Can I give a lecture about my book without disclosing my real name?

Question

I have a non-fiction book about language learning, entrepreneurship, productivity and personal growth in general. The problem is: I have published this book using a pen name (pseudonym). I would prefer to keep myself anonymous, as the book is filled with personal stories and experiences that I had with other people and even real-world companies and universities.

However, I would also like to give some lectures about the topics included in the book, in order to promote it.

The question is: can I give a lecture using just my pen name, without revealing my real name and affiliations? Would it be unethical or even forbidden by law?

As an alternative, I thought about including myself as a co-author, but this also seems to be unusual.

Answer 1

Yes...but...

Yes, of course you can use your pen name. Your audiences need never hear anything different. None of your marketing materials need give your real name.

The issue comes when you need to do things officially. Say, you get booked for a lecture and they set up transportation or a hotel for you. You need ID for those, so they'll need to be in your real name. If it's really a secret, then you'll want to do your own transportation and lodging.

The other issue is how to get paid. For that, get yourself a Fictitious Business Name. As Amadeus points out, this is also called "doing business as" (DBA). In the United States your city or county will have the paperwork.

You need to research that no one else is using the name, and, if they are, that it's not in a field where yours might interfere. For example, if your pen name is used by an ice cream shop in another state, you're good. But if it's used by another writer, that's potentially a problem (though not a dealbreaker).

Then you do the paperwork and pay the fee. In my county, it's $45 for the first business name and $9 for any additional one (register all variations). After that, you are required to publish the notice in a local newspaper. They'll help you with that and it's not expensive, just a classified ad. Your Fictitious Business Name is good for 5 years.

Your bank will need to know your real name in addition to the FBN. Otherwise, you probably don't have to tell anyone.

Answer 2

Why would it be illegal or unethical to represent yourself as the author of the book you wrote under a different name?

I know I would go to a lecture given by John le Carre and never expect him to announce himself as anyone other than le Carre. Taking this example further, I might be disappointed should he take the podium and announce his real name. I want le Carre - oh, sorry, you just get the man who showed up. I would realize that this man was Carre, but never expect him to give his real name.

We know so many authors only by their pen names that we expect them to always go by them. Interviews with Piers Anthony were interviews with Piers Anthony.

Answer 3

I'm no lawyer, but here is a list of authors who use(d) pseudonyms. Do you suppose any of them did lectures or readings? I'm just guessing, but I bet a lot of them did: Mark Twain, Pablo Neruda, Stan Lee, etc.

Answer 4

At least in the USA, you can also file a DBA (Doing Business As) for your pen name, which gives you the right to sign contracts and do other stuff without revealing your real name. IANAL, but businesses use these all the time. It does become a matter of public record, but then somebody would have to go looking for it to learn your real name. You don't have to be a business to get one, though.

Answer 5

Check your local laws. My home country, for example, allows you to register an official alias name, which will even be written in your passport so that you can use it on official documents. This is specifically intended for authors, artists and religious purposes.

If you do not have this opportunity, then yes you can absolutely give a performance under a pen name. Musicians do it all the time (e.g. Cher is actually named Cherilyn Sarkisian, Alice Cooper is actually named Vincent Damon Furnier, etc.) so I fail to see why an author could not do it, both legally and ethically.

Note that a public appearance can easily break your anonymity. Someone takes a picture, posts it on Facebook, and from there it is easy to either compare it with other pictures of you (face recognition and reverse image search are both readily available) or someone simply recognizes you.