Apr 30 2009
Should You Write Under a Pseudonym?
Moira Allen provides useful information about pseudonyms here. Here’s a summary of the best reasons to use a pseudonym.
1. Your writing could interfere with your day job. If you’re interested in working in a political science or government position and every Google search for your name points to your book about how to write superhero stories, that could be problematic.
2. You’ve published in a different genre or field and want to distinguish your new work. Your readership might get confused if you’ve always written romance and suddenly you write a sci-fi thriller. Using a pen-name will help keep those parts of your audience separate.
3. You suspect that your name will make it harder for readers to relate to you. For example, if you’re a guy writing for women (or vice versa), you might find it helpful to use a gender-neutral name or your initial. In particular, military action readers are more receptive to male authors and romance readers are more receptive to women.
