How a Writer Creates & Uses a Pen Name

Genres, Contracts, When to Use a Legal Name

Writers beginning their publishing career often have questions about pen names. Below are some common questions asked in writing classes and at conferences.

Do authors need to use a pen name?

No, many authors publish under their own name. In fact, if you are working to establish yourself as an expert in a certain field and publishing non-fiction books and articles, you'll probably want to use your real name.

Why do authors use pen names?

Authors chose pen names for many reasons. They may feel their real name is too difficult to remember or too common to be marketable or someone else may already be publishing under their name. Sometimes they simply want to use a name that has always appealed to them.

How do do authors choose a pen name?

There are no rules for choosing a pen name. Some people choose a variation of their real name or use a family name. Other people use names that have always appealed to them. Romance and erotica writers may use pen names that they feel work well for the genre. Here are a couple of suggestions to help with the process.

Choose a name that you'll remember to answer to at conferences and book signings. You don't want to accidentally offend an event coordinator or potential reader by ignoring them because you forgot your name.

Do a web search on potential names. A search in Google will let you know if the name you're considering is too common or perhaps associated with activities you don't want to be known for. A follow up search on Amazon.com can turn up any uses of the name by other authors.

Do authors use different pen names for different genres?

Some authors use two or more pen names to establish identities for genres with widely separate audiences, such as young adult fantasy and erotica. But for two genres that may share readers, say fantasy and science fiction or romance and mystery, using two names may make it more difficult to build name recognition.

How do authors let an agent or publisher know they are using a pen name?

The simplest way is to include the pen name as the "by" line when presenting a manuscript, sample chapters or article to an agent or publisher. All correspondence such as query letters and emails should be done under your real name. This is the name that the checks will be made out to., but after the title of your story or article, you may include your pen name after the word "by"

What about contracts?

You will sign all contracts with your real and legal name. After all, they are legal documents. Agents and publishers are used to working with authors who use pen names and some contracts do have a place for you to indicate your pen name. The phrasing will look something like:

I (real name) grant to publisher (their name) the rights (lots of legal wording) for work (title) published as (pen name).

Don't forget that you'll also want to establish an email account associated with your pen name and check to see if the domain name is available for a website. These days an author's name is as much as part of their marketing campaign as their book titles. If you've always dreamed of writing under a pen name, don't be afraid to use one.