Should you use a pseudonym?

When it’s time to get your cover finalized, put your name on the inside material, and schedule your publication date, many writers will pause for a moment and question what name should be associated with their book. That thought brings about the question of whether a pseudonym would benefit their brand.

One or more of these questions might have flickered through your mind:

• Do I want people to know who I am if I get famous?
• Do I want the privacy a pseudonym provides?
• Do I want to have to explain to people why my name isn’t on the book cover?
• Will people I know be affected if they find out I wrote about them?
• Do I write in multiple genres?
• Do I want my name on my favorite genre?
• Do I want to reduce the possibility of being stereotyped when people read my name?
• Do I hate my name?
• Do I want it to reflect my “aura” or my writing?
• Will people respect me because of my name?

There are so many more questions you may have found yourself asking, but if this is an issue you’re facing, you’re not alone. In this post, we’re going to cover a few of the pros and cons of each question.

What if you get famous?

This isn’t a silly thing to think about. What if you do get famous? If you get famous, you’re not likely to be able to hide your real name. It’ll be everywhere. However, using a pseudonym can help separate your writing name from your real name, even if it doesn’t last forever.

Of course, many famous people will have a face associated with their name. It is common for authors to have a headshot on the back of their book or inside the dust cover, so you’ll have to avoid in-person events and things that would require you to associate your face with the book. That is difficult if you hope to make money. If you’re worried about fame, or you really don’t want your face associated with your name, it may be worth seeking out smaller publishing houses, too, or self-publish.

If fame is truly an issue you want to avoid, dial back on marketing strategies if it looks as if things are picking up momentum. It won’t prevent you from “going viral,” but some authors simply want people to read their story, so if that’s you, it won’t hurt to step off the grid for a while.

There’s a level of privacy you can obtain before that point, though.

Just a bit more privacy

If fame isn’t on your mind, privacy is a lot easier to obtain. It’s easy to hide behind a name when your face isn’t everywhere, and it will make living a normal life, working a normal job, and doing normal things significantly easier for you. Again, this would only matter if you earn yourself millions of readers.

If you’re considering using a pseudonym simply to hide behind a name, ask yourself why? Why would you want to remain distanced from your readers?

If you find yourself pondering the use of a pseudonym because you’re fearing feedback, don’t let that be the reason you forego using your real name. As a writer, you should have faith in your beliefs and stand up for them if you plan to announce them to the world. Not that there isn’t a reason to want privacy, which can be desired within reason. So weigh your reasons and situation if you’re writing about anything controversial. In the end, keep yourself safe and take your privacy seriously.

Does your job conflict with your writing?

If you’re writing about a big issue, for example, hiding behind a pseudonym could be construed as you saying that you won’t stand up and support/oppose the issue you’re writing about. On the other hand, some sensitive topics tied back to you could risk your job or relationships with people who have an effect on your life that you don’t want to deal with. A pseudonym will only take you so far in providing privacy in that regard, but if you don’t have people actively trying to tie your book back to you, it’ll be helpful in hiding your identity.

This issue is a lot easier to find a solution for when compared to creating privacy and avoiding fame. If your job conflicts with the topics you write about, a pseudonym will help you retain anonymity without attaching yourself to the subjects you write about.

Privacy for the real-world characters in your writing.

Some writers may have serious or distressing content based on real-world situations or real-world people. For example, scenes and plot lines may be based on your own experiences or those of people you know. If you fear what might happen if certain people were to find out you’d used their life experiences in a book, you may wish to use a pseudonym as a method of prolonging your anonymity. With that said, however, I advise against using other people’s lives and experiences without their permission, though even with their permission, their association with you may risk their safety or reputation. A pseudonym doesn’t always serve a selfish purpose.

There are other ways to disguise personal experiences and real-world people in your writing.

A way of disguising the fact that you have based characters or stories on people or events in your life is to, of course, change their names and elements of their character.

It’s important to remember, however, that when you create a pseudonym for this purpose, all your social media accounts and marketing strategies will be operating under the same pen name, so think carefully and choose wisely. 

Pseudonym or not, you’re still liable if someone wants to take action against you; using a pen name will not protect you from libel or defamation. If you have an experience that simply must be shared, you will need to consider taking the necessary legal actions to keep yourself safe. 

Using a pseudonym DOES NOT protect you from libel or defamation.

Again, using a pseudonym does not protect you from legal allegations such as libel and defamation. If you don’t have the permission from the people you write about, or you haven’t done what you can to prevent them from being obvious identifiers, changing your name will not protect you from legal action.

If the people featured in your writing do not wish to be identified, take measures to prevent this from happening. It is your responsibility to ensure that there is no way for anyone to link related elements to the person that the character is based on.

Using a pseudonym if you write in different genres

I’d like to think this is the most common reason writers use pseudonyms, and it’s a really good reason to do so (not that the others aren’t).

This simple change in name isn’t intended to make readers wonder who an author is. It’s simply there to separate one genre from another. The pros to using a pseudonym in this scenario is obvious: you aren’t throwing off your audience. The cons depend on how much you limit yourself. 

You might have multiple profiles to keep up with on social media, which isn’t necessarily fun. But your name is your brand, and your genre is part of that brand. If readers expect one thing from you, your name is part of that. A pseudonym helps reduce confusion and frustrated readers.

Worried about genre writer stereotypes?

There are hundreds of thousands of people who judge a book by its author. Not by its cover, as the old adage would have you think, nor by the author’s previous works. No, what these people are judging a book by is the author’s name. 

To avoid falling victim to this way of thinking, some authors choose to use their initials on the front cover instead of spelling their full name out. This isn’t right or wrong to do. The concerns associated with someone’s name are all real and legitimate, but it’s up to you to decide how to address it. Change the thought by marketing well, or change your name on your book to avoid the issue.

You have personal feelings toward your real name

I’m not going to get into a speech about how you should grow to like your name. If you don’t like your name, first consider what you’re writing. If you had a name in mind, throw it in and take it as your own. If you’re going to write in multiple genres, it might work better for you to choose a pseudonym to fit each genre. This leads us to the final topic from the list of pen name questions.

What is the reflection of your aura/book genre?

If you have a name like Draco Devlin, your name on a romance novel might be a bit odd, and you might think it doesn’t fit your genre. Some might enjoy irony (like Harry Valentine on the front of a horror novel), but some authors like having a name that fits the book they’re writing.

Your name won’t be on the book. You’ll have to explain yourself to people who ask, and your name won’t be your brand. However, if you want to use a pseudonym to fit your style or the genre of your book, go for it.

Quick note though: Don’t think this name will encourage people to pick up your book because it sounds cool. Leave that up to your writing, cover, blurb, and marketing.

Using a pseudonym will affect your marketing strategy

No matter what reason you have for using a pseudonym, don’t be discouraged because of what other people say. Just keep in mind that if you use one, you’ll face the same challenges as others, and a lot of that has to do with marketing.

Your name will not be your brand; you will have to explain to others who you are if it comes up in discussion; if you change your mind, that will be a hard re-branding game; you’ll have to create separate social media accounts and give life to this new name, especially if you want to eradicate connections to your own; and you will be stuck with it.

Here are my top tips for choosing a pseudonym for your writing.

Keep it professional

No matter what you change your name to, a goofy name will be noted as unprofessional and will not be held in high esteem by publishers, agents, editors, critics, etc.

You’ll have to explain yourself

When you decide to tell people about your book, you will feel obligated to explain that you have a pseudonym. Expect people to ask you why, and try not to let this frustrate you. Many people wouldn’t be able to imagine why you would want to keep your name off the front cover, so they’re going to ask.

Keep yourself safe legally

This means look up copyright laws. You want to use a pseudonym? Make sure you can use it legally to bind it with your name. I’m not going to get into that here, especially because copyright rules change and because I’m not a lawyer. Look it up.

Trust your gut

In the end, it’s your choice. But, it’s wise to avoid hiding behind a name for the sake of hiding behind a name. It’s like a tattoo; it’s hard to get rid of.

Do you have any reasons why people should, would, or shouldn’t use a pseudonym? This is a broad topic, so I would have to spend a lot of time and words covering it all. Do you use a pseudonym?