Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Hiding In Plain Sight - Thoughts about author pen names



So the romance teakettle was in a bit of a tempest last week when Jane Litte from the Dear Author review blog announced she was also indie author Jen Frederick.

Jump HERE to read her statement, detailing her reasons for keeping the pseudonym separate from her Dear Author persona.

Jump HERE to read an anonymous post on The Passive Voice blog, detailing why her rationalizations might be kind of bogus.

This is a tremendously complicated issue. I can totally see why Jane Litte would want to keep her roles separate by using different names. I can also understand why the anonymous blogger (who kept their own identity private for fear of retaliation by Ms. Litte or her allies) felt betrayed when it turned out that the Jen Frederick they knew from a private author discussion board was actually a prominent reviewer.

I can respect Ms. Litte for the stand she took in support of Ellora's Cave authors. She hasn't backed down, even though she's now the subject of a lawsuit brought by the publisher. On the other hand, I've seen her and her reviewers get into some pretty petty bitchfests with other authors, which makes me question their credibility.

Like I said, it's complicated.

Whether she's a hero or a villain or somewhere in between, Jane Litte is a smart and successful businesswoman, and her Jen Frederick pen name is going to be a lot more prominent when that movie deal goes through.

So why use a pen name?


Ms. Litte says she "partitioned off the fiction writing from the blogging, to keep (her) writing identity private" because "it was important that DA (Dear Author) remain its own, inviolate entity." She did it to keep her writing life separate from her day job, and of all the reasons to choose a pen name, I think this is the strongest.

Liv Rancourt is my pen name, and I chose to use it because I didn't want people doing google searches for Amy Caldwell, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, to find pages of hits for vampire porn (as my children affectionately call my first book). When I started out as a writer, I had kids in Catholic school and sang in the church choir. I wanted the freedom to write on any topic without worrying what people who knew me in those contexts would think. I don't care so much any more, but back then I needed the barrier.

Now, if you're thinking about writing under a pen name so you can get back at the guy who broke your heart in high school or the Ice Queen who beat you out for a promotion, you should probably take a hard look at your motivation. As it says at the bottom of this post from WritingWorld.com, using a pseudonym won't protect you from legal action if the axes you choose to grind fall into libelous territory.

Building your brand.


Another reason for choosing a pen name is to compartmentalize, to give each genre you write in a separate identity. An easy example is romance writer Nora Roberts and thriller/suspense writer JD Robb. Same person, different genres, different personas.

Choosing separate pen names allows you to develop a clear brand for each one, which can help attract readers. The biggest downside involved is the amount of work involved in developing and maintaining two separate author brands - separate twitter profiles and Facebook pages and blogs and oh boy I might have a seizure just thinking about it.

It's possible to craft your brand on a level above genre - basing it on humor, or tough-talking characters, or a specific setting or socioeconomic level. Janet Evanovich, for example, writes funny, quick-thinking heroines, whether she's doing Stephanie Plum mysteries or Lizzy & Deisel paranormal stories or Kate O'Hare spy thrillers. Because she's so consistent, readers know what to expect from Ms. Janet, regardless of the genre of the story. (Jump HERE for a thoughtful post by Belinda Pollard on whether you need separate pen names for different genres.)

Building your brand - the reprise.

  • Say your surname is made up entirely of consonants. You might want to consider a pen name.
  • Say your name is undeniably feminine - Maybelle Valentine, for example - and you write political thrillers. You might want to consider a pen name. 
  • Say your parents, Tom and Mary King, named you Stephen. You also might want to consider a pen name.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. There are circumstances where the name on your birth certificate should stay there, while you put something different on your published work. The tricky bit is figuring out what name to use.

The name should resonate with you and should be accessible for your readers. It's got to be something you can live with, because for the foreseeable future you're  going to be seeing and hearing it nearly every day. It should fit within the expectations for the genre you want to write. Ms. Valentine from the example above might be a hard sell as a thriller writer, but she'd fit in fine writing cozy romances.

There are all kinds of places to get ideas for pen names. Liv Rancourt is a close variation of my great aunt's name, Livia Rancourt. You might find a family name that would work, or a list of names in a source like the phone book might give you ideas. Wait, except we don't really have phone books any more. Use google then. You can do anything with google.

More seriously, here's another great post by Belinda Pollard with ideas for how to choose a pen name.

Learning and perfecting the craft of writing is important. So is learning the business side of publishing. Choosing a great title for your story is key. But how many times have you asked a friend,

"Hey, have you read the new one by (fill in the blank with the author of your choice)?"

The name you choose to publish under is the thing most readers remember. It'll be tied to their memories of your work, and it's a symbol of trust that you will both entertain and connect with them on an emotional level. In writing, as in every other part of life, you should think real carefully before doing something that betrays somebody's trust.

Peace,
Liv

What about you? Do you have a pen name? Why? Do you have any thoughts on the Jane Little/Jen Frederick brouhaha?

25 comments:

  1. I don't have a pen name, but there might come a time when I use one. I've been kicking around some ideas for a couple projects that just wouldn't fit in with the body of work I envision as my main pursuit, and I think using different names to separate them would be a good idea.

    Liv Rancourt is a cool name, by the way :)

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  2. Thanks! I think coming up with a pen name for you might be a thoroughly entertaining enterprise.
    ;)

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    1. I was thinking about just using Oz, the name I went by when I worked in the video game industry because there are so many Mikes every where.

      Either that or Dirk Steele ;)

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    2. *snicker*

      Oz Schulenberg is pretty cool. Not so sure about Dirk...

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    3. Oh, it would just be Oz with no last name--like Cher or Prince or Madonna or any other single-named entity :) I like to think it would work with the style of fiction I'd be associating with it.

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    4. Like, a Gonzo fiction mash-up of Salvador Dali, Stephen King, and Madonna in a cone-boob costume?

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    5. Haha...nah, it would just be the same sort of absurdity that tends to end up on my blog--when I actually post, that is ;)

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  3. No pen here, but I certainly understand the reasons for having one. I never even thought about it, to the tell truth. Debbie Christiana has same number of syllables as Janet Evanovich, so I figure I'm good, LOL -

    Livia, you're aunt's name is beautiful :)

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    1. Thanks sweetie! I never made the connection between you and Janet before, but now that you called it out, I can TOTALLY see the resemblance.
      ;)

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  4. Although personally a pen name seems way too complicated for me, I have a few clients who chose to use them, and they are very happy with it. Great in-depth look at the reasons behind them!

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    1. Thanks Mary! While I say in the post that I don't feel the same need to keep my writing separate from my professional life, I think if I had a do-over, I'd still use Liv. It's not often that we're given a chance to choose our own name, and I'm pretty happy with it.

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  5. I use a pen name, for a couple of reasons. The first one being the most important--no one (unless they're familiar with German) could spell my last name correctly (Zweig) and since correct spelling is key to locating an author's book, I went with a nod to my family, which ended up as Jami Gray. The second reason was driven by personality more than anything else, I like the seperation a pen name gives me, almost as if there is the "writer" me and the "me" me. However, I never intended my pen to hide my real identity, and all my friends/family understand that if they want to see what Shannon is really up to, go check out Jami Gray. =0)

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    1. I will confess that the first time I got an email from Shannon Zweig, I was all, "huh?", but then I figured it out. I'm sure Shannon is just as much fun as Jami is.
      ;)

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  6. Great Post Liv! I've thought about a pen name, but figured I still had a littl time. I do see where it could be handy for privacy. I have 4 names, I could easily use two. I'm surprised that you have a totally different FIRST name though! I'm still gonna think of you as Liv. :)

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    1. Thanks Charlotte! It sometimes gets tricky when I forget whose Facebook page I'm on. (lolol) Mostly I answer to either Amy or Liv.
      ;)

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  7. Elementary school teacher who adds a little sizzle occasionally to her romance novels. Yup, that might not fly too well with some parents. Pen name, please!

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  8. Right? As a Catholic school mom who writes "Vampire Porn" I can totally agree!

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  9. The thought of a pen name, or multiple pen names and all the websites and Facebook pages and Twitter accounts freaks me out, but I totally see the need for a pen name when necessary.

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    1. I'm going to try - to the best of my ability - to aim for some unifying theme that crosses genre. Like, my stuff is funny and light has a happy ending. Not sure whether it'll work, but that's my theory.

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  10. Thank you for this! I'm gonna have to go with a pen name for sure since I publish technical reports under my name. May even do two since I'm dabbling with another genre. I like how Nora Roberts/JD Robbs mastered the brand.

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    1. The Belinda Pollard posts I linked to have some real good information about choosing a pen name. You should check them out, because I really only scratched the surface.
      ;)

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  11. Very interesting post, Liv. I never thought of a pen name. Thanks for providing these points to consider. I joined your blog and will be back. Again, thanks for the information. http://victoriamarielees.blogspot.com

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  12. Thanks for the follow, Victoria. I'm glad you liked the post. We're a group blog, covering all aspects of writing, and ever post has a bit of a different spin, depending on who wrote it. Thanks again!

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  14. Great info, Liv. When I'm working with authors who write in different genres, this is helpful in explaining why using pen names is a good publishing strategy for them. Thanks for tackling such a complex issue.

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