A pen name, or nom de plume, is the pseudonym an author uses to conceal his or her true identity. Often famous authors will use a pen name when writing in another genre than that which they are known for. Sometimes famous people use a pen name because they do not want the book to be associated with what they do, or they do not want to use their fame to sell the book (which begs the question, "Why not?"). Should the average self-publisher use a pseudonym? Probably not.
When you are an unknown author, you will only mask your identity by using a pen name. How do you expect to sell books if you do not give your real name? You want to garner fame...and that won't be possible if no one knows who you really are. In my experience self-published authors tend to use odd pen names anyway. One fellow used his high school nickname and it really wasn't very flattering. My advice is that unless you are already well known for something else and don't want your real name known, do not use a pseudonym. It is not helpful when you market your book.
1 comment:
What if the author has a very common name? And there is already one known Author in Canada, and at least two in the US that have the same name? Both these examples hold true for me specifically, and I am heavily weighing on self publishing a book very shortly. MY real name is an issue, and I am uncertain what to do about this.
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