I have an article where one of the authors has asked that his name on the byline be his military pilot callsign (e.g., Maverick or Iceman). Is there a proper way to identify that the name used (e.g., Maverick) is a callsign on the byline? Should it just be: By Maverick?
-
Is this a non-fiction article?– hszmvCommented Apr 15, 2021 at 16:50
-
Yes it is non-fiction.– MichaelCommented Apr 16, 2021 at 21:18
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
If he wants to only be known by his callsign, then that should be all that's given as his name. Ask him first, but you can write his [first name][callsign in quotes][last name]. For example, the second man to walk on the moon was Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, but the history books will always refer to him as Buzz Aldrin.
But again, because this is how he wants his credit given, you should respect his wishes. He might not want his family name out there or find that his full name is a little embarrassing in full or part (The actor who played Marty McFly in Back to the Future has the legal name of Michael Andrew Fox. Where does the "J" come from? Well, the screen actors guild does not allow names of members to be duplicated, there was already a SAG member with the name Michael Fox, and Michael A. Fox would lead to a few unfortunate snickers, so he took the letter "J" as a middle initial).
At the end of the day, you should respect their wishes in how they receive the published credit, even if it seems silly to you. Callsigns among military pilots and aviators (Maverick and Iceman are aviators. The Air Force has pilots, the Navy has aviators. To the non-military initiated, they do the same basic job of flying a plane. To them, getting this wrong is a grave insult.) are important parts of their identity as much as their actual name.
