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Hallo, dearest KeePers!
I have a question. *cue suspenseful, stringed music and probably a flash of lightning*
*ahem* What are y’all’s opinions on using a pen name?
Specifically, for female authors. I know, in times past, many female authors have gone under pen names (or even used male names like George Eliot) such as J.K. Rowling and L.M. Montgomery. Though there are also female authors who use their full name, such as Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. (I notice far less male authors do this, too.) I didn’t know if it made a huge difference in the publishing world whether or not an author/ess chooses a pen name, and what those differences were. What do y’all think? If I did go that route, I would more than likely go with A.M. Williams, which probably sounds a bit more elegant than Alexa Williams. Thoughts?
Anyways, hopefully this made sense, and if not, then just ignore me. I’ll… be taking notes in the corner from all the replies. Doei! *waves*
@gracie-j @devastate-lasting @issawriter7 @mkfairygirl @daisy-torres @kathleenramm @jodi-maile @joy-caroline @nova21 @anyone-whom-I-forgot
@writerlexi1216 I believe in using a pen name, as I am right now. I just do it for privacy reasons, as this name is still as hard to pronounce as my previous name. (Not me never saying this name out loud, haha….)
Anyways, I think that A.M. Williams sounds really cool and elegant! A.M. reminds me of the morning.
(@not-so-secret-secret-assassin Gonna tag you heh)
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@not-so-secret-secret-assassin Curse these tags.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into daysOoh, I really like A.M. Williams. It does feel similar to L.M. Montgomery, which is also an elegant-sounding name. Alexa Williams sounds pretty too, though. In the end, I think it’s up to you and what you like best. I don’t know if the pen name would really matter unless you had already published a bunch of stories in a genre that people expected you to write in, and then you wanted to write something new but didn’t want your old fans freaking out about you switching genres for a while/you wanted to reach a new, different audience.
I think in past times, some female authors have used masculine-sounding pen names so that boys would still read their YA books about boys, or so that the female authors would gain more respect in the literary crowd with a masculine-sounding name, but I just haven’t seen that kind of gender issue (female authors not being as popular as male authors) being a problem in more recent times.
When I was younger, I thought I was going to publish under a pen name because of privacy reasons, but now, I don’t really feel that way anymore, so I’ll probably publish under my own name.
So again, in the end, I think it’s completely up to you and what you think sounds best!
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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I know that using initials instead of a full name has become a popular trend, especially for female authors. If I’m not mistaken, I think most authors do that just because they prefer it (anyone please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!), but the trend probably started because there were certain expectations for a woman’s writing. S.E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders, used her initials because she knew no one would take her book seriously if it was known she was a woman. The Outsiders was the kind of book no one would expect a woman to write back then.
But, lol, I think I’m going off track and not really answering your question. I’m sorry. XD I think if you’d prefer to use your initials, that’s awesome! I’m planning on going by Joy C. Woodbury when I get published. I did consider J.C. Woodbury for a while, but I decided I’d like my gender to be obvious (which is probably the main factor in deciding whether you want to use initials or a full name).
Hope this helped! <3
Thank you so much! Yeah, privacy was one of the many reasons I considered using a pen name as well. And I never thought about that! XD
Thanks, Jodi! That’s why I was considering using a pen name/fake name, so that my works wouldn’t be judged (is that the right word?) simply because I’m a female. Though, like you said, it really comes down to preference because I don’t think the gender issue is as much of a problem nowadays. I’m glad to hear you like that name! 🙂
@joy-caroline
Oh no, I think you’re exactly right, and I totally agree. I sort of prefer using a pen name as opposed to my full name, and I’m happy to hear you like the idea of my pen name! Thank you, and I love your pen name as well! 🙂 That was very helpful!! <3
@gracie-j
R.I.P. your eaten post… *sighs* No worries, I found it. Anyways, thank you so much! I’m still on the fence about whether or not I’m going to use my real name (oddly enough, I don’t really like my name all that much XD) or a fake one. Yeah, that’s kind of what I was worried about. I do plan on sticking to fantasy, but I also have interest in the suspense genre, so that might pose an issue in the future. #1 Would I have to completely change my ‘author identity’ if I decided to do that? And #2, Would you recommend me using my initials or simply using a fake name? (I didn’t think about using my mother’s maiden name, either… XD ‘A.M. Henson’ doesn’t sound so bad…) Thank you so much! Sorry about the questions… I’m quite new to the publishing world.
- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
- Total Posts: 1789
@writerlexi1216 *sighs* I didn’t even realize it was eaten, but I figured. I type out everyone’s tags, misspell them, go back to edit and then POOF! I’m done with that. Just copypasta for me from now on.
YOU HAVE A LOVELY NAME!!!!!!! But although I love my name, I’m not sure I like it for an author name…should’ve thought about that before I published HC…so I understand.
#1 Nope! Most authors tie in their pen names, whether that’s by naming their real name as a contributor/co-author to the books by their pen names or having all of their books/names on one site!
#2 I’d recommend using your initials, personally. Just ’cause that’s a lot simple than trying to figure out a fake name. XD (But, yeah, the mom’s maiden name thing always works, imo!)
You’re very welcome! I’m glad I can help!! Psh, girl, I LOVE questions, so keep ’em coming, and whatever you do, never stop asking and learning! These are questions I should’ve asked before I published, and now I wish I had.
@gracie-j
No worries! (I wish I’d chosen a simpler tag back when I joined the forum… I had no idea people would have to type that out every time XD) Copypasta is the way to go, it seems.
Awwh, thank you so much!!! I wasn’t sure if my name sounded fitting for an authoress, hence why I didn’t want to use it, but that makes me feel a lot better. 🙂 Aw, I love your name and think it works perfectly!
Oh, I see! Thank you for clearing that up! Yeah, I figured. Fake names sound fun, but when you
totally overthink things all. the. time. and would never be satisfiedthink about it, using initials would be much easier XD Thanks for being so open to my questions! I’m going to explore publishing more heavily later on, but wanted to get a feel for pen names and such before moving on to the bigger questions. Thank you! <3Weeeell, I’ve never admitted this before, but Daisy Torres is not my real name, so–I guess that speaks for my stance XD I wanted the anonymity while still being able to write and stuff haha.
As a reader, I remember writers’ names more when I see a first and last name (Alexa Williams) than when I see initials and a last name. So many people do that that I get confused lol. But you do whatever you like of course!!
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
Wait, it isn’t? *adjusts monocle and leans in to squint at screen* Interesting! (I mean, I just changed my internet name to Alexa ‘Autorski’ because why not have a fake Polish name? XD) Ahh, that makes sense! I didn’t think of that, that maybe readers would remember me better. That’s very helpful to know, thank you! I appreciate the input! <333
I have a pen name for privacy reasons only, although I’ll probably change it to my real name if/when I publish. I’m all for pen names, though–they’re fun and creative and can draw a reader in just like your cover and title can (in a way). If you want to, I think it would be fun for you to come up with one. That may just be me, but whatever you’re comfortable with you can do.
what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000Personally, I think it’s better to not have initials (except maybe a middle initial), I like Alexa Williams, but the other is also elegant. And real name or fake name? When I
finallypublish, I think I’m going to go with a fake name because my first name is all too short and my last name, at ten letters, is way too long and is hard to pronounce. But usually, I’d go for a real name.I think, privacy reasons aside, I would only go for a pen name to disguise the fact that I was a woman, but as a couple of other people have said, that’s less of an issue than it used to be. For example, if I was to write YA that’s a female dominated area of publishing and being labeled as a Chelsea wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. If I was to mainly go the adult fantasy or historical fiction route, I would probably go as some form of my initials (C.R. H__) though, because that’s still a male dominated area and female authors don’t do as well in that area.
A great example of this is the author Victoria Schwab. She writes both YA and Adult fantasy, and writes her YA under the name Victoria Schwab and her adult under the name V.E. Schwab. This works really well, as it also provides a guide to the content of her stories, the stories written under V.E. aren’t young teen appropriate, and the Victoria stories may not appeal to adult readers. But they’re also similar enough to know that its the same person.
In the end, its up to you! But those are a few of my thoughts on the matter.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
It may surprise you to hear that my real name is not *ahem* *sigh* Morgan. Personally, I use a penname for privacy reasons. I may or not use a full penname when (if) I publish my book. I’ll see when the time comes, but I would not personally use initials just to hide my gender. If you do decide to use a penname, I like Alexa Williams, but either sounds find. My overall opinion is that pennames are fine but the ultimate decision is up to you.
Some people fail; others learn what not to try.
My vote is nay, UNLESS it has to do with the story, etc. example: Lemony Snicket.
My thing on the privacy is I understand it, but I also don’t, because once you’re published you’re going to be discovered eventually. But I can understand where ppl are coming from too…..so I guess it’s a “it depends” from me lol! Like if ur just posting online for now and don’t want ppl to know u then sure, use a pen name, or ur initials or a username or something.
Personally I’d prefer to know the book author, but posting online can be a different story.
I will be publishing under my name (initials)
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb
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