Pennames -- Can They Be Really Useful?
Pennames
Can They Be Truly Useful?
Pennames are not just an affectation, just so someone can hide their plain old name and call themselves by some grandiose name, e.g., Sage Desert-Brush, or some such silly thing. Yes, they can be used for this purpose, and if one wants to, there is no harm in it, I suppose. Some people do this. But really, pennames, or noms de plume, as the French like to call them, are so much else, can be used for so much more, as well.
A nom de plume can do lots of things for you. In fact, one can use a number of different pennames. These can be to help you organize, compartmentalize, and create barriers between types of writing genres that you do. Yes, it is to hide your true identity in some respects, but this is not nearly as scurrilous or as awful as people might think. There are lots of good reasons to use pennames.
For instance, publishers will often tell a successful writer (I know a six-figure-income mystery writer who went through this recently), to publish a line of books under a new penname. The reason -- the public gets bored with books always being by the same author. By changing the name, it entices readers to read stuff by the "new author." You see, the writing quality of the author has always been the same; it's just the readers' attention span, likes and/or dislikes of the moment that necessitates authors to be flexible about pennames.
Also, as with me, personally, I write many things, different styles and genres, so it helps if I use pennames to keep them separate. Why should I want to keep them separate? Well, a publisher may want my science fiction works, but not if my name is big in the romance field. He may think I'm "unsuited" for science fiction, since my background is in romances.
It just wouldn't have the right cachet for science fiction, if you get what I mean. See? Yes, it is a bias on the part of the publisher(s) in this case, but then, who hasn't such biases. If I were a publisher wanting to sell books, would I take a poet's science fiction novel seriously, if I knew they were first, foremost, and almost exclusively a poet? Probably not! That's human nature, I suppose.
But, by using one penname for romances, and another for science fiction, and perhaps a third for something else, like poetry, I can tailor myself and my work to those genres and those publishers/readers better. My resumes also are tailored for each genre in this respect. After all, one must put one's best foot forward. If you are interviewing to be a gardener, it is perfectly okay to dress in gardening apparel. But if you are interviewing to be a banker, then you probably should wear dressier clothes to the meeting. This is just simple commonsense, and it works for writing/pennames much the same way. And it isn't being false.
Your wardrobe may contain both types of "clothing," even as my writing history contains both types of genres. So, when I write to a science fiction publisher, I showcase what I've published already in the science fiction field. When I write paranormal romances, I showcase by background successes in that field. They are all real, all true, all part of my background. But I just pick and choose from my "wardrobe," as it were.
Another point is marketing. As an example, did you know that women prefer their romance novels to be written by women? Well, they do. So a female penname is not uncommon for male authors to use. There are several rather famous male authors that do use female pennames when writing books aimed at a female audience.
Same goes for women. As far back as the famous author, George Sand, who in real life was Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, Baronne Dudevant, and probably even much further back in history than that, women have used male pennames. Why? Because at the time, if they wanted to be taken seriously and not just as a romance writer, they had to appear as a male author to their unsuspecting male readership.
How about J.K. Rowling? Did you ever wonder why she used initials? The story goes that she was encouraged to use only her first initials for her name for the Harry Potter books. These books were geared, that is, they were aimed at a young male audience primarily. It was only her great talent that allowed this narrow audience to ultimately expand to include adults of both sexes, and children of all ages of both sexes, as well. But originally, her work was primarily aimed at young adolescent males. And young adolescent males like their stuff to be written by "guys." So, this made sense to use the slight-of-hand with her name by using initials instead. That way, the young male readers could just assume it might be a man writing the Harry Potter novels.
And finally, as one last example, many women writers like to write erotica (as do many men). So, they use a special penname for just this sole purpose. Again, why? Because a lot of people, publishers included, have a very negative viewpoint of authors who write erotica, despite the huge demand for such work by devoted readers. So, even female authors often use a different penname for erotica works, versus their real or another penname for their standard romances, or other writing genres.
Now, this isn't meant to "hoodwink" the audience. Remember those "biases" that some publishers have about one's writing record? Well, readers have them too, as with young men who like books to be written by males, and women who like their romances written by women. So, this is just a way to get around those preconceived and erroneous prejudices on the part of such readers. After all, given the chance, once they read the book, they might just like it!
Also, some of us authors have prejudices about what we write, or to explain it better, about what we want to be known for. I love science fiction. That's what I want to be ultimately known for in my dotage.
However, I enjoy knocking out the occasional time-travel romance, or supernatural romance. It's decent money, quick, and fun. I'm not embarrassed by this, but neither do I want this aspect of my writing to color people's perceptions of me overall as an author. I also do technical writing, and I do factual articles. But again, it is for my science fiction I'd like to truly be known.And so I use pennames. It keeps the genres separate for me, and allows me to be known in science fiction circles as "Rob Shelsky." What I'm known as in romance circles is my little secret.
And you can have your little secrets, too! They are harmless, can be very constructive, and further your career in diverse ways. So, don't let age-old prejudices or biases on the part of some publishers, certain readers, or even other authors stop you from writing in any genre you'd like to write. Just use a penname! I do. And I know a large number of other authors that do, as well. And as for my little joke at the beginning of this blog about using a penname like Sage Desert-Brush -- well, if you are a woman writer who specializes in westerns, or western romances, this may be the perfect penname. So, jut keep that in mind!
What penname or pennames might work for you? Have you ever wondered? They can actually help, you know, and they can even aid you in advancing your career if used correctly. They can help make you money, increase your fame, and so your readership! So, when it comes to using pennames -- give it some thought! They allow an author a wonderful sense of freedom, and it is a valuable freedom at that, for it is the freedom of choice!
