What kind of name should a fantasy author go by?

Question

I'm currently in the middle of writing several fantasy books and, even though I'm not done with any of them, I can't stop thinking about how my name will appear on my books once they are finished.

I remember reading somewhere that authors should go by names that are sort of related to their genre. I don't know if that's actually important or not. If my name is Sage Piché, would that be good enough (Piché is pronounced pee-shay, by the way)? Or should it be S. M. Piché? Or should I come up with a new name altogether?

Answer 1

I do not know the source of that claim you heard, but I think you're taking it too literally. Generally, most authors just use their name. There's nothing about the name "J.R.R. Tolkien" or "Terry Pratchett" or "Ursula Le Guin" that's particularly related to speculative fiction, except after the fact - those names are related to the genre because that's what those famous authors wrote.

In some genres that are perceived "masculine", a woman might wish to mask her gender. This was the case for J.K. Rowling and Robin Hobb. In some situations one might wish to mask one's ethnicity, as was the case for Janusz Korczak, for example. The situation on those things keeps changing though: things that it was advisable, for the sake of publicity, to mask some decades ago, can now become an advantage.

If you're set on picking a pseudonym, you would want to avoid something that stands out in the wrong way. As an example, unless you're writing sleazy romance, you probably wouldn't want to be called Roxie Lust. But if you do write sleazy romance, you don't have to call yourself Roxie Lust - there's nothing wrong with a perfectly neutral name that sounds like an actual person's name.

That's about it. Don't worry about it. If you want to use your name, just use your name.

Answer 2

Just use your Initials and last name

G.R.R. Martin

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.K Rowling

seems to work well for them...

If your last name doesn't have a nice ring to it, just make one up. Or if your last name is too foreign for english language novels (by that I mean Easter, or Middle Eastern), get a pen name.

Akhmed Bin Al Shahi --> you might consider calling yourself A B A Shane.

Yes the world is racist and sexist. And people do judge a book by its cover, and an author by the published name.

And believe me when I say, my real name is not the dolphin of france, that's just what the president calls me.

Answer 3

I don't think it matters. The only fantasy author I can think of who tweaked their name for remotely genre-related reasons was Joanne Rowling calling herself J K Rowling in case boys wouldn't read a story by a woman. I don't think someone new would have to do that today, thanks to her success.

Answer 4

The frame challenge of this question is whether you would like to be read by someone who considers your name to be an important factor in the decision on whether reading your book.

If having the largest readership is important to you, then you may also want to consider whether the content of your book would appeal to the majority before you even wonder about the pen name that you are going to use.

If you write for the pleasure of writing, or if the content of your writing is important to you, then your pen name should not matter. What matters is that your title and synopsis are well crafted to tell the interested readers that you have a book for them.