Pen Names

So far, I've published most of my work under pseudonyms: either names plucked from the clear blue sky, or slightly tweaked/abbreviated versions of my actual name. I write very dark material, so I like being able to stay anonymous—that way, no one will judge me for my imagination.

With that being said, I've never published a book (at least, not yet...), and lately I've been considering whether or not I'd use a pen name for that. On the one hand, the anonymity could be nice, especially if the story's dark (as all of mine are). On the other hand, it would be pretty cool to see my actual name slapped on the book jacket.

How about you guys? If your novel/book of poetry was going to be published, would you use a pen name? Vote in the poll, and if you're in the mood to share any of your wildest or coolest pen names (or strategy for coming up with them), feel free to comment.

Ooh, interesting topic, Lucrezia!

I always go for pen names. I don't ever want anyone to know my real name, so that's why, if I ever get a book published, I'll have Liberty J. Writerson on it. Or L. J. Writerson. Or Liberty J. W.. Or L. J. W, or something, I dunno. xD

Anyway, no one here on YWS that I know of knows my real name and I'd like to keep it that way. It's not only for privacy, but it's also for the same reason as you, Lucrezia. Before I discovered YWS, people used to judge my writing, and it wasn't the best. So now I'll just conceal my name and have Liberty Jacqulyn Writerson on all my works.

I go by Liberty but now that I've changed my username, I guess I could add Hedwiggle as a pen name. Hedwiggle Potter or something, I have no clue.

Omg, yes.

Hedwiggle Potter! Liberty Jacqulyn Writerson! Yes yes yes!! I could kiss this thread right now but my sisters will probably throw me out of the house if I kissed the computer.

*bows dramatically*

Nice to meet you. The name's Liberty and/or Hedwiggle. Whatever you think suits me best, call me that. Or make something out of the above names. :3

I really like this topic! I voted Yes to using a pen name, and I definitely like anonymous touches to the writing world in general. In a way, that’s why I like changing my username so much because I view my real name as being something I can’t change easily, so why not go by something else online ^*^

I frequently enjoy coming up with pen names and altered variations of my own name, and I think if I ever support a patreon account or a twitch stream, I probably would go by a pseudonym. I haven’t thought too far into that though.

As for writing, I would love one day to publish a novel, so I would probably combine part of my real name and part of a fun name generator to get to something that seemed like me yet wasn’t a lighted sign saying I was the one that wrote this book.

Plus it doesn’t hurt that pen names are super fun to come up with and some of the results are really bizarre XD

If I ever got to the publication stage (unlikely unless maybe I self-published), I'd probably go with a pen name. My real last name is difficult to pronounce, and I wouldn't want that to be a turn off. That said, I might use variants of my real name, like my middle name. There was a game we played as kids where you could make names based off info like your pets, the street you grew up on, your school, and so on. Lots of room to play with names there.

I'd definitely use my real name! My name is pretty easy to pronounce, and I'd love for people to connect my books with me - when I get them published someday. I guess the biggest question is if I'd go with my full first name or the nickname I've used since I was little. My full first name is more official, but the name I go by feels more casual.

I like my real name, but the problem is that the last name is a little hard to pronounce for some people. I have different surnames across different passports so I could do some swaps (or use my middle name too). So kinda, pen-name-y? But then again, maybe I could just unapologetically use it - I mean, it's my NAME after all.

I used to be really against the idea of using my real name because it didn't feel like something that'd look good on a book?? //most people struggle to pronounce it- bUT recently i kinda grew to like the way it looks paired w/ my stories or whatever anddd there are a lot of big author names that iM not sure im pronouncing right so if i ever do get published, ppl can just git gud in the pronunciation department

(i also really suck at coming up with names so a pen name would take longer than the book itself)

My name is pretty fine (kinda boring??) but it also alliterates so I might just stick with that, maybe with some random initials for my middle names XD

Nathan R. R. (last name) ahhh yes, I can see myself published already

I like the idea of using my first and middle name to create the pen name Desirée Dawn. I personally just think it rolls off the tongue well and would look nice on a cover. My last name is too long and is always mispronounced, and I also don't think I'd want to have it public to the world.

@SnowGhost Desiree Dawn is such a cool Pen name.

I will always opt for a pen-name, though I'm happy to have just one even when I'm writing in different genres. For me when I publish a work I want it to be like a gift that I can wrap up nicely, hand over, and hope that in three months time the recipient will still enjoy the gift but have completely forgotten where it came from. I don't want them to thank me every time they see me, but it would be really nice to see it sitting on a shelf somewhere in their house.

I definitely have no interest in renown or fame. The most difficult thing I find is resisting that urge to go browsing random twitter accounts of teenage critics because I know that what I read will be more about how they want to people to think of them rather than what they actually think of my work. My ultimate dream is for someone to recommend one of my own novels to me without knowing it's mine.

J. T. Hut or Jay T. Hut

My real name flows pretty well though, so I wouldn't be surprised if I opted to use that or slight variation. But I mean, please. I'd totally pick up a book with a giant J. T. HUT on the front like whozzat ??

Spoiler

Hedwiggle wrote:Ooh, interesting topic, Lucrezia!

Thank you!!

It's not only for privacy, but it's also for the same reason as you, Lucrezia. Before I discovered YWS, people used to judge my writing, and it wasn't the best. So now I'll just conceal my name and have Liberty Jacqulyn Writerson on all my works.

Liberty Jacquelyn Writerson is a very fun pen name!
I'm very happy I published some of my earlier short stories under pen names, because I definitely cringe when I look back on them now. They're not horrible, but they also don't reflect my current writing abilities, so it's kinda nice to not have them follow me around.

I go by Liberty but now that I've changed my username, I guess I could add Hedwiggle as a pen name. Hedwiggle Potter or something, I have no clue.

I love your new username, and I think "Hedwiggle Potter" would be an adorable (and delightfully cheeky) pen name.

fraey wrote:I really like this topic!

Yay, I'm glad!

I voted Yes to using a pen name, and I definitely like anonymous touches to the writing world in general. In a way, that’s why I like changing my username so much because I view my real name as being something I can’t change easily, so why not go by something else online ^*^

I frequently enjoy coming up with pen names and altered variations of my own name ... it doesn’t hurt that pen names are super fun to come up with and some of the results are really bizarre XD

This is another reason I'm a sucker for pen names: I'm a sucker for names in general, and I love coming up with cool pseudonyms for myself. One of my favorite hobbies is reading up on the meaning and history of names, and I'm way more active on Nameberry than I care to admit, lol. I have no idea why names interest me so much, but they do, and any time I need a pseudonym, I have a legitimate excuse to trawl the Internet's various baby name forums. Like you said, for those of us who can't or don't want to change our actual names, a pseudonym gives us a bit of that feeling. It's honestly kinda nice to get away from my real name—and, by extent, my real self—for a little while.

As for writing, I would love one day to publish a novel, so I would probably combine part of my real name and part of a fun name generator to get to something that seemed like me yet wasn’t a lighted sign saying I was the one that wrote this book.

That's a good idea! I think I'd do something similar.

niteowl wrote:My real last name is difficult to pronounce, and I wouldn't want that to be a turn off.

That's a good point. When I was younger, one of my favorite writers had a last name I never really knew how to pronounce, and it always made things difficult when I'd ask a bookstore employee to point me in the direction of her books.

That said, I might use variants of my real name, like my middle name. There was a game we played as kids where you could make names based off info like your pets, the street you grew up on, your school, and so on. Lots of room to play with names there.

Also a good suggestion! And yeah, I'm all for the middle name thing.
When I was little, I'd create covers for the stories I wrote and I'd always slap my real first and last name on them, along with my middle initial. Reason being: I thought my name looked more "author-ly" if I used the middle initial. (In retrospect, it did not.)

Jaybird wrote:I guess the biggest question is if I'd go with my full first name or the nickname I've used since I was little.

That is a tough call! I think one advantage of using a nickname is it's streamlined and simple, and also makes you, as an author, seem approachable. But a full name is more classic and formal. Maybe it depends on your target audience.

PrincessInk wrote:I like my real name, but the problem is that the last name is a little hard to pronounce for some people. I have different surnames across different passports so I could do some swaps (or use my middle name too).

That makes sense. I feel like anyone who loves their real name and wants to use it should, even if the pronunciation's hard, butttt I don't know. I think it would low-key bother me if I used my real name only to hear someone butcher the pronunciation, because then it's like, why did I even bother using the real thing at all? If it's mispronounced, is it even still my name? O_O

Hattable wrote:I used to be really against the idea of using my real name because it didn't feel like something that'd look good on a book??

Haha, I feel you. XD

i also really suck at coming up with names so a pen name would take longer than the book itself

See, I have the opposite problem: I have way more pen names (and character names) than I could ever use.

Omnom wrote:My name is pretty fine (kinda boring??) but it also alliterates so I might just stick with that

HECK YEAH, alliteration is so fun! I always wanted an alliterative name, I thought they were the absolute coolest.

SnowGhost wrote:I like the idea of using my first and middle name to create the pen name Desirée Dawn. I personally just think it rolls off the tongue well and would look nice on a cover.

I agree with Tenyo, that's a gorgeous name!! I can definitely imagine it on a book jacket.

Tenyo wrote:For me when I publish a work I want it to be like a gift that I can wrap up nicely, hand over, and hope that in three months time the recipient will still enjoy the gift but have completely forgotten where it came from. I don't want them to thank me every time they see me, but it would be really nice to see it sitting on a shelf somewhere in their house.

That's a really cool analogy! I've never thought of it that way, but I love the idea.

My ultimate dream is for someone to recommend one of my own novels to me without knowing it's mine.

YES. I co-sign that dream.

JabberHut wrote:J. T. Hut or Jay T. Hut

My real name flows pretty well though, so I wouldn't be surprised if I opted to use that or slight variation. But I mean, please. I'd totally pick up a book with a giant J. T. HUT on the front

Haha, yeah, that is an attention-grabbing pen name for sure.

I will be using a pen name for fiction, but my real name for my nonfiction.

I voted for using a pen name, for a few reasons. First, I'd feel more comfortable sharing my published book on YWS if it was attached to a pen name, and I would love to share my book on YWS since YWS has been such an important part of my writing journey. Second, I like the ability to select a name that has personal significance for me. I like that I can take control of how I want to be remembered in the world of fiction and choose a name that has personal significance for me.