Questions tagged [pseudonym]
This tag should be used for questions about pseudonyms, for example about an author choosing not to reveal his real name to his audience by using a pseudonym when publishing. Pseudonyms are also sometimes called pen-names.
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Is it a bad idea to adopt an 'English' pen name as an Asian American writer to reach a wider audience?
There is currently a dearth of Asian American writers on U.S. library bookshelves, and those few authors who are Asian Americans tend to write about things associated with Asian culture. Think of Amy ...
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Can a self publishing author use a pen name/pseudonym?
I know that an author can use a pen name/pseudonym instead of a true name when publishing the traditional way. This is done by signing contracts with the publisher/agent using the real name ...
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Can I give a lecture about my book without disclosing my real name?
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 ...
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Why do writers use pseudonyms?
It's common enough -- recently I was looking for Seanan McGuire's newer book only to find it was published as "Mira Grant".
Why would an author do this?
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English - Acceptable use of parentheses in an author's name
My legal name is Barbara but I have gone by Babs since I was in the 4th grade. I have written a children's book and wanted to list my name as Barbara (Babs) but my editor said that it might not ...
Babs Benge
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Why shouldn't I use a pen name?
I don't like my name. I feel like seeing my name on the cover of my novel will be an embarassment more than a moment of pride - I just can't take things I've written under my own name seriously, for ...
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Should I bother allowing images (headshots) for pen names?
Please bear with me, the question really is for writers. I'm authoring software that manages ebooks. I'm to the point of representing the "profile" of authors who choose to use pen names.
How ...
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Do I need a pen name? And how do I pick a good one?
Try having the name 'James Thompson'. It doesn't really sound like a name a professional writer would have, does it? Because I don't think so.
So here is my question: Should I have a pen name instead ...
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Author changing name
Let us suppose an unmarried female author. She publishes something. Then she gets married, and chooses to change her surname to her husband's.
Obviously, she can choose not to change her surname. And ...
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Writing different genres
I like to write many different genres in my fiction writing but I think that this would be confusing as an author's name becomes somewhat of a brand. Is it therefore a good idea to invent pen names ...
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How to express copyright when you use a pen name
I am about to self-publish my first novel using a pen name. I will be registering the copyright this week.
My question is, on the first page of the novel where you put all the publishing/copyright ...
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Using a pen-name: possible legal issues
My question is about publishing under a pen-name.
Does it have to be registered as a trademark?
If it's not registered as a trademark, can someone sue a writer for using it? Because every name you ...
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Is it foolish to pursue a writing career while desiring complete anonymity?
I am writing my first novel. When I finish, I'd like to try publishing it. I've read other questions regarding the publishing process and they suggest that an aspiring author must do things like book ...
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Is it a bad idea to have a pen name with only an initial for a surname?
My name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. I really really don't like my last name Novkovic. It's so hard to pronounce and I worry it would just distract readers and not look ...
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Would there be any problems with choosing a pseudonym of another ethnicity and sex?
Taking some advice here
You might notice that pen names usually sound like names a real person would have. So when you want to make a writing career under a pen name, you might want to pick a less ...
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What to consider when choosing a pen name for a sci-fi novel?
I am writing a sci-fi novel with a female main character. My style is lo-tech, more about character development and a beautiful and unusual planet than about descriptions of technology. My target ...
user25668
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"Cease and Desist" for a pen name [duplicate]
Shortly after I published my first book, under my own name, somebody released a bunch of erotic fiction using my real name as their pseudonym.
It is difficult for me to point people at my books on ...
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Promoting your books when you've written under a pseudonym/pen name
I know this question could be considered a "list" question, or "subjective", but I think that it is a valid question and can be quite helpful for a lot of authors.
My question is, as a self-published ...
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When a publisher buys the copyright for my books, does that include the pen name I used?
Years ago, I wrote many westerns under half a dozen names for a publisher. They bought the copyright and published them. Now I'm hoping to write for a different publisher.
Can I still use one of the ...
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Is it easy to change genre?
I read somewhere that one should choose ones genre carefully, as it is hard to change later. Although there are exceptions, most writers, even established ones, find it hard to change genre, and have ...
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Using a fake name for book [duplicate]
So I want to use a fake name for my book, not my real name. How do I ensure that editors or agencies don't take advantage of that or play a trick when it comes to the credits of the book? How do I ...
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Use Pen Name after Blunder?
Three years ago I published a novel on Kindle. 10K free copies went out before I realized the text was vertical! It is still quite painful to recall.
I unpublished it, got a new cover, waited 6 ...
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How to introduce a fake name or alias for the sake of making a story clearer
I'm writing a scenario that describes what one person did when he worked for a company and want to use proper names for readability, but not use the real names of the people or company. But my ...
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Is it possible to self-publish with a pseudonym but still be approachable for offers?
I'm currently writing a book and intend to sell it to make some money on the side. Now I don't have any dreams of grandeur for this book such as it being an instant hit or anything like that and I'm ...
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Should I use a pen name so I don't get confused with other authors with similar names?
I have a common(ish) name, with at least one other writer out there with my exact name, although he writes in a different genre than I'm interested in, and another with a similar name that DOES write ...
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Should I use different pen names for different audiences (non-fiction)?
I am working on three separate works for three different audiences. All are non-fiction. One is for children ages eight to twelve, another is for teens ages fourteen to twenty, and the third is for ...
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Real-world issues with using an alias
It's not so much that I dislike my real name, but I have a few issues that make me uncomfortable with using it.
This is mainly due to the fact that it's quite unique, and while that is an advantage, ...
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Should I create a domain name using a pen name that is common with another person's domain name?
I'm considering a pen name to use, and I wanted to see if its firstlast.com domain is available, but it wasn't. So, I thought I could change the domain to something like firstlastwrites.com, ...
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How do writers differentiate personal beliefs from the messages of their writing in public discourse?
Hypothetically speaking, of course...
Let's say I write a work of fiction. It could be construed as highly disparaging to one or more demographics especially if you stop reading within the first few ...
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Can using my name as author harm my book sales?
My name is Vinícius Morais, and I'm new to writing books. I have finished my first fantasy novel. But do I keep my name as the author or create a pen name? The main problem is there's a great poet and ...
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Pseudonyms and Book signings
I use a pseudonym and was wondering what the decorum is for setting up a book signing or for signing some in-store copies if I happened to stumble across them.
I assume the stores have some minor ...
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Correct authorship attribution for online resource published under usernames
I am currently writing my PhD thesis and found a very helpful illustration of the human brain which is distributed under a CC license. I made some minor changes to the image, but of course I still ...
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Do I need to get a pen name?
I'm a self-published author, who is going to get a traditional publishing contract. They say it's my choice, but I have a doubt.
I have published a thriller novel, two mystery short stories, and also ...
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Can you publish an ebook as an Editor of someone else's writing under a pen name/pseudonym?
I have a collection of short notes and letters from someone I knew (who gave me permission to publish or share the writings) and I'm thinking if I can self-publish them as an ebook as "Editor" under a ...
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Is it offensive for a mixed raced American of no Japanese descent to use a Japanese pseudonym, merely just because they like it?
I’ve grown up on anime, and with unrelated Japanese family. I very much admire their culture and just want to know if it would be culturally offensive if I used a Japanese pen-name (Kumo Espinosa) ...
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What kind of name should a fantasy author go by?
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 ...
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How to pick a proper pen-name for online writing?
I have an ambitious idea of writing fantasy/erotica and turning it into a web comic (and get crazily rich, of course), for that I need a username/pen-name.
I need it to be catchy and memorable first ...
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What should I know to better decide which of my names to conceal/abbreviate/elaborate/modify/invent for signing my writing?
Having read about how J. K. Rowling names were chosen/created:
"Fearing that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers demanded that she ...
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What are the copyright limitations for adopting a fictional character's name as your Pen Name?
I wanted to use 'Dumbledore' as a part of my pen name. But I was told that by doing so I might, I just might subject myself to suing by J.K. Rowling (if she intends to).
Is that true? Can't I use ...
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How to associate my screenname with my books?
I've got a lot of history on the web under my screen name, including my writing blog and various pieces of other work scattered about. I'd love to associate it firmly with the self-published ebook ...
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Can I use a real person's name as a pseudonym?
I don't want to use my own name when publishing my book - my pseudonym is the name of a German actress. Is it ok to use it? It's not a common name, but my book is in English, and the actress is German,...
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Does age matter if you want to publish a non fiction book?
Specifically, with some kind of psychological subject, and some theories and philosophies.
The book will have subjects people generally refer to as from people experienced in life, who have been ...
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When self publishing, are there benefits to making a company to represent your books? Is that then a publishing house?
Is it possible to create a company that acts like a publishing house?
I imagine registering a company and contracting the novels I write under its name, and then putting them on Amazon and ...
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How to choose a good/suitable pseudonym
I write fantasy humour (fantahumour, if you will) stories but I have recently written a rather different story in the form of a horror.
Naturally, I want to associate myself with both genres, but ...
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How to write under a complete separate identity - pseudonym, pen name - everything?
I want to write under an identity that is not traceable back to me, so that people may not scrutinize me from my writing - neighbors, employers, coworkers - you know. Is there any foolproof way in ...
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Publish the same book under two names
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 "...
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Amazon question: Can different pen names under the same KDP account be publicly connected?
If I put two pen names under the same KDP account, is there any way for the public to find out that they are written by the same person? KDP says 'no', but sometimes the official version isn't the ...
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Is it possible to keep a pen name's identity anonymous today?
Given that a copyright application protects an author and has the "Pseudonymous" option, the legal claimant is always required in the form if you intend to have any legal protections, ...
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Authenticity and writing under a pen name [closed]
My question is about marketing and using a pen name. Ofc I want to connect to readers, but I wonder if it's possible to be authentic if you're not revealing your 'true' identity. Is this a matter of '...
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Can I change my name after publishing? Do publishers take poorly to it?
I just published my first childrens book under my chosen name. However, I am gender queer which is why I have a chosen name and I thought publishing under it was the right thing for me but now that it’...
