Jan 26, 2018 nonfiction self published book authors may be wondering whether a pen name is appropriate for their self published book. In terms of marketing, i have a few nonfiction business books under my own name. I havent tried, but it would seem that you can do this for as many books and as many names as you like with kdp. A pen name may be used to make the authors name more distinctive, to disguise the. How and when should writers use a pen name or pseudonym. But regardless of why one chooses to use a pseudonym, creating a pen name can play an important part in your book s marketing. Essays from the classics to pop culture, was a finalist for the nbcc award in criticism and the pen art of the essay prize. A pen name is a pseudonym used by authors in place of their real names. Another reason an author might use a pen name is if their real name is the same as an established author writing in the same genre. Seuss, theodor seuss geisel, 20th century american writer and cartoonist, best known for his childrens books, aka theo lesieg. Stephen king as it was believed that an author shouldnt publish more than one book per year, he started to simultaneously write as richard bachman. Many romance novel writers come up with flowery pen names like millicent renault to hide their more boring name of joan miller. Literary novelists almost never change their names, but at the commercial end of the market authors are doing it with increasing frequency.
Go to the website for the united states patent and trademark office and use the trademark electronic search system tess to check that the words or name you want to trademark are available. K rowling, when writing the harry potter series of books. For example, lets say you want to write a serious adult drama, but also have a passion for writing a childrens picture book. If youve written something in the past that youre not particularly proud of or content that youd like to distance yourself from, a pen name can provide a new beginning for you.
I have the write4all in my bag because it works well on washi tape, and if i have to write coopers name on something, i know which pen to pick. I dont see where there would be a problem in using pen names. How to change your author name to a pen name when selfpublishing. These are not the same genre as the clean romance i. This is so that you can receive checks in the correct name, which is linked to your social security number. Barnard included a long fatal love chase, a dark love story written. I would like to get a mail address for the pen name, but it looks like i need to file a dba doing business as under that name first and then itd only take a quick computer search for. Pen names have also been used by established authors who want to write in another genre and want to use the pen name to target an entirely different audience. This is an excerpt from how to market a book third edition, available now in ebook, print and audiobook formats 1. Maybe youre writing erotica and dont want mom to know.
How to create yours by jennifer blanchard lists 31 ideas for generating your perfect pen name and is worth a look. Can i write a nonfiction book using an anonymous pen name. I know that an author can use a pen name pseudonym instead of a true name when publishing the traditional way. But regardless of why one chooses to use a pseudonym, creating a pen name can play an important part in your books marketing. Sep 16, 2016 but with the pen name, i know exactly what im getting before i buy a book. Choosing a pseudonym can be as daunting as naming a character, especially since the character is you. However, if your book takes off and you want to pursue it, it will help if your. Those people that will be in my book are consenting to me writing about them. How to publish anonymously under a pen name law 4 small. This is done by signing contracts with the publisheragent using the real name corresponding to the pen name. When considering possible pen names, you also may want to keep in mind how anonymous you want to be. To overcome this sales stigma, an author might bury his name or pen name and give birth to a new pseudonym, hoping for a second chance with publishers and readers. Mar 29, 2019 for example, if you write primarily literary fiction but want to write romance or erotic fiction under a different name, your pen name might have a flowery, romantic bent.
Mar 29, 2019 using a pen name can also complicate selling subsidiary and reprint rights to your work, your heirs inheritance of your rights and foremost, the processing of your advance and royalty payments. What are the pros and cons of using a pen name for writing. It could be for marketing purposes or it could just be for their own comfort. This can include your valid pen name, date of birth and a photo which are the requirements for a valid membership id in facebooks requirements. Kickstart your writing career with this pen name generator that boasts over 1. If you have a really long name, or its hard to pronounce those could be good reasons to use a pen name. I have used different pen names in several of my books and a number of articles.
If youre writing books that are related or might have a larger crossover audience, then dont do a pen name. Sep 22, 2014 a pen name can serve you well, it can be a great tool to give you more control over your professional options in the publishing world. Andrews, because that pen name actually is trademarked by the publisher of v. May 22, 2014 and the advantage of a pen namein my case, at leastis that it gives said writer the courage to perform for his imaginary audience, no matter how charmless or pretentious he might feel. People out there know whom to pick a fight with whe. I write and blog under a pen name, but for my sole published work which was an unpaid short story for an online magazine.
Rowling has written and published books under the pen name robert galbraith. It also gives you the chance to see what people close to you really think of your writing without them knowing it. Seuss, theodor seuss geisel, 20thcentury american writer and cartoonist, best known for his childrens books, aka theo lesieg. Many people could use a fresh start in their writing careers. When i was cutting my writers teeth as a journalist and feature writer, i was keen to establish that highly desirable tag, a byline. Using different author names or a pseudonym as a writer. Helen sedwick, a writer for the book designer, cleared up all of my questions in her article should you be using a pen name. The three sisters chose to write under masculine pseudonyms to deter any bias on the basis of their gender.
The author presented some items that i had never really considered book signings make sure you can write that pen name. This post was more as a response to people who have been questioning my decision to use my real name on my memoir. Authors too numerous to count write under multiple names across various genres for people like me. Nonfiction self published book authors may be wondering whether a pen name is appropriate for their self published book. Sometimes if a person becomes famous perhaps they prefer to keep their everday life private and simply use the pen name when writing books and doing a book tour.
A pen name allows you to write and publish your book anonymously. Dec 17, 2019 adding or editing author names on a book record. Over the years ive been asked my opinion about authors using pen names. If instead she used a pen name of soon liu see she might get more sales, because readers would build an impression that the books seemed more authentic. In addition, an easy second form of id is a credit card. You are writing this book to grow your business or build your brand in most cases. The pen name lends a hint of exotic mystery to the book. If you want to write under a pen name, its usually best to let the publisher know your real name, but ask to have the pen name used as your byline. Joanna talked about her decision to write under two names last year when she chatted with the write practice team. These are all some pretty serious reasons that justified authors using a pen name. In this case, your publisher may suggest a pen name to help boost sales of your new book and break the association with the poorly received book. With a real name like mine, i could write just about anything because i already have a gender neutral name. Jan 24, 2008 i want to write an inspirational story, about my life, thats true. Thanks to cassandra gaisford for suggesting this topic.
If you write in multiple genres with little overlap fiction vs. Seuss has published books under the pen name theo lesieg. You may or may not intend to brand your pen name or write more books under it. Jul 01, 2014 more prosaically, a new name can be useful for commercial reasons, if one name hasnt sold well.
If an authors rate of return is 50% or higher after his third published novel, publishers will shy away from buying that authors future books. Another interesting note is that the k in her authors name. Trademark your pen name if you want to identify a body of work such as a book series or screenplays. This is a wonderful guide giving the reader several worksheets on creating their pen name. A pen name will allow an author to avoid paying taxes. For example, if my name was charles dickens of ernest hemingway, i think id change it to something else to avoid confusion, no matter how fond i was of my own name. Her publishers were afraid that young boys would not want to read the books if they knew the author was a woman, so she used her initial instead of full name and added the fabricated k for good measure. Hence my earliest publications, which were selfhelp books and contained a good deal of personal anecdotal material, were written with anonymity and privacy.
Maybe youre not sure youre putting out your best work yet, and would rather not have your name associated with mediocre works while youre learning. You should also add a new author central account author page for your new name to help you promote your books. I guess that depends on what youre writing and if you want everyone to know you wrote it. Everything authors need to know about pen names create if writing. Pen names cannot and should not be used for any unlawful purpose, either civil or criminal. I write under my pen name for a web content site that allows me to use it, but have the paypal account that is linked to the site for payments set up in my own name.
They want to use a pseudonym to remain anonymous and to write in various genres without confusing their readers. If youre writing about a controversial topic, you may want to use a pen name. If you are publishing with kindle direct publishing kdp, using a pen name on amazon is very easy. Personally, im using a pen name because my first name is mispronounced by most people and my last name is one of the most common on earth. There are a few reasons why some writers or artists pick pen names. Everything you wanted to know about pseudonyms and werent. Perhaps the most famous is nora roberts, but theres also the bestselling romantic suspense author jayne ann krentz, who writes historical romance as amanda quick and. Avoid any name already used by a writer, since that is likely to confuse readers. This is a list of pen names used by notable authors of written work. Piers anthony, one of my faves, used his first two names as his pen name, but then went on to write large screeds about himself, including his full name, and how he came up with things like the death watch, as extra chapters in some of his books, and quite frankly they were some of the best writing ive read. Why do authors use pseudonyms surprising authors behind famous pen names key criteria to come up with the. It represented my legal name at the time i was first published, and enabled. This is a complete reprint of the pen name post i did back in january because i am getting so many questions about pen names lately. First of all, my last name is so strange that i dont think anyone could spell it to find my books, which is the main reason i decided to go with a pen name and the second is that i feel like i couldnt be myself and write like.
The pros and cons of using a pen name kn literary arts. And, of course, always default to the individual editors or literary agents submission guidelines if heshe specifies the method by which you should note your pen name. If the intent is to deceive, to disguise the fact that the writer is producing three books a year making some people leery of their quality, or to disguise the fact this is a nonfiction author venturing into fiction, or whatever, then i have problems with it. Writers use pen names for different reasons, including wanting to disguise their gender, to protect themselves, to combine two or more authors into one name, to distinguish their current work from previous publications, to avoid confusion with another author of the same. However, a picture book actually requires all the same major storytelling elements that a novel does such as welldrawn characters and an intriguing plot just in a much. It also helps to avoid muddying up your also boughts on amazon with the wrong books because of author name overlap. The only problem is i like the permanent ink which is hard to find. I get the pen name question more than any other question.
Seven legal myths about pen names sidebar saturdays. Rowling famously tried to escape the harry potter series by writing as robert galbraith. Many writers are prolific across different genres but to keep fans from being confused, authors use separate names, so. Using a pen name on a blog or site affiliate marketer training. Why do romance authors write under multiple pseudonyms. The first author field is for entering the primary author of the book. Draft2digital manages pen names in a similar fashion to kdp. Sep 26, 2014 but i got to thinking recently and wondered. Author joanne rowling adopted the more masculine sounding pen name, j. Why every writer should consider a pen name bookfox.
I like to use a different name for different genres. In this blog longtime book editor kelly notaras lays out the. How to write a childrens picture book in 8 steps it might be tempting to think that writing a childrens picture book is easier than writing a fulllength novel. If youre writing a memoir, then i would use my real name. I dont want to hurt anyone by this book, especially those that are going to be in my book. Some authors give themselves a pen name for the purpose of anonymity. Once you decide on a list of possibilities, do the following. Some authors have used a false name for lifeordeath reasons, because they live under oppressive regimes, or have dangerous things to say about powerful people for some, its been a matter of privacy. I do not care to register my book with a, because then you have to list your real name.
Attempting to skirt income tax by using a pen name. Mar 08, 2017 charlottes sister, emily bronte, published her only known novel, wuthering heights, under the male pen name ellis bell. Besides a pen name can be used by more than one person to sustain the longevity of a book. Using author pen names on facebook and getting locked out.
Barnard to write sensational gothic thrillers with subject matter deemed unladylike for a late 19th century female writer. Emily brontes health was poor throughout most of her life, and she died at 30 in the year 1848. If you write a book under the pen name taylor swift or derek jeter, you may be accused of trying to pass yourself off as the celebrity. Jul 19, 2019 you belong to another identity, another person. These are the same steam level in terms of sexual content which matters to readers, though the audiences might not be a 100% match. There are no concrete rules when it comes to using a pen name in your book, short prose, or poetry submissions. An example might be writing clean romance and clean romantic suspense. Should you use a pen name to write your nonfiction book. Should you write your book under your own name, or should you use a pen name. So if youre a practicing attorney and dont want your clients or partners to know you write steamy romance novels on the side, youll want to use a pen name. In the past, one could often use a pseudonym for all editorial correspondence, and simply make an arrangement with ones bank to have checks deposited under ones pen name.
Tricks and traps of using a pen name sidebar saturdays. Contact your major credit card issuer and request a second card be issued to an authorized user in the name of your pen name. Every time you publish a book, youre putting your name out into the world people will look for you on amazon and other bookselling sites, theyll look on social media sites, and theyll look for an author website being a wellknown writer and having your name instantly recognized might be the ideal for most selfpublished authors. Writers have adopted pseudonyms or pen names to disguise themselves for a number of reasons. Use a pen name to switch genres or professions joanna penn is a bestselling nonfiction writer. All you need to do is add your new name as the authors name in the contributors section when you are preparing the book for publication.
Now, however, publishers are required to inform the irs via form 1099 of payments made to writers, which means that they must have your social security number and your. Be sure to properly spell and capitalize the name or the book will not link to the correct author profile and become harder to find in the goodreads database. I think the pen name is a great way to go, but there will likely always be people who can follow internet breadcrumbs to find information about you if they want. Nov 17, 20 his most recent book, waiting for the barbarians.
To differentiate brands and write in different genres. I like to publish books under pen names if i didnt personally write the book. A pen name may be used to make the authors name more distinctive, to disguise the authors. You can use your trademark on all of your work legally. All that said, heres the three reasons why almost all nonfiction authors should not use a pen name. A pen name may be used to make the authors name more distinctive, to disguise the authors gender, to distance the author from their other works, to protect the author from retribution for their writings, to combine more than one author into a single author, or for any of a number of reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic. Nov 28, 20 whenever youre deciding on a penname, its always worth googling it to see if anyone else has the name already, or searching on amazon or other bookrelated sites. This is how to market books under a pen name smartauthorslab. Goodreads authorsreaders pen name for erotic fiction. On the flip side, though, taking a pen name for the wrong reasons could hurt you if you dont think carefully and strategically about why youre publishing under a different name. Manuscript submissions under a pen name mel menzies. And the list goes on and on amongst many other famous pen names and authors.