Choosing a Pen Name (Are You Serious?)
The importance of choosing your professional pen name and how it affects the readers point of view as they are reading your work.
As I explore the world of writing and publishing on the web, I tend to read many articles published by the community on Triond and when I read something I like I usually inquire who the author is. Most people choose to write with a pen name that is either their real name or resembles a real name, but some I come across are just usernames that could be used in forums or chatrooms or to portray the authors interests or personality.
I remember when choosing my pen name I wanted to use something professional, I want people to take my work seriously because writing is something I love, and want to do as part of my present and future. It’s a pretty fair question to ask if I could ever take someone who chose to write under a name like herpo, or ghost, or something to that effect seriously. They could have written the most wonderful interesting peice I had ever read, but upon looking at the username and chuckling quietly to myself, I realize that this person does not take their writing career seriously.
I chose to use my real name, which if you want to get technical is really my married name but it is the name which is on my driver’s license. This decision was made because as I said I do take my writing seriously, want others to know I take it seriously. So my question for those who choose to use what can only be classified as a username is this; do you take your writing seriously? Are we to take you seriously? What influenced your decision to choose the name that you use?
This may just be my opinion, and in no way meant to be offensive to anyone who does choose to use a username as opposed to a realistic if not real name.
The usernames I chose to portray in this article were of my own imagination.
Now moving on to the importance of choosing a pen name, as if I didn’t really touch this in the above content. Not only does it help the reader to know that you take your writing career seriously, but I think it makes you the author feel more professional and maybe even more apt to share your work.
You also have the opportunity to label your work as your own and not as some internet handle. Maybe the issue is that you do not want other people to know that you really are the author of your written work, and that in and of itself is a little shameful. Why write if you can not appreciate your own work enough to put your name on it.
There is also a possibility that you use a “real name” however it’s just not your real name, and there is not anything wrong with that as long as you are not covering up who you actually are.
So what’s your opinion? What made you choose the name you use?
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August 17th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Hi
I chose Silent Wasp because of three reasons.
1. I used my real name until just recently. My ex girlfriends mother used to visit my page, esspecially after I posted an angry poem where I described in detail how id kill her! I never mentioned her name, but nevertheless I had to change my name on here to avoid her seeing any of my future publications.
2. Silent Wasp is a name I came up with as a name for my in-game characters for all the First Person Shooter games I used to play as a teen. It also carried onto the online gaming world where I used Silent Wasp as a name for my lethal character in games like Combat Arms. Like a wasp, my character would silently but deadly sting my foes as I hunt them down!
3. The name is ironic when it comes to writing. As a writer im anything BUT silent! I sting my readers with words of truth, as I speak out…
So just because I have a cool username type pen name doesnt mean im not serious about my writing! It just means that I have PERSONALITY!. And that is something one rarely see’s in a writer nowdays!
So great article, and thanks for the interesting read!
Dejan AKA the Silent Wasp
August 17th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Dejan,
Hey there! (and as a side note yes that is my picture and thank you
Thanks for explaining why you chose your pen name
It’s a pretty creative name…taking into account the meaning of both words.
I think that it’s okay when authors choose to use an internet handle as long as they also have their real name be seen somewhere (profile/signature) so that the reader knows that they are not hiding behind some name that is not their own.
And yes it does fit your writing style perfectly…you do *sting* your readers with words of truth
Thanks for reading and commenting!
-Alaina
August 18th, 2010 at 8:55 am
I don’t understand why you consider it so important to use one’s real name. Yes, the name should sound professional (would I take relationship advice from “EffOffPlonker” or somesuch?) but there are many legitimate reasons for concealing one’s real name. One could, for example, be a writer of erotica in one’s own time, but concerned about that reflecting badly one’s full time job as a teacher for example. Or even more simply one could want to write from experience about topics such as depression but avoid the possibility of discrimination when a future employer Googles your name. Professional traditional print authors often have a different pen-name for different genres so that they can write edgier stuff under one name without putting off readers of their more romantic works. The reading public should be able to accept that an author can write in many genres, but in practice many of them can’t and the loss of even a small percentage of readers is something to be avoided if possible. Returning to erotica, some male writers will adopt a female pen name so as not to put off female readers. Yes, that’s pandering to their prejudices, but the customer (reader) is always right, as they say.
It depends very much on the genre, too. In technology writing an obvious user name type pen name wouldn’t put me off – it’s quite acceptable practice there, but less so in lifestyle or women’s interest articles.
Personally I think Triond should allow multiple pen names per account to align with what the hard copy publishing industry has always allowed.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I have asked this question to a few best selling authors out there who I know use a pen name…and Bruce hits the nail on the head with the reasons…most of it has to do with a personna and genre, the other having to do with needing to conceal their name in connection with erotica / steaming novels. I know a few teachers that write in that genre and they do not want their students to know it’s them. This is completely understandable. As for me…I think you know me well enough….I have no desire to use anything but my real name. I am very proud of it and hopefully, when and if I am successful…lots of folks will say..”OH MY GOD! I know him! hahahaha! Well done!
August 18th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Good article. Good name too—you’re lucky you had an eloquent name to start with.
I chose my pen name simply because, for some reason, I thought Triond, when I joined, might be a religious writers site and so tested the water with the ‘666’ moniker—knowing that if it WAS a religious site they’d probably reject it.
And now—well, I’ve got used to it.
August 20th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I think that a pen name does not tell someone if the person is serious about writing or not. But I think that some pen names foreshadow the type of writing the person may write or what a person who sees the pen name expects them to write.
I also think that just because someone uses a pen name, that doesn’t mean that they don’t want their name attached to it, as if they are ashamed of what they write. Pen names are usually used so that the write may have privacy when they want or need it. You never know, you might be writing on Triond one minute and then become a famous author the next, not all people want random strangers able to look up them up and get information on them.
Who knows, maybe there are famous authors on sites like Triond but maybe they want to be able to write something different than what they are known to write but because, in general, people aren’t used to change, it’s easier to write anonymously on places like this.
There are many reasons to take a pen name and they are not all (if at all period) are shameful reasons. If a pen name offends someone, they don’t have to read that persons work. If they think it’s not professional, they can go somewhere else. Maybe the person who made the pen name doesn’t care because they feel that for the non snobs out there, their work will prove a worthy read.
September 15th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
good advice.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:44 am
When I am finally published, I plan on using a pen name for a very simple reason: My real last name is a whopping thirteen letters long and is (apparently) hard to pronounce. I’m planning on picking out a more simple surname so I don’t spend so much of my time correcting people’s spelling and/or pronunciation of my real surname.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:44 am
When I am finally published, I plan on using a pen name for a very simple reason: My real last name is a whopping thirteen letters long and is (apparently) hard to pronounce. I\’m planning on picking out a more simple surname so I don\’t spend so much of my time correcting people\’s spelling and/or pronunciation of my real surname.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:45 am
Apologies for the double post. My browser decided to have a fit.