
- And of course romance goddess Nora Roberts writes her thrillers as J. D. Robb.
2) Most Reasons for Pen Names are no Longer Relevant
But most of the reasons for using a pen name don’t matter much anymore. Very few authors are penalized for writing too fast in the digital age. And authors can always self-publish books between big releases.
In the old days, some authors had to change their names because their publishers bought their names, like Jane Ann Krenz. Or their sales didn’t live up to the publisher’s expectations and they could “never write in this town again” unless they became somebody else.
But now we have self-publishing, and even authors with sagging sales want to capitalize on what fans they do have, not toss them aside.
We don’t need to worry about your books being on the wrong shelf in a physical bookstore, either. Most books are bought online.
3) Secrets Don’t Stay Secret in the Digital Age
There are some reasons for a pen name that still make sense. There’s the privacy issue.
The problem is there IS no privacy in the digital age. Eventually you’ll be found out. The Internet hates secrets and loves to hate people who keep them.
Look at Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling and Anita Raja aka Elena Ferrante.
The “unmasking” of Elena Ferrante made headlines all over the world. When there’s a mystery, intrepid reporters and amateur online sleuths will do anything to solve it.
And then there’s the routine “doxing” that happens whenever some bully doesn’t like the ending of your story or something you posted on Facebook. They will find you and out whatever secrets you’re trying to keep.
Some of the Amazon review trolls even accused superstar author Anne Rice of being a fraud because she writes under the name Anne, which she has used since she was five, since her parents gave her the unfortunate name of Harold Allen. I kid you not.
Full disclosure: I was known as “Nancy” for the first three years of my life. When my beloved Aunt Anne got married and moved out of our house, I discovered my real name was Anne and refused to answer to the nickname Nancy. I thought the household needed an Anne, so I had to be her.
I have no doubt the trolls could accuse me of fraud, too.
Okay, There are Good Reasons to use One Pen Name—but not so many for Multiple Pen Names
Besides appeasing the trolls who think anybody is a “fraud” who has changed or matured in any way since they were wearing Huggies, there are sensible reasons to want to use a pen name.
1) It’s the name you’re known by, even if it’s not the name on your birth certificate.
2) Your real name is Harry Potter. Or Stephen King or Kim Kardashian. (Or anyone else, famous or not, is already using your name.)
3) You’ve got a snoozerific real name like John Smith or Anne Allen. If your real name is boring and your parents didn’t give you a nice middle name, you may want to call yourself something more memorable. When I was in high school, I wrote for the school paper as Andree Antiphon. (I’m so glad that one didn’t stick. )
4) Your writing might adversely affect your day job. (Maybe you’re a youth minister who writes steamy erotica.)
5) Or you could have family issues (You’re telling the thinly disguised story of your Uncle Charlie’s secret life as a cabaret singer named Chardonnay.)
6) You’re the victim of cyberbullies. Whistleblowing authors and others who have been victims of online mass bullying and “doxing” may find they simply can’t write under their own names anymore, so they have to start their careers again with a new persona. They’ll have to hope the trolls will have found a new victim and won’t dox the new name.
BTW: Beware too-good-to-be-true marketing schemes and promoters who game the Amazon system. Many are fraudulent, and if you ask for your money back, the ringleaders will get their minions to attack with character assassination via social media and one-star reviews. I have heard lots of heartbreaking stories about one particularly vicious promoter and her army of trolls. Amazon’s lawyers are on her trail, but others will spring up to fill her shoes.
But these are not reasons for multiple pen names. You can use any name you like as your “brand” name, but don’t dilute it by trying to promote more than one brand.
You do need multiple pen names if you’re that youth pastor who writes erotica and you also write inspirational YA romance. Or if you write kid’s picture books and violent thrillers. But unless you write in such wildly different genres, you probably don’t need two separate brands.
4) Writing in Multiple Genres Under one Name is Not a New Idea.
- Carl Sandburg wrote everything from poetry to historical biography to children’s stories—all under the same name.
- Isaac Asimov famously wrote in “every category in the Dewey decimal system.”
- Mary Stewart (ne: Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow) not only invented contemporary romantic suspense, but with her Merlin trilogy wrote some of the best high fantasy ever. She wrote them all as Mary Stewart.
- Neil Gaiman writes books for different ages, from children’s picture books to sophisticated social satire—and penned the screen adaptation of Beowulf—all under his own name.
- Rita Mae Brown also uses her own name for everything from LGBTQ+ literary to cat cozies and 1930s Southern comedy.
And I don’t hear anybody complaining.
Writing in The Passive Voice blog comments last year, epic fantasy author Tom Simon said:
“I’m highly suspicious of that advice about using pseudonyms for different genres; it may only be an artifact of the circumstances in which it originated. All data older than about three years is basically irrelevant to the new publishing model. It may be that the old advice still holds good — but if it does, it will have nothing to do with the original reason behind it. I would be very wary of assuming that the old practice is applicable in the new circumstances.”
5) Brand Trumps Genre in the 21st Century
Just look at a little book called The Cuckoo’s Calling.
A critically acclaimed detective novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, by one “Robert Galbraith” was languishing in the midlist. It had sold only 1,500 copies in the UK when the author was outed to be none other than J.K. Rowling.
After the revelation, the book zoomed to #1 on the bestseller lists.
Branding is everything these days, and for an author, your name is your brand.
Don’t waste your time marketing more than one brand.
As another commenter said on The Passive Voice in response to the Rowling/Galbreith revelation,
“I have not heard that anybody ever got mad because they bought Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare and thought it was a science fiction novel. But a lot of people bought Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare who would never have heard of it if it hadn’t been for Asimov’s SF.”
So don’t worry so much about that one slow-witted reader who can’t tell that a book with a hot shirtless Highlander on the cover is probably a different genre from that thriller with cover art full of guns and blood.
Instead think of all the smart readers who will appreciate that you have time to write more books.
Update: What about Pen Names for Co-Authoring?
I was asked that question on Twitter in reply to a tweet of this post. Obviously the tradition has always been that when two authors co-write a book they choose a pen name that represents them both, often a combination of both names.
But I don’t think that’s such a great idea anymore. Why?
- Who gets the name if you break up? I know of at least two authors who ran into this problem when they broke with co-authors. One co-author lost pretty much everything, because the partner claimed custody of the name. Make sure you have this decided in an ironclad contract before you publish. More on this in “Murder is more Fun with an Accomplice” by Melodie Campbell
- James Patterson co-authors all the time without resorting to pen names.
- Are you ever planning to write under your own name? If you do, you’ll have to start your career again from scratch. Do you really want to do that?
***
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) October 1, 2017 (This is an updated version. I originally listed good reasons for pen names in two places. Now they are consolidated under “Okay, there are Good Reasons to Use One Pen Name…”)
What about you, scriveners? Do you use a pen name? Do you use multiple pen names? How much more work does each pen name create for you?
I also have a new post up on my book blog. It’s #30 in the “Poisoning People for Fun and Profit” series. This month I’m talking about lead poisoning.
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Ah, finally someone who agrees with my perspective. I spend enough time on my own name without having to double or triple or quadruple my efforts to promote multiple personas. Excellent post, Anne.
Kathy–Thanks! I’m glad you agree. I hate to see this bad advice zooming around the Booky forums and writing groups. Old news! We all have too much to do.
Hey, so I’m starting to biuld a blog, it isn’t very far along, but it has a family focus. In the future I want to also have an atheist blog. The problem is that the current idea people have about atheists would ensure that my family centred blog would have zero traffic. I felt like if I did that I’d be forced to use 2 different names to keep them seperate. Would you suggest something different?
Annie–There are some reasons for using multiple pen names, and I wrote about them in another post I should link to with this one. One is if you write something mainstream and something highly controversial, like YA romance and BDSM erotica. I think your two subjects are probably in that category. It’s too bad that’s true, but we live in polarized times.
Ha!
Ain’t that the truth. I fell into having too many names due to a family nickname. Since all my family & neighbors call me Chet or Chester & all my teaching buddies know me as Charlie, I had this absurd thought when I started publishing that it would be more clear who I was if I simply used my initials. Why did it not occur to me that I was simply adding a THIRD identity to an already confusing situation?
Anne — thanks for this post. Perhaps because of your post, younger authors won’t dive into the multiple identity hole into which I have slung myself.
Charlie, Chet, Chester, CS–I know you didn’t get into the multiple-personas game because you were following some archaic publishing rule. Just chance. But the great thing is you have a unique last name. so people can still always find you. Still, it might be better to start consolidating the names now. It would probably not be too hard to change the name on your FB page, Twitter and blog so they’re all the same. Probably the CS Perryess name, since that’s how you’ve published your audiobooks.
Exactly the advice I give my students! I write in four genres (yes four!) My audience does cross over. And the covers/blurbs make it absolutely clear whether a certain book is fantasy, sci-fi, crime, or romance. Absolutely, brand trumps genre these days. Especially when you count on your blog to bring readers to your website – imagine if I had to have four?? Great column, Anne!
Melodie–You’re a perfect example of an author who writes in multiple genres successfully I’m reading one of your Rowena books right now. And the truth is I’d never pick up a paranormal time travel romance. But this is a Melodie Campbell paranormal time travel romance, so I know it’s going to have your signature humor, and I’m loving it!
You’re a doll, Anne! Did I tell you one of my students is a fan of yours now? I hooked her with a paper copy of one of your books. She’s older and prefers them.
Melodie–Thanks much! Tell her there are more where that came from!
If I use a variant of my actual full name, it’s because my WIP began as an idea for a story written by my MCs in another story long ago–the story didn’t exist and I wasn’t gonna write it but was in a hurry for an idea so I translated my name: Gabriella Garlock = Messenger (angel) Spear Tournament.
But as I added reasons for writing that story the subject worked and now I actually do write about a class of Messengers who carry spears etc. etc. and slapping my name with its etymology on it seems just a little too neat and cute. Er, if anyone even noticed.
So maybe I won’t mess with the ponderous G. Lynn Garlock after all. It isn’t me.
G. Lynn–So many writers I know started out with a persona or blog linked to one book. Nobody tells us it’s not a good idea, and I know why we do it. When we’re starting out, we focus on one book because thinking of multiple books can seem so overwhelming.
But I’d suggest that you try to consolidate all your social media under one name. “Historewriter” isn’t going to promote the books of G. Lynn Garlock, and Gabriella Garlock may not be linked to G. Lynn. It will take a little work, but if you choose one name and put all your social media in that name, you can save yourself a huge amount of work later on.
Yes, I’m Gabriella L. Garlock (also) on Twitter, WordPress, Facebook…That’s how it will stay.
“Plus the new publishing paradigm is blurring genre lines. These days, position in a brick and mortar bookstore isn’t the primary factor in selling books—name recognition is.” – – Love this! Can we quote you? I wanna make a Pinterest meme out of this.
Gabriella–I love to be in memes! Go for it and send me a link! Thanks!
Yeah, I wish someone had pointed that out to me when I made my web site The Ninja Librarian. One of these days I’ll get my act together and make the blog a subset of a Rebecca M. Douglass writer page.
Rebecca–Meanwhile, just change the header of your blog to “Rebecca M. Douglass, the Ninja Librarian” and start using that when you talk about the blog.
In terms of indie publishers, multiple pen names can cut down your sales. You won’t get people who might crossover and read a different genre.
I had to add my middle name to my name because it was so ordinary and common. You can Google the full name and find me, but under first and last, several other people showed up first.
Linda–You’re right that self-publishers can actually lose sales if the books are under a different name, because you get noticed on Amazon by the number of books under your name. And yes, fans will lose out on finding your other books.
“Anne Allen” is right up there with “Linda Adams,” so I totally relate. Without my middle initial, I’m completely invisible and un-Googlable.
Can you imagine multiple Twitter accounts and blogs and everything else for all those pen names?
James Patterson writes almost every genre out there using his real name. Good enough for me.
Alex–It would be a total nightmare. I know one writer who maintains two personas, but I hardly ever hear from her anymore. I know it’s just because she doesn’t have time.
And yeah, if James Patterson is doing something, you can be pretty sure it’s going to be good for the old bottom line. The man knows how to sell books.
As you might imagine, Icy isn’t my real name 😉 Sedgwick is my real surname though. I only adopted Icy because when I started submitting short stories in 2008, I wanted something that would be memorable (and wouldn’t necessarily give away my gender as they were horror stories). It was my Internet nickname at the time anyway and I thought nothing of it. But anyone who’s also mates with me on Facebook will know me as LJ Sedgwick so I don’t exactly hide my real name, I just don’t broadcast it either. But I’d never set up a completely independent pen name because it’s difficult enough balancing personas for academia and fiction writing as it is!
Icy–I often wondered if that was your real name. It could be a nickname for Isabel or something. It is memorable. And choosing a name to write under that’s more memorable than your own can be a great marketing move. As long as you only use the one name. 🙂 Contemporary life is way too complicated already.
i have a very generic name – Sue Smith. Even if you add in the middle initial of C you’ll find multiple people with the same name, many of the authors, using this or a variant with initials. . Eighteen years ago i switched from writing to fine art and built a reputation using Sue (difficult to pronounce maiden name) Smith, because an art consultant pointed out she also had ten different sue smiths in her database. I’m facing the same question now. Under these circumstances, is using my real name a benefit or a distraction? I self-published an art book using the “art: name, but it’s too long to be practical and I’m writing fiction, now. I’d be interested in your experience.
Sue–I feel your pain. Anne Allen is about as generic as Sue Smith. My first book was published without my middle initial, and I think that’s one of the reasons it failed. I understand the problem with a long name, though. Book designers hate them. They’re tough to fit on a cover. Plus an unpronounceable name isn’t going to be memorable. I guess I’d try an initial, then Google Sue Q. Smith or whatever to see how much competition there is. If you can’t go with the initial, then maybe try a shorter middle name, even if it’s not the one your parents gave you. You could choose a family name, like Catherine Ryan Hyde (Ryan was her mom’s maiden name) or go the full Bob Dylan route and choose the name of an author you admire. “Sue Austen Smith” would be memorable. 🙂 So would Sue Lovecraft Smith or Sue Patterson Smith. Play around with it!
Could you use your full middle name? I did mine that way because two writers I read are like that (one with a common name like mine). My only problem is that with my middle name, people often think they’re said together and they’re not.
*snort* (You’re telling the thinly disguised story of your Uncle Charlie’s secret life as a cabaret singer named Chardonnay.) *snort* You always get at least one good laugh out of me, Anne.
This topic caught my eye because I’d been discussing pen names with a friend just this week. We were both doing the bootcamp that Platt & Truant put on and one of them made an offhanded comment about using a pen name at first until you got to be a better writer or something like that. The idea being that if you later became known you wouldn’t want your initial inferior fiction to catch up with you.
I thought that was kind of the weirdest reason I’d ever heard for using a pen name but maybe not.
I used to entertain the idea of using a pen name and mostly for privacy reasons – but as you say that age is over. With a capital O. If you dare to try to keep a secret in the Internet age, it will come after you until you confess whatever you are hiding – so, yeah so much for that idea.
I kind of like that writers aren’t doing that so much any more. They cross genres, publish themselves, in some cases even invent sub genres – to me, publishing and writing is a whole new exciting industry these days. You can just about do anything, as long as you are good enough to pull it off.
Thanks for the laugh, I truly needed that today.
Annie
Annie–I love it when people enjoy the little “Easter egg” jokes I put in my examples.
My reaction is the same as yours to the “write bad work under a fake name until you get better.” There’s another solution to that problem: Don’t publish your work until you get better! You’re right that this is an age of great opportunity for writers “as long as you are good enough to pull it off.” Well said!
good timing since I was seriously considering using one for my new efforts at women’s/literary fiction …..
Liz–“Liz Crowe” is such a great name. If Rita Mae Brown can write in all those genres, so can you!
This might be one of the Top Five Reasons I’m Failing As A Human Being.
Louis–Are you suffering from multiple pen name disorder? I can imagine it’s overwhelming. Because you have to be lots of human beings instead of one. That’s not failing. It’s just being on overload.
I wrote a technical book under a pen name at the insistence of my employer, McGraw-Hill–and it was a very bad idea as I never got any credit. And it turned out to be a very good book that made them a lot of money.
Sue–What a nightmare! I think Big Publishing has done this a lot in the past. Even if you’re getting a flat fee, they could let you have the credit and your name on the cover. It could benefit your career in so many ways! Sorry you had to go through that. Thanks for sharing your story!
I love my name and will be proud to see it on my novels–when and if they are published!!
Beth–Yes. You have a great name for an author!
I write under K.M. Carroll and do all my social media under Kessie Carroll, so ALREADY people can’t find my books. Argh! I make sure to provide them with plenty of book spam to make the books easy to find. 😀
I always think of Rachel Aaron. She wrote a sci fi series under Rachel Bach, so of course they’re on a different Amazon page and everything. I had no idea she had them until I found her blog where she lamented their poor sales because nobody ever finds them. Pen names just aren’t practical if you’re indie.
Kessie–Putting your book cover with the K.M. in front of people a lot should help. Also it’s easier to find a K.M. from “Kessie” than it is to find “Kessie” from K.M. You’re probably doing fine.
But you’re so right about Rachel Aaron/Bach. It’s so hard for readers to cross over and find you in the age of Amazon. Not just indie authors. All authors are influenced by the way Amazon is set up. We have to adapt or get invisible. .
I agree with everything you say about pen names. It always seemed nuts to me use a different name for different genres. Having said that, I am still in a quandary as to use a pen name. No one can pronounce or spell my name, Chanah Liora Wizenberg and it is long. I am considering, A. J. Clay. My sons are Aaron and Jacob and my maiden name is Clay. Any thoughts? I sure would appreciate it! Thank you!
Chanah–I don’t know. Chanah and Liora are wonderful, memorable names. You want to stand out. What about Chanah Wize? Or Chanah Liora? Stay as close to your own reality as possible. You’ll be doing some of your marketing in real life. If people know you as Chanah, keep it. It’s a great name.
I actually find myself wondering if a name if real or not these days. And if it’s not, I sometimes feel a little duped. Great post!!
Ryan–I think people do feel a little cheated. Especially kids. I remember when I found out that Caroline Keene didn’t exist and the Nancy Drew books were written by a man and his stable of writers. I was furious.
I have used a pen name but I won’t again. I’m proud of my work and so I want my name to be on it. : )
But what if you use your married name and years down the road–when your author career is established–you get a divorce? I imagine it would be very uncomfortable to continue to use your married name. But if you change it you face a re-marketing problem.
Thankfully, I’m happily married and so won’t be facing this problem. So it’s just a what-if question.
Leanne–That happened to my mom! She wrote under the name Shirley Allen and then she and my dad got a divorce. But she kept publishing as Shirley Allen. It was easier than creating a whole new career with her maiden name. She got married two more times but she kept using the name Allen for writing and teaching. She just called it her “professional name.”
Great post Anne. When I began publishing I chose to alter my name slightly as a pen name, foolishly thinking it would disguise me from some too, not realizing that my life on social media exposes both my names. I’m grateful I’m not one of those writers who write in multiple genres having to babysit all those social sites. 🙂
Debby–I think we all feel the need to “disguise” ourselves when we start out. Writing can leave you feeling so vulnerable, so a pen name can feel like protection, but it isn’t really, and it’s more hassle than it’s worth in the age of social media.
I actually started out using one of my chat room personas as a pen name, but quickly realized after an epic fail that using a chat room persona will not a serious writing people will take. So when I landed my one and only traditional contract, I decided to tweak my name (initials plus last name) and use that as a pen name.
I can easily be found on FB as I have both my pen name and my real name (listed in parenthesis) on my accounts. Makes life a lot easier.
G. B. Oh, those old chat room personas! I called myself Lavinia Parker in an early writing forum. I thought i might use it as a pen name. I’m soooo glad I didn’t. As long as you list both your names on all your social media, people can find you. 🙂
Great info, as always Anne! I’d like to see if it holds true for this situation, though. I now write (as M. Ruth Myers) a mystery series featuring a woman P.I. in the 1940s, with my website and blog reflecting those books. To my surprise, many readers have branded them “clean” just because they have no sex and only occasional very mild swear words.
In a few months I expect to start releasing some backlist titles to which I regained rights. They came out under my full name Mary Ruth Myers, were romances, feature lots of gauzy-focus sex scenes and have an average amount of swearing, including a couple of F-bombs. I fear if I release them as M. Ruth, some of the loyal readers who read anything under that name, will read them, be offended, and express that outrage in 1-star reviews. I had been planning to issue them under the original Mary Ruth Myers name and simply give them a separate tab on my website. I wouldn’t set up any separate social media for them. There’s a separate Amazon author page under that name, although all those old titles still link to my main page if you get down in the weeds enough. Thoughts?
M. Ruth–I think because these are already published under that name, and “Mary” probably has fans, it would be more trouble than it’s worth to republish under the M. Ruth brand. The fact they are very different in tone can be shown with covers, etc, but it is a factor. And mostly it would be easier to have a page on your website than change the name on the books. (Amazon is impossible about changing metatdata like that.) So I’d say go the easiest route and keep your Mary books separate from your M. Ruth books but include them on your website.
You can merge the two identities on your Amazon author page by merging your two identities through Author Central, so all the books will come up in a search for you. I’d suggest trying that, just so readers who want to cross over can find the romances. Then make sure your covers and blurbs reflect the steamy quality of the romances.
Thanks, Anne. I definitely plan to emphasize on the blurbs and and product description that these are steamy little puppies. And of course, I hope the covers reflect it too. I think the two names already are linked on Author Central, and thus the books are linked. I do appreciate your input on this.
Sounds like you’re ahead of me on all this!
As always, Anne, great advice for anyone still struggling with this question. Other than the fact that my mother insists I should be known by my maiden name, Debbie Jackson – after all, she contends she contributed to my being here at all – I’ve always felt strongly about being known by my own legal name.
I’ve now FB forwarded your post to my writer’s group, many of whom don’t believe serious writers need to be on social media (another topic for another day), so we can have a discussion at our meeting in 2 weeks.
Thank you.
Debbie–I think you made the right decision. We’re marketing all the time these days, so having the same name for all your activities really helps.
Serious writers don’t need to be on social media…as long as they have a time machine and only intend to market their books in the 20th century. 🙂 Haha. Margaret Atwood is on Twitter and so is Stephen King. Anne Rice has a huge Facebook following. If they need social media, you can bet newbie writers do too..
Good one, Anne. It’s something I’ve wanted to know more about.
I’ve been a person where different nicknames have been prominent in different chapters of life.
I began writing online in a different field from my professional presence, so I started with a nickname as a pen name. That name took on a life of it’s own, becoming the #1 search term used to find the site. It became my domain name, etc.
When I started publishing magazine articles, I wanted to use my real name, so I “came out” on the blog with my real name and background. The pen name continues but regular readers know my real name and its obvious on background pages.
When it came time to publish my first book, I debated this further. My last name isn’t very common but I discovered there were 6 other authors with the same first-last combo on Amazon. A middle initial was possible but something more distinctive was better. I decided to use “first, ‘pen name,’ last name” as it tied it together.
But I do get where that choice of pen name can have long-term unintended consequences. Especially if you write across genres.
David–I’m hearing from lots of writers who have used different pen names over the years. I think you’re handling it the right way. If you make it clear on your website that all these names are yours, and you don’t try to have different social media accounts for each name, it should work fine. Especially if you choose one main name for your books.
Sometimes people MUST use several names–say if they write erotica and kids’ books. But that does double your workload. But it sounds as if you’re consolidating all the personae, so that should work.
OK–so I am going to be the fly in the ointment because that’s what I do. I work with a lot of authors that write with pen names due to privacy concerns and I don’t see anything wrong with that if they want to do the extra work. I totally disagree that it’s a conundrum in the social media age. It may be on some channels but you don’t need to be everywhere. Since Facebook changed their group policy this summer, authors can now set up groups as their business page name (pen name) and interact as that name–no more requiring people to have a group under their profile name. And no offense, but why would it matter that your profile is your real name? You shouldn’t be using your profile to promote your books anyway–it’s not set up for that. There is no need to have any connection between your profile and your business page. Pen names are a personal choice and require extra work but authors that want to write genres that would put their real life name at risk should have at it. I agree that there’s no need any more to use pen names for multiple genre writers, but there will be some brand confusion you’ll have to deal with if you do that. And some people have awkward and clunky real names that aren’t real marketable. It’s your Facebook business page name that counts when it comes to promoting your books. Just sayin’
Chris–If people have the time to spend promoting more than one name–great! I’m only saying that it’s time consuming in ways new authors may not anticipate. And if they need a pen name for privacy, then do it! (as I said about the memoirist with an Uncle named Chardonnay.) But that doesn’t require *multiple* names.
The new FB group policy does make it easier for authors to interact, but social media is social, so most of the important networking we do is not actively selling books, but making friends, and that’s what we do on our “Friend” FB pages. It’s only with that page that we can “like” and share other people’s posts and get to know them. Here’s a LinkedIn post I read this AM about how real “networking” happens organically, when you’re making friends, not sales. http://on.inc.com/2yH4h16 I look forward to your visit here in November!
Wow. Clearly it’s a hot topic. Ever since I knew I wanted to write, age 4. I dreamed about having a pen name. No idea why. It was just part of the growing up to be a writer fantasy. I published my first novel under my real name, my second under my pen name. I like having one. It gives me distance. A chance to not take comments too personally. It also presents problems, like whether I need to create a whole other persona. (I didn’t.) And it makes it hard to to do in-person readings (didn’t want to do them anyway). But overall, I’m enjoying it. Definitely an introvert thing. Now that I’ve been using one for a few months, I agree that having multiple names would be crazy making. Two twitter accounts is about as much as I can handle.