Should You Write Under A Pen Name?

Pseudonyms, or pen names, have been around for a long time. Woman used to use them to hide their sex from readers back when it was uncommon for women to write and publish books. 

 

Today, pen names are still used to hide the author's sex. If a female author is writing in a genre that is predominately male, such as thriller or science fiction, they may choose to use a pen name to mask their sex. Some authors decide to use initials and their last name so the reader doesn't know which sex the writer is. Yet others, choose a different name altogether.

 

But writers aren't only using pen names to hide their sex. They could be using a pen name to differentiate between different genres of books.

 

For example, Nora Roberts is famous for her romance novels. However, when she branched out into futuristic mystery stories, she decided to publish under the pen name of J.D. Robb.

 

Why would she do this? The short answer is marketing.

 

When Nora Roberts decided to publish her first futuristic mystery, she was already well established in the romance world. Her readers knew what they could expect from her stories. But writing romance and writing a mystery set in the future require different story elements. Readers of those genres expect different things.

 

There's also the algorithms to consider. Computers are funny. They like things to be direct and straightforward. So when an author that has written dozens of romance books puts out a new book, the computer is going to want to show that new book to the readers who've previously enjoyed that author's stories.

 

Not every romance reader who's loved Nora Roberts's romance novels is going to enjoy her mysteries. It's a totally different genre. But the computer gets confused. The author is the same. Surely the same readers would want to read this new book, too.

 

In steps the pen name.

 

These days, many authors are open about using pen names. It isn't a secret as it has been in times past. This way the readers that want to follow the author to their new genre of books can, but the new name makes it very clear which type of story the reader will be getting. And it makes the algorithms happy, too.

 

So the question becomes, when should you use a pen name?

 

1) When you want to mask your sex. If you're a woman writing a thriller or a man writing a romance, you may choose to make it less obvious which sex you are. I know a few male romance authors who write under pseudonyms.

 

2) You write in multiple genres. This is perhaps the most common reason I encounter these days. I know several authors who write in different genres who use a different pen name for each genre so they don't confuse readers or the algorithms. 

 

When it comes down to it, using a pen name is all about marketing. You want to present yourself in the best way in order to find your right readers and sometimes that means using a pen name.