|
|
 |
|
|
Why Authors Should Avoid Pseudonyms by Louis Smith
|
|
|
Why Authors Should Avoid Pseudonyms |
|
|
|
|
|
Education
|
|
|
Writing under a pseudonym has many attractions for some authors. It offers privacy; for example, in the past, women authors often published books under pseudonyms because writing was not considered to be a womanly profession. Jane Austen published her novels under the anonymous name "by a Lady." The Bronte sisters used gender neutral names like Acton, Ellis, and Currer Bell, and some women used male names like George Eliot and George Sand. Men have also used pseudonyms, the most famous being Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen name was Mark Twain; Clemens wanted a name that would stand out for him as a young journalist. Choosing a pseudonym or pen name so your name gets attention is one reason why an author may choose not to use his or her real name. For example, if your name is difficult to remember, pronounce, or spell, you might opt to change it (although if it's odd, it can equally stand out). If your name feels clumsy or boring to you, you might want to jazz it up a little. Movie stars have done the same thing-Frances Gumm became Judy Garland. If you have a name like George Smith, it might be easy to forget, but if you change it to Gregoire St. Vincent, it will stand out. Choosing a pseudonym is not an easy task. A lot of authors settle on just using their initials, but I personally think using your initials is a mistake. It makes it difficult for the media to know whether you are male or female, and that can result in confusion. It also makes it easier to guess your true identity if you wish to keep your name a secret. Keeping your name a secret is often the primary reason why authors choose to use a pseudonym. Is it a mistake to keep your identity a secret? It certainly can be for several reasons. At other times, it is a practical reason, but be prepared that at some point the secret will get out and everyone will know you are the book's author. For example, Anne Rice, famous for her vampire stories, decided to publish her erotica novels under a pseudonym, but today everyone knows that Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure are Anne Rice's pseudonyms. I don't think writing erotica in any way hurt Rice's career, but other people might desire to be more private. Today, the erotica novel market has exploded, largely due to online shopping and e-book readers. While many readers never would have gone into an adult bookstore or would have been too embarrassed to buy an erotica novel at a check-out counter from fear that someone they knew might see them buying it, today people can purchase such books in the privacy of their homes and no one needs to know (except the online bookstore and the credit card company, which of course, have privacy laws). A lot of authors have decided to capitalize on this trend by supplying the demand for erotica novels. Wanting to keep their own identities secret, they are publishing books under pseudonyms. They sell their books online, keep their identities secret, and do nothing to market the books that will threaten their anonymity. Other authors may choose to use a pseudonym to protect them for various other reasons, such as writing an expose on corruption within the government, revealing their life as the wife to a mafia leader, or writing a confessional book about their years as a drug addict in hopes it will help others. These are all legitimate reasons to use a pseudonym to protect yourself. Nevertheless, the possibility always exists that the author's true identity will come out and become public knowledge. If the book does sell well, people are going to want to know the author's true identity. We live in a voyeuristic culture today where privacy is rare and everyone wants to know about everyone else. Furthermore, for a reader to believe what an author has to say, especially in a book revealing government secrets or some significant information, readers want to know who the author is so they can determine whether he is truthful, reliable, or an authority on his subject. Even if it's a novel, people often read books not for the subject matter only but because they feel a liking for, a fascination with, or a connection to the author. If a book is to sell, then the author needs to realize that he or she must personally connect with the audience. No book sells itself, but publishing a book using a pseudonym is like sending your child off to kindergarten and never speaking to your child again, just assuming he will make his own way in the world just fine. There's no way around it-if a book is to sell, the author needs to be active in promoting it. Sure, an author can publish an e-book and hope that people might stumble upon it at Amazon and buy it; he might even sell a few hundred books that way. The author might buy some Facebook ads or find other ways to promote the book while hiding behind the Internet and the pseudonym, but if the author doesn't go out and personally promote the book, it's unlikely that the book will become truly successful. Once people read a book and enjoy it, they want more books by that author, and so they start asking, "Who is this author? What else has she written? Where does he get his ideas? How does she know so much about...?" Authors respond to these questions to build their public images, to get their readers' attention, and to sell their future books. essay writer
Related Articles -
Authors, Should, Avoid,
|
Rate This Article  |
|
|
|
|
|
Do you Agree or Disagree? Have a Comment? POST IT!
| Reader Opinions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Author Login |
|
|
 |
Advertiser Login
ADVERTISE HERE NOW!
Limited Time $60 Offer!
90 Days-1.5 Million Views
|
|
GENE MYERS
Author of four books and two screenplays; frequent magazine contributor. I have four other books "in...more
|
|
|
|
|
TIM FAY
After 60-plus years of living, I am just trying to pass down some of the information that I have lea...more
|
|
|
|
|
LAURA JEEVES
At LeadGenerators, we specialise in content-led Online Marketing Strategies for our clients in the t...more
|
|
|
|
|
ALEX BELSEY
I am the editor of QUAY Magazine, a B2B publication based in the South West of the UK. I am also the...more
|
|
|
|
|
SUSAN FRIESEN
Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, ...more
|
|
|
|
|
STEPHEN BYE
Steve Bye is currently a fiction writer, who published his first novel, ‘Looking Forward Through the...more
|
|
|
|
|
SHALINI MITTAL
A postgraduate in Fashion Technology. Shalini is a writer at heart! Writing for her is an expression...more
|
|
|
|
|
ADRIAN JOELE
I have been involved in nutrition and weight management for over 12 years and I like to share my kn...more
|
|
|
|
|
JAMES KENNY
James is a Research Enthusiast that focuses on the understanding of how things work and can be impro...more
|
|
|
|
