Publish the same book under two names

Question

I have self-published books under a name that I used before moving to another country, where I partially changed my name. I'd like to know if I could publish them again with my new name, but not "unpublishing" with my old name?

Answer 1

Self publication means you're more likely to have retained copyright, but it would be worth checking the terms and conditions of the provider you used. If there's any doubt, this would be something that would benefit from professional legal advice.

Assuming you have copyright with no conditions attached, this should be simple enough. Readers are going to figure out pretty quickly that the books are identical, so it might make sense - and could save having some people think you're being deceptive - to include the former name on the new publication.

There are some fine precedents for this, including Richard Bachman and Barbara Vine.