Is A Pen Name for You?
Pen Name. Pseudonym. Nom de plume. They all mean writing under a name different than your given name. People have been doing it since the writer scratched “Anonymous” on a stone tablet. Some say Shakespeare was a pen name. Mark Twain was another famous one. Today even more authors use them: Julia Quinn, JD Robb, Eloisa James, even me. You know our real names, so why do even bother?
Advantages:
1) Protection. Let’s face it, there are a lot of crazy people out there. Once you publish a book, you put yourself in the public spotlight. Not that reporters are going to bang down your door like you’re Brad or Angelina, but your privacy could be compromised. If you use a pen name, it’s a lot harder for someone looking for you to find your address, phone number, and financial records. You have to be a little careful, though, to make sure your publisher ascribes the copyright page to your pen name. A lot of authors choose a pen name for this reason, but when you turn to their copyright page, you’ll see their real name right there (go ahead and check some of your books to see if I speak the truth–we’ll wait).
See?
I think there has to be another step involved to make sure the book is published under your nom de plume, and this is something your agent can take care of. Personally, I didn’t bother with it because I was using my real name in some cases, so I can’t tell you the exact steps.
2) Marketability. If your name is Harriet Snodgrass and you want to write sweeping historical sagas, you may want to consider a pen name. Especially in the romance industry, your name is important. Readers shy away from books written by men, though some are (under a pen name), and I think readers are drawn to authors with names that look and sound pretty. Think about all the trouble the art department goes choosing the fonts on the covers and making that author’s name look so appealing. But even a pretty curlicue font won’t help poor Harriet Snodgrass.
3) Secrecy. Not everyone wants people to know they are a writer, espeically authors of erotica. School teachers fear parents could complain, and they could lose their jobs. Other authors fear their boss or co-workers will make fun of them. Using a pen name is a good way to avoid all of this while still being able to promote yourself (just watch out for those personal, local events) and make your picture a bit mysterious (think Kim Harrison or Sophie Kinsella).
4) Numbers. Let’s say you put out a book under a pen name or your real name, and it tanks. No one wants to think about this, but lots of books fail to live up to expectations. What happens the next time you have a book coming out? Book buyers look at the sales of your last book and order copies of your new book accordingly. Unfortunately this means that you have little choice of your next book selling any better because right out of the starting gate, your orders are low. This is the point where some authors decide to write their next work under a pen name (and this is why some authors have so many–they went through a period where their numbers were bad and tried to compensate with a pen name). Book buyers don’t care if everyone knows that Jane Doe is the same Jane Coe whose last book tanked. If the name is different, they treat the orders differently. This is also the reason some authors choose to write diferent genres under different names. If one genre doesn’t work out, then their numbers for those books won’t affect numbers for their other genre. In the end, you can always have the publisher put “Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb” on the cover, and get crossover readers that way.
Disadvantages:
1) No glory. You write the book. You spend hours slaving away at the type writer, and then you open the box with your beautiful baby inside, and it’s got Shana Galen on the cover. Who the heck is she? Seeing a pen name on the cover of your book isn’t the same as seeing your own name. I have asked other authors, and most say that after a while they come to associate themselves with the pen name as much as their real name. I know I have begun to do so, but it might not be as personally satisying for you initially. Plus, how can you say na-na-na-na-boo-boo to all those people you hated, if they don’t know that’s your book on the NYT list?
2) Loss of reader base.Beware of the editor who asks you to change your name after you’re an already established presence in the publishing world. There are authors who do it, and I’m sure they have their reasons (Nora Roberts as JD Robb and Jayne Ann Krentz as Amanda Quick). The gamble paid off for them, but how many authors are out there who it didn’t pay off for? We don’t know their names. Stephanie Bond has told me many times that it’s more productive to develop one brand and one marketing strategy, If you have to do so for several different names, that can be unproductive. She writes contemporary romantic suspense for Avon and Blazes for Harlequin under the same name, but she markets them the same. Stand next to her at a signing (I always do at RWA: Bond, Bolks), and you’ll hear her describe her books–all of them–in the same way: “This one is funny, sexy, and romantic, and this one is funny, suspenseful, and romantic.” Her books are funny romances, no matter what she writes, and she capitalizes on that. She can also do cross-promotion. It’s not a stretch for a reader who likes one of Stephanie’s RS books to try one of her Blazes. Now, if you write YA and erotica, you really don’t want to do cross promotion. Parents will not appreciate that, but for most other genres, it is okay.
So that’s it. Pen names. They’re really a personal choice–a decision you, your editor, and your agent make. Just go in knowing the facts and how it can help and hurt you.
Check out both of my names at www.shanebolks.com
As always very helpful and informative.
There was never much of a choice for me. I think I’ll have to get published (knock on wood that it will still happen one day) under a pen name because my real name is the most unromantic thing I could possible imagine. (Magnusson.. very Nordic.)
You mentioned that it might be hard to associate to the name at first. Does this mean that when you got your first publications (one as Shana Galen and one as Shane Bolks) one of them somehow felt like a favourite because it was in some way more ‘yours’?
And as I press publish… I realise that I have another question.
Couldn’t there be problems with a pen name to prove that something is really yours? Or do you record a pen name legally somewhere?
I’m just thinking if you write something as Shana Galen, copyright it to Shana Galen.. and then some (other) woman named Shana Galen comes along and claims she’s the real Shana Galen. Would you have legal proof somewhere that you’re the Shana Galen who wrote the book?
That might sound completely insane, but I hope the point got across.
Eeek! Shane, how did you know my real name…Harriet Snodgrass…LMAO! Ok, seriously now.
Thanks for going in to detail regarding pen names. As I read Emily’s posts, I realize I’m curious about the legality of Pen Names.
When choosing a pen name, do you open a separate bank account, because your royalty/advance checks are made out to that name?
Another thing, I remember reading that you chose Galen as your last name for writing historials because that would place you between Gabaldon and Garwood. I also read somewhere else that Julia Quinn chose her last name so she would appear next to Amanda Quick. Is this commong practice, do you think?
Thanks,
Isabel
Well, I know for me I chose Michelle Merry as my pen name for two reasons.
1) I’m known as “Michelle the Merry” on tha Avon board, as well as some others I frequent.
2) IF I get published one day, I want to sit next to Teresa Medeioros. Merry, Medeiros, can’t get much closer than that! lol.
Hi ladies,
As to your question about favorites, Emmie, I wouldn’t say that my Shane Bolks book was my favorite. It just felt more like mine than the Shana Galen name. Now when I see Shana Galen, I know it’s mine, too. Maybe it’s like when you get married and start writing your husband’s last name instead of your maiden name (by the way, I’m not changing my name to my fiance’s last name when we get married–no more names!).
Legality of pen names…you’re starting to get into an area I don’t fully grasp because if you look at the copyright page on my Shana Galen books, you’ll see that the copyright is to Shane Bolks. I sign my contracts as Shane Bolks and the publishing house pays Shane Bolks (this is how most authors with pen names do it). Now, if you wanted a pen name to hide your identity (author Lydia Joyce comes to mind), you could probably set it up legally so that you were paid by that name, etc. I don’t know how that’s done, but I bet a good lawyer or agent could tell you (incorporation is my wild guess). Actually, I think that might be a good question for Jenna Petersen when she is here because I think she knows more about pen names than me.
As far as legal proof that I write my books. Oh, yes, there are many ways to prove that. I have rough drafts, critiques from my critique partners, my editor has seen the work in stages, I keep copies of drafts. There is ample proof. If someone else said they were Shana Galen, the author, the burden would be on them to prove it because so many people (agent, editor, publicist) know I am Shana Galen.
Isabel, you know, you should ask Julie about that Quinn/Quick thing because she told me before that was just a rumor and not true. I don’t think most authors pick their pen names based on shelf placement. I think it’s usually sentimental. They’ll use their maiden name or their kid’s name or their husband’s name (Jess Michaels [real name and husband's name] for Jenna Petersen). Actually, when my editor first had the pen name discussion with me, Avon had just lost Johanna Lindsay to Pocket, so she said, “How about using Lindsay? We don’t have one of those anymore.” I think that was a joke, but who wants to try and fill those shoes?
Thanks for the great questions! Tomorrow I’ll blog on the cover conference.
Shane
Well, I’ve known Julia Quinn’s real name for awhile, its on the copyright. Many of us also know the reason behind Eloisa’s pen name and her real name now that she has come out of the closet hehe.
For my own, I love my pen name, actually more than I do my real name. Except for family, my pen name has become my first skin. I’m still wondering why my parents use the “other” name. Of course I’m one of those blessed with a boy’s name, which is actually worse than Shane, trust me. But I’ve been known as Haven for many years now. So when I started thinking of pen names I just had to think of a last name. Which is based on my last name.
All the odd people in the world is why I decided to take my personal site and make it what it is today. When I decided to start the author interviews I thought it time to remove the private things (like my children’s pictures). Before this wasn’t a worry, since the only viewers were my friends. Plus I figured it time to start putting the author in motion, since I’m getting closer to my finished MS and going to start on the other side of being published.
I’m all eyes, this has been an interesting topic. Although, I have yet to finish my MS, a pen name is something I’m considering. Thanks, Shane.
Isabel