I know there are a few writers kicking around here, so I'd really like an opinion on a discussion I had!
Pen names are pseudonyms adopted by authors to hide their identity, distancing or protecting themselves from their work. I believe that pen names are important, especially with controversial material, for safety/privacy reasons as well as encouraging an unbiased analysis of the text itself. Example: perhaps a white woman writes a book about the struggles of black women. She might be spot on or miss the mark entirely, but either way she is likely to be heavily criticized.
My friend, however, believes it's important to share your identity just as much as it is to write the book. The idea being that the author can participate in discussion surrounding the material, and their audience can have a better understanding of the text's roots.
What are your thoughts on this? Would you adopt a pseudonym?
It's a tough question. Personally, I'd go with a pseudonym. Once you go famous, you don't go back. The notoriety might be fun for a day or two, but it would get old quickly. Plus, I very much enjoy being left alone in public (which is part of why I enjoy being a guy; I don't have to worry about being hit on, just hitting on qt girls). Honestly, I think a lot of you guys are underestimating how much you'll miss public anonymity.
Once someone gains fortune and fame they will realize later on that public disruptions will only contribute to the downfall of their writing.
I will publish under my own name when my book is done. Really its done already, and most of it is published here, but there is a lot of work to writing besides writing. I want the conflict that it will bring. The whole point of writing about all these terrible things is to bring them up. If I get to be the one who argues against them in public then I would be proud to do it. If all I'm good at is fighting, then at least I should be able to fight.
I've always written with my real name. When I was younger, I used my full name, including middle, because my full name sounds more haughty and high class. I've since dropped the middle name, though I continue to write under my real first and last. For the most part, I'm proud enough of my writing that I want my name attached. I have used a pseudonym on occasion before, for less-than-savory tales. But just recently I've developed a fun little system that I think may work well: adopt a pseudonym while writing, but when you're done and happy with the piece, change the byline to your own name. I've developed like six or seven pen names, each a character with their own personality, which allows me to write how they would write, and it allows me to write things I might ordinarily hesitate to write. Because I know that if I really wanted to, I could publish under the pseudonym and no one would be the wiser, or simply choose to not publish at all. But when all is complete, and I'm proud of what I've written, and the bits I might once have hesitated to write being in there, and making the piece more powerful and complete, I can change the name to myself again. This is all in theory, by the way, as I have not written anything since coming up with this idea, but I'm eager to try it and see how well it really works. If not, meh, my real name is good enough.
Pseudonyms incur a substantial publication penalty. They're harder to market in this day and age. If you're publishing in a genre where pseudonyms are typical (erotica, etc) your market potential is already curtailed and it's less of a big deal. but if you'r'e going up in front of a real publisher, a pseudonym is a great way to ensure 50 cents on the dollar or less. Source: my agent
It builds a wall between you and your fans. Nowadays there's no marketing budget whatsoever so you need to be the one with the livejournal, the book page, the tour, the radio station call-ins, etc and if you aren't "you" the whole affair comes off as forced and fake and nobody wants to hear from you. Whatever reason you have for writing under a pseudonym, your fans will assume it's because you're a furry with a sexual attraction to tupperware and an arrest record a mile long for sexual assault on farm animals.
It feels good to use your real name. Everything I've ever done under pseudonyms feels fake, like it sort of doesn't matter. I'd want to use my real name but I'd have to consider safety issues. I wish we could use real names on the Internet, like people were that well behaved.
In writing I would probably use my own name. I am growing and failing at different mediums. Right now I'm developing a video game with my boyfriend. A post here enlightened me about gamergate, and I am reconsidering my entire marketing plan. I would love to do a TED talk, and tell the world about my game. Now I think we will just keep a bit more anonymous and hide behind a "studio". Those people are crazy, and I don't want to come out saying, I designed a kids game as a woman. I could not handle that shit emotionally.
Maybe. It's a thing I've been thinking about a lot. Firstly I don't really like my names- I like my first one - because I'm named after an Astrid Lindgren charachter who grows up and realizer her father is a kind of a dick. And she also runs away into the forest. It is way to apropriate. However my first name by itself is uniqe in Sweden since it's dubble barreled. And then one of my middle names is litteraly "fathersname"daughter islandic style. I have a super, mega terrible relationship with him. (Ronia the Robbers Daughter is the book by the way.) As I've mentioned earlier I have quite controlling parents, be home at 10, always answer your phone, who are you talking with, who is he/she, I will take out my shotgun when you bring a guy over, you look like a... well it's not apropriat to call your daughter that, you should wear skirts to you ankles kind of controlling. Yeah. As such a lot of the themes of my writing are about choseing your family, non-blood-bonds that are more important than blood ones, female friendship, .etc. And I would be very identifiable. I think you can see where this is going. WARNING LONG RANT ABOUT THING I AM WRITING The thing I'm working on now (at the outline stage) is under the working title of "Battered Womens Social Club" about four women who are married to four brothers of a rich-ish clan. And these four men are terrible abusive husbands. And on a moosehunting trip in winter (super mega illiagal) the four women are snowed in in a cabin together. They are friends before this and look out for eachother but now they are stuck alone together and have to survive. And then the terrible husbands don't come and it's cold and they are running out of firewood and the snow keeps falling on the not-that-structurally stable cabin. So they go to find the husbands all four of them. Rebecca the young secod wife of one of the men. She is 20 years old and they've been married for two years, the first wife is not spoken of. She is maybe the most anive of the women. Catharine the olderst of the wives who is quite protective the other women and very reckless with herself. She gives the others makeup tips and examines wounds so they aren't to bad. Laura who used to be a wildlife biologist and actually studied moose population. Has a hunting licence that she had to get for shooting and sedating animals. Is the only woman who has children and is very protective of them (they're with their nanny in stockholm during this trip). Theodora used to be a laywer in a succesful firm. She is very no-nonsense about most things and very pragmatic. So they bringa gun for protecting against bears and moose and just stuff 'cause it's dark and scary and so much snow. And then something goes terrible wrong and one of the terribe husbands iis shot maybe dead. And Laura fired the gun she was carrying. And all four women get in the car and drive back to Stockholm. And wait for the police to arrest them. But the men deside to handle it the family way since !. they weren't hunting legally, 2. They were super drunk 3. Laura may not actually have shot the guy so they might be keeping it quiet since it was a genuine alcohol induced accident. And then some other stuff will happen. Outline stage.
Anyway - thats the kind of subject I like to write about - so... Publishing a book about that kind of thing might not go down well with my family. So... Maybe?
My mom would though! But on the subject of writing - In six grade my wonderful swedish teacher told us all to write a nocel. We were all going to do this. I had had an horible teacher before - think the trunchbull - and I had stood up to her very effectivly. Because if there is one thing I do well it's dealing with emotionally abusive idiots. And I got the respect of the whole class. Because I didn't but up with Miss. Trunchbulls shit. And one girl in my class read Matilda and told me I was Matilda. Which is the nicest thing someone has ever said to me - for many reaons. I could write a ton about Matilda and some day I proably will but - My new wonderful Swedish teachers got two students writing about a teacher killing her students. Like, I wish I still had the thing I wrote and if I find it I am translating it into English, imporving it a bit and giving you some commentary about who the diffrent events is a sartirical commenbtary about events at my school because I was one hilarious 11 year old. And my Swedish teacher sat down and probably took a glass of wine and thought - how horrible of a teacher am I? Am I this terrible? And then she asked about it and I explained that no - you arne't and found out I wasn't the only one writing a revenge fantasy. Another guy from m class. I'm amybe going on a date with him. We had a very suggestive facebook chat yesterday. And I could write a very long thing about circle of abuse and shit but eugh... SometÃmes you ust want to go on a date with a guy you've known since you were 6 and not worry so fuckin much! Woo!
Thank you! On a side note, wonder how people would feel if I started measuring time in BS and AS. (Before Sappho and after Sappho)
And she also runs away into the forest. It is way to apropriate.
And I can overstate how well known this story is in Sweden. The ER nurse was like "Ronia the robbers daughter?" and like veryone knows the story. EVERYONE. I'll see if I can find it online in English because holy shit did they give me a fitting name. Haha, like the whole community searched for me that night.It was pretty damn hilarious to see pictures on facebook of a clear starry night afterwards from like my whole timeline. Also I'm pretty sure I inadvertenly scarred a five year old for life - my chemistry teacher who had a five year old daughter had told her that a girl in her chemistry class had ran away and got the point of "and then she took of her shoes..." when the five year old ran away and cried and was probably very horrified that her mother would tell her about a girl freezing to death. Leaveing her mother to hurry to assure her that I had survived. Ah. fond memories. Appertly there is an anime. I will find this anime and I will watch it.
I would probably not have the confidence to publish something under my real name, at least at first. Depending on the reaction to the first book, if a second one ever appeared that might make it out under my real name.
Any fiction I published would be under an assumed name. I would use a different one for each genre I explore, so as to not color peoples' expectations of a new book. If I ever published any long-form nonfiction, it would be under my real name. I want to stand behind any such writing, and think it could help my professional development.
If I ever became well-known for my writing I probably would, but beyond that I probably wouldn't use one. My genre of writing primarily is epic fantasy/world building kind of stuff. I would imagine that people would have a lot of questions about the world I built, so knowing me would be useful. On the other hand I could be overwhelmed by questions in which case a pen name might come in handy. I honestly think more about what my pen name would be rather than if I actually need one haha.