Ask A Wench--about pseudonyms

In our monthly ask-a-wench blog:

Molly asks: I'd love to know whether or not you and your fellow Wenches use pen names? If so, why? Is it to keep your genres separate or some other reason? Also, how did you come up with your pen name? I'm amazed at how many copyrights are under a name other than the "author" of the book

Ah, Molly, a rose by any other name… You’ll be receiving my one and only available copy of THE DEVLISH MONTAGUE for your question!

Pen names have been around throughout the ages for many reasons. Charlotte Brontë used "Currer Bell," and her sisters used similar pseudonyms when they published their first novels. In Charlotte’s words:

"Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own names under those of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell; the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because—without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine' — we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice;"

Today, we usually don’t have to disguise our gender, although some still do. Men writing romances will often write under an ambiguous name for marketing purposes, and women writing in a mostly male genre may do the same. But we no longer have the social stigma the Brontes expected to suffer.

Sometimes our decision to use a pseudonym is a legal matter. In the old days, some publishers owned all rights to the names their authors wrote under. If an author wanted to write for a different publisher, they had to take a new name. Many of today’s authors still publish under those pseudonyms because that’s how they’re known by their readers.

I started out using the name I’m known by at home, Pat Rice. When I sold to a different publisher very early in my career, they wanted the full Patricia, which I hate to this day. So now that I’m dipping my toe into fantasy, I’ve come up with my dream name. Not quite ready to reveal that yet…

As for the other wenches, I’ll let them speak for themselves:

Susan King writes: I've got three author names in play. Susan King is my married name. When I was first published in historical romance, I wanted to use a pseudonym, but my editor thought my name was perfect to use - easy to remember and spell, looks good in cover designs, and is smack in the middle of the alphabet for readers browsing bookstore shelves. Later, when I went to another publisher and wanted to keep my Susan K. name for the mainstream historicals that I was beginning to write, my new name came about by editorial committee. The voting favorite was a combo of family names: Sarah Gabriel (easy to spell, easy to Google, shelved near big names, etc.). For my mainstream historicals, the publisher wanted a triple name so it would sound more academic for the bigger historical books. Well, my maiden name is Italian and not easy to spell or pronounce. Can't find that easily on Amazon, they said, what else do you have? So I used my Scottish grandmother's surname and became Susan Fraser King.

Jo Beverley: I don't use a pseudonym for a number of reasons, but the main one is that I  think I'd go dotty if people were suddenly calling me Susie, or Melanie, or  Seraphina. However, if I had a name I disliked, I might want to escape it, and  if my name would turn off romance readers I'd suffer in the cause. Bertha  Ramsbottom, for example.  The other reason I would probably use a pseudonym would be if I were published  in something completely different -- violent thrillers, for example, or more  possibly, SF or fantasy. Then it would be to help readers distinguish between  my types of work.

Joanna Bourne: I could point out that I use 'Jo Bourne' just about everywhere in my life, but decided  to use 'Joanna Bourne' for writing, because there was this bestselling Historical Romance writer directly next to me on the shelf who was 'Jo' something or other starting with a 'B'.  But that's about the only thing I can say since I'm using my real name for everything and lead a really dull life, pseudonym-wise.

Nicola Cornick: I don't have a lot to contribute to this topic either, simply because I have always written under my own name. I did think about taking a pseudonym when I started out and I think I was probably a little naive in not doing so as I can see it is useful. However it hasn't caused me any problems, even when I was working in a military college and everyone knew I was a romance writer in my spare time. As and when I start writing other things I will probably revisit the question.

Mary Jo Putney: Having a backstage sort of personality, I fully intended to take a pseudonym when I sold my first book.  I was leaning toward "Justine Kingsley" since Kingsley is a family name and Justine Kingsley struck  me as Very Regency. However, my agent and editor talked me out of that, citing the advantages of using my own name, including the fact that legally, the name was mine and couldn't be taken away.  So Mary Jo Putney I was and remain. 
 
Except when I'm M. J. Putney. <G>  That is what is considered an open pseudonym--close enough to my regular name that it's probably obvious that M. J. and Mary Jo are the same, but meant to signify that they're different kinds of books.  My first genre fantasy novel, STOLEN MAGIC, was done as M. J. Putney, but all the chain store book buyers put the book in romance instead of science fiction/fantasy anyhow, so we reverted to Mary Jo on the next book. 
 
Now that I've ventured into Young Adult fantasy novels, I'm using M. J. Putney again to make it clear that the books are different from my adult romances.  Besides, I still owned the mjputney.com domain name. <G> 

Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose: Since I think I hold the Wench record for pen names I 'm well-qualified to discuss this question! The answer is . . . there are a variety of reasons, and trust me I seem to have touched on them all. When I did my first Signet regency book, my editor was afraid that people wouldn't know how to pronounce my real last name, so we picked "Pickens" which had a nice English ring. That moved with me when I went into historicals . . . then my publisher decided to relaunch me as Cara Elliott (I won't bore you with details of the book buying business, but there were marketing strategies involved). Finally, when I branched into mystery, my other pub thought it was better to have a different name so readers would know what genre to expect. I confess, some days I don't know who I am. But in some ways, I'm not unhappy having pen names to use on FaceBook and my website. I feel I have a bit of privacy, and really don't have to deal with mixing my real life with my writing life.

And Sherrie adds: I have a writer friend who writes erotica and uses a pen name.  She does this to keep her identity secret, as she is the secretary at her church.  <g>
 
Do you mind that we play with different personalities? If you were a writer, what would you choose to do?

Comments

[Helen]

I don't have a problem with that I actually think it is a good idea if you are writing different genres but if I like an author I will buy their book no matter what name LOL

Have Fun
Helen

[Cynthia Owens]

I don't have a problem with pseudonyms, though I chose not to use one myself. I did choose to use my married name, though,since my maiden name is French and might be hard to remember/pronounce in the English market.

[Linda Banche]

A simple-looking name isn't always easy to pronounce.

"Banche" looks easy to pronounce but it's not.

I get banche (1 syllable), blanche (1 syllable, added "l") and bianci (trying to make my name more Italian than it is).

Correct pronunciation is ban-che --two syllables, accent on the first, short a, long e.

How's that for complex? I figure if I ever make it to the bookstores, they'll shelve me next to Mary Balogh, and, except for the Wenches, there isn't any better company.

[Patricia Rice]

As I am here to testify, simple names tend to be a little too common. Google Patricia Rice sometime and see what I mean. Look at Amazon. Rice is not a word you want to search for if you want to find me!

And Linda, I've wondered how you pronounced your name. It does have lots of possibilities. Maybe you could change the spelling to banshee and write paranormal. "G"

[Devon Matthews]

I don't mind pseudosyms. I use one myself. My pen name is a combination of my children's first names. My real name is listed in the "Jennifer & Jason" name book near the top of the page of the ugliest names ever. Imagine that. Even though I've always disliked my given name, I didn't think it was THAT bad. LOL! I share my pen name with several international persons of note-- a soca player/singer, an Aussie chef, and a British actor. I'm always getting Google alerts about the soca guy. He's very popular.

[Janga]

I'm not bothered if a writer wants to use a pseudonym, but it is good to know all the names a writer publishes under. For example, I might have found my way to Barabara O'Neal's books anyway, but she went on my autobuy list immediately because I knew Barbara O'Neal was Barbara Samuel whose books I had been raving about for years.

If I'm ever published in romance fiction, I'll use Janga as part of my pseudonym both because it has some small degree of recognition within the romance community and because I'd like to keep separate my academic writing, published under my real name, and my fiction.

[joanna bourne]

Hi Janga --

I think it must be difficult for folks who publish in the academic world -- or those who hold any position of grave trust like medical doctor or therapist -- to make their professional name and their writing name the same.

This would be true for folks who write Romance, but also for anyone writing humor or children's books or fantasy.

When my kids were little they were always surprised to see adults they knew 'out of place'. The librarian in the supermarket. The math teacher at the swimming pool. We seem to expect folks to fit into one role.

Would I feel differently about my doctor if I knew he wrote Lovecraft-like horror books on the side?

[Patricia Rice]

I love the name Devon and in the romance community, I think it stands out, although your real name would too. "G"

Janga, sometimes it's difficult for authors to publicize their different personas, and it's not always wise if we're selling ourselves to different markets. But I think Barbara's market will always be women, so her publishers didn't mind advertising her various personas.

And happy birthday to Molly who gave us this column today!

[Kristina Watson]

Great post!

I'm hoping when I get my first novel published (thinking positively here) that I'll be able to use actual name (though perhaps I'll use "Kristy" instead of the more formal "Kristina"). However, I do think its a good idea for authors to use a pseudonym if publishing in significantly different genres.

BTW, I was excited to see many wenches on the RWA'11 list. I'll be there - and presenting a workshop on Wednesday. For those of you with public speaking phobias (or even if you don't) perhaps you could drop in:)

[Patricia Rice]

Terrific, Kristina. I won't be at RWA but most of the others will be. Schedules are soooo hectic though. I'm not sure how anyone ever remembers where they're supposed to be and when!

Ooo, and if you ever write in a genre for both men and women, you can be Kris! Very handy name.

[Peggy]

Just realized that I have so many names -- formal name, I go by my middle name, maiden name, two different married names, my nickname, and the ever-popular, 'But Moooom'!

[Phyllis]

Thanks! Have just been thinking about this topic as my first name is hopelessly old-fashioned (raise your hand if your grandma's name is Phyllis!) and my last name is unspellable and unpronounceable.

I *might* keep the first, but will have to think of something else for the last...

[LouisaCornell]

Not published yet, but I do write under a pseudonym. I tend to be a rather private person and after some of the experiences I had when I was singing I like the semi-anonymity a pseudonym affords.

[LilMissMolly]

I love this post! I find it very interesting how a few of you wanted to use a pen name and your publishers talked you out of it, and with others when you wanted to use your own name, they talked you into it! I have seen a few names out there that I always wondered why they didn't use another.

About 30 years ago, I always thought about using Maggie Maguire. I know there are quite a few authors out there now with similar names or last names, so I doubt I'd use it now. I've always liked the name Molly, but not sure what to use as a last name. :)

[Maggie Robinson/Margaret Rowe]

So interesting! I publish under my own name, Maggie Robinson, but since I was bought by two pub houses almost simultaneously I had to come up with a pseudonym because one half of me is darker and "naughtier" than the other. Ironically, Margaret Rowe sounds like the librarian I used to be. Rowe is a family name on my husband's side and my son's middle name, and Margaret is my hated real name (like Patricia!). I'm often shelved next to myself, which is kind of cool. :)

But under either name, I thought it was time to quit my high school library job.I lived in a small town and did not want to become embroiled in one of those "how can she work with teenagers" kind of thing.

[Patricia Rice]

Maybe my question for the day ought to be--does anyone really like their name? "G" And yeah, I recognize "hey mooooom" quite well. Wonder how it would look on a book?
Molly goes with Malone, too! We could play with that for quite a while.
Sigh, Maggie, it's sad that a writer has to quit a librarian job for fear of feedback. They should be GLAD they have someone to teach the kids about writing.

[Hellion]

My history teacher in high school used to tease me that I had a perfect name for writing romance--even though I hated my name. Not a chance. *LOL*

I've always wanted to write under: Sophie Sinclair. Sinclair is a family name; and I've always wanted to be a Sophie.

However, everyone basically knows me as Hellion. I have friends in real life who call me Hellion and not my real name. So my writer friends think if I publish, I should write under some version of Hellion--like Hellie Sinclair. *snorts* Even if I was published, I'm not sure I could ever get away with it.

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

Such fun replies, everyone! Love all the various thinking about names . . .if I ever have to pick anew one, I might just brainstorm it here!

[Louis]

I think it is interesting that a writer will use different names for different genres.

I've been posting comments using my first name. But I've always gone by my middle name in my "other life".

[Ranurgis]

Sometimes it gets a little confusing when the author's name changes, and that's happened to me with some of you. However, once I know about it, it's not difficult to keep the names straight.

If I had even one creative bone in me and started writing, I would definitely not use my real name, though I might try to figure out a combination using either of my middle names. My first name is just a little bit too unusual. I wouldn't want to stand out that much.