What’s in a Pen Name?

As I “travel” around the Triond site, I note interesting names like, arliken, Raylight, Lost in Arizona, Jupiter King, and Dakota Skye. Sure there are lots more I like, but I can’t put them all in here! I love reading all these unusual and interesting names!

However, being dreadfully curious I find myself speculating on the exact reason why each writer has selected the name, she or he did for their pen name. And conclude I just bet the reasons are every bit as colorful, nifty, intriguing as these fun sounding names.

I am sure this won’t surprise any of you, but I have done some reading on why writers use pen names. I mean the really serious reasons, like:

* To replace a dreadful or ghastly birth name.

If my mom would have pursued her interest in writing, as she often told me she wished

she had it would have been wise for her to select a pen name. Her name was Uneada,

changed to Voneta, but not on her birth certificate. She lamented everyone called her,

“Uneeda Biscuit” the name of a local bakery vendor who use to travel the country

roads where she grew-up.

• To remain anonymous
• To conceal gender
• To write across multiple genres
• To recover as a writer from poor publication sales

I use a pen name for what I submit to Triond. And also the same name for what I submitted to Associated Content and Helium when I was “testing the water” at being published by these two sites.

As I look down this list of serious reasons for deciding on using a pen name, I must conclude not a one is the honest reason why I selected my pen name of Catelin Hoover.

I certainly didn’t have a problem with my birth name; in fact it could work well for the Western genre of which I hope to pen some novels.

To remain anonymous is only a partial reason of why I decided on a pen name. I certainly don’t have any qualms about my safety despite writing some content which some may strongly oppose. But it might be good to have this safety net, to protect my family should anyone who reads my content disagree so strongly they would seek to harm me or my family….now that is really dramatic! Sorry folks must have been those last couple suspense novels I read!

I certainly have no reason to conceal my gender, and yet, many contacts I have had from readers, assume Catelin is a masculine name.

At this time, I do have plans to write larger works in multiple genres. While in college I had opportunity to write several short stories which my instructors felt would make marketable novels. These stories fall into the genres of, Christian Contemporary Character, Gothic Suspense, Western Romance, and Futuristic Fantasy.

It could have been good to have seen publication years ago, but maybe I should thank the Good Lord, for delaying this dream, it could have resulted in poor sales. Oh well, as it is often quoted, “delays are not denials“; and everything in His time.

So what is the real reason I chose “Catelin Hoover” as my pen name? For sure, clever, witty, fun or mysterious never entered my mind in selecting this name. The truth be known, when I had my internet installed by Time Warner, they would not let me use my real name for the email address due to having cable TV all ready installed and the account was under my dad’s name. And his first name begins with a “C”.

A trivial problem, perhaps, but after a couple weeks of people asking me why my email started with a “c” when my name begins with a different letter, the repetitiveness of this question got wearisome…old real fast! So I decide to use a name which began with a “C” for my pen name.

I scoured the books on possible names. I didn’t want a name that was extremely popular like, Catherine, Christina, Christy, Colleen, Connie, Carol, Carla or Crystal. Nor did I want one that was really strange like, Creiddyladl, Cyprien, or Chimalis. Catelin seemed to be not too popular and not too unusual and so it became my pen name.

There you have it, another reason, maybe not lofty or fun, but nonetheless a reason for using a pen name.