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Good morning TB'ers
I was wondering if any of you have a pseudonym under which you write and, if so, how you arrived at that name? I am considering using one but am currently considering various permutations.
Have you chosen maiden names, middles names, favourite actor/musician/artist names etc. when deciding on your pseudonym?
Comments
If you don't like your first name, you could always use your initials, it never did J.K. Rowling any harm.
Pet name from childhood (which is actually a real name) plus maiden name.
Should have Googled first - also the name of a quite famous actress and a historical figure!
Like Lizy, if I wrote something very different in style, then I'd consider using a different name.
My Serena Lake pseudonym took a long time to come to. I didn't want it to be too long nor too simple, and it had to suggest romance, then when I googled it there was a place- a hotel, but not another writer.
There are several different reasons why people choose a pseudonym. You probably know these already but I think it's worth going over them.
One reason is mine: it's the same or similar to another writer.
You might want to appear to be the opposite sex because of the genre in which you write. J.K. Rowling was famously advised to use her initials because boys might not read her books otherwise. It's unfair that you should have to think about this but writers need to be realistic.
You might want to appear to be in a different age group, particularly if you're an older writer. Literary agents are said to be prejudiced against older writers, presumably because they think they won't get much mileage out of them. This won't apply to all of them but you don't know which ones.
If your name is Reginald Smith or Mary Thompson it might be a good idea to choose one that's a bit more memorable (Could be in trouble with that one.)
Place names are a good source for surnames. I once chose the place where I was born. I've always found the client list on the Society of Authors' website useful.
I once changed to my maiden name for an article because my husband featured in it!
I mention this only to show how important it is to consider a pseudonym from a reader's perspective as well as our own.
I agree with Liz that it is so much easier to work with one name, but also see merit in using different names for different publications.
Someone I know is called Mr Tickle. Can you guess the forename of Mrs Tickle?
My sister's next door's neighbour's house was named same
Katherine can be Kathryn, or Catherine or Cathryn.
Elizabeth can be Elisabeth.