Authors reveal the different reasons they have adopted alternative literary. Jk rowling secretly wrote a book under a different name. For articles, short stories, and poetry, you can simply put your real name in the upper left corner of your manuscript or on the cover page, and list your pen name as your byline beneath the title. For articles, short stories, and poetry, you can simply put your real name in the upper left corner of your. Pen names have also been used by established authors who want to write in another genre and want to use the pen name to target an entirely different audience. People get lured into crafting titles that are exacting and longwinded in an effort to make the title signal the book idea and audience. Sales on a new crime novel called the cuckoos calling shot up more than 500,000% when it was revealed that the author, robert galbraith, was really j.
War veteran bill spence writes as jessica blair, and lawrence block writes under a number of both female and male pseudonyms. Writing yourself a pen name creative writing the guardian. But when the name of jenny cabot became more popular, the. There is no rule stating that if you do use a pseudonym that somewhere on the book you need to mention your real name. Trade publishers are notoriously wary of using the same author name across different genres, or of using a name that they feel is inappropriate for a particular book hence the morphing of. The legal consequences of using real people in fiction ask a. Richard bachman is a pen name used by horror fiction author stephen king. Rowling writes a crime novel under a male pen name. Microsoft word is universally recognized, and youre probably already familiar with it. A pseudonym or alias is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which.
Joanna talked about her decision to write under two names last year when she chatted with the write practice team. Why do romance authors write under multiple pseudonyms. Should you use different pen names if you write in different genres. There is only so much room on a book cover, so the shorter the name, the more prominent it will be.
But one of the most common reasons authors write under aliases is because their earlier works bombed. The series of novels known as a series of unfortunate events are written by daniel handler under the pen name of lemony snicket, a character in the series. Murray, who writes interracial romance novels, is a man i cant confirm he uses a pen name because he writes in the romance category, but i wouldnt be surprised if that was his motivation. Famous authors who wrote under pen names business insider. If youre considering using a pen name when selfpublishing a book, youll want to. While an account named dumbledores beard tm posted. Writing under different names justine larbalestier. So when it broke that not only had rowling written another book but that readers could. Ill take another look at it soon to do some further revision, but im. Sometimes authors use a pseudonym that is easier to spell and remember. If your name is lacey darling and youre writing a spy thriller, having a cooler name might influence just enough early buyers to make a difference. Is it possible to publish a novel under an alias or the. You might also choose to write under different author names.
If a writer didnt make money for the publisher the first time, hes not likely to get a second chancepublishers would prefer to give someone new a shot. Like when steven king wrote the girl who loved tom gorden he wrote it under another name to see the reactions he got to a different style of writing. Robert galbraith the cuckoos calling and the silkworm. The book, about a war veteran turned private investigator called cormoran strike, and. Typically, youll put the chapter number about a third of the way down the page, then start the text a few lines below that. May 29, 2012 depends on the style of the publisher. It took 7 days to write the book, the fastest ive ever completed a novel. Their decision to write and become an author under a pen name. For example, writers digest doesnt italicize them just treats them as regular proper nouns but national geographic for kids magazine does.
Authors too numerous to count write under multiple names across various genres for people like me. A writer with an audience in romance will choose a different pen name for a dark, dystopian fantasy. I want to know what the professional name is for when a writer does this. If you can, aim to keep the main title around 5 words or less. Like when steven king wrote the girl who loved tom gorden he wrote it under another name. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device. Im writing a book of cryptograms, using quotations from mystery novels. Nov 28, 20 trade publishers are notoriously wary of using the same author name across different genres, or of using a name that they feel is inappropriate for a particular book hence the morphing of joanne rowling into the more masculine j k rowling, even though she doesnt have a middle name. If youve been published frequently under another name, make reference to. If youd like to write or publish something under a different name, there are. Jk rowling publishes crime novel under false name books.
King therefore wanted to write under another name, in order to. Another reason to choose selfpublishing under an alternative name could be because the authors real name is too long. Xgens with hyphenated surnames opt for something short. It also helps to avoid muddying up your also boughts on amazon with the wrong books because of author name overlap.
Like brand names, they are designed to be catchy, memorable and suited to the genre. Your author name is part of your brand, and the use of a pseudonym is something that many writers consider in their careers for different reasons. I have made quite a few friends online over the years through fan fiction and online fiction, and i didnt want to invalidate the name id made by using a different name for my novels. Writing under a fictitious name was a very common practice in the eighteenth century, when writers and journalists used pseudonyms to pen controversial or even illegal articles and letters to the editor.
I know that one name for it is a pen name but there is another one that is a special word for it. The book, about a war veteran turned private investigator called cormoran strike, and described by. Rowling to publish another book under pen name following the success of the cuckoos calling, rowling will write another mystery novel by eliana dockterman feb. Alias use complicates your status as a person legally unless that alias is incorporated as you. We manage the submission process for writers of books, stories. Jul 14, 20 while an account named dumbledores beard tm posted. Roquelaure, the author of four medieval erotic novels. If you want to get wordy, then leave that to the subtitle. Whats it called when a writer writes under another name.
While selfpublished writers have the freedom to choose. This article has over 67,360 views and 90% of readers. Rowling was worried male readers wouldnt pick up a book about wizard knowing it was written by a woman. This applies also to some of the several 18thcentury english and. If a writer didnt make money for the publisher the first time, hes not likely to get a. Even if they love the book, they wont share it or comment on it, because its just a book, and they cant forge a relationship with a book.
Apr 29, 2008 but one of the most common reasons authors write under aliases is because their earlier works bombed. Later in their novel writing careers, some authors choose to change the name under. Jk rowling revealed as author of the cuckoos calling bbc news. Rowling called writing under the pen name of robert galbraith such a liberating experience. Writing stack exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, nonfiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing. Under her own name, anne rice is known as the author of the vampire chronicles. Pseudonym, pen name or alias authors have been writing under names other than their own for centuries, and their reasons for doing so differ from writer to writer. If i could go back in time and change one thing about my writing career it would be to sell how to ditch your fairy under a different name. But when the name of jenny cabot became more popular, the publisher reprinted the series with the cover saying meg cabot writing as jenny carroll and it sold way better. Jk rowling is the author and she writes the harry potter series, blomsbury is the.
At the beginning of stephen kings career, the general view among publishers was that an author was limited to one book per year, since publishing more would be unacceptable to the public. Once i started writing it in december and ive finished the first draft. Aug 15, 2019 if you write in multiple genres with little overlap fiction vs. With a few customizations, it can make writing your book easy. If you write in multiple genres with little overlap fiction vs. We are on book tour for your life is a book and will be blogging about it with tips for writing and publishing your memoir. At the beginning of stephen kings career, the general view among publishers was that an author was limited. Another reason an author might use a pen name is if their real name is the same as an established author writing in the same genre. Each quote will be 12 sentences long, and the accurate sources and authors will be included. Writers have adopted pseudonyms or pen names to disguise themselves for a number of reasons.
I never identify him by name hes my exfriend and ive made up 90% of the events that happen in the book. For example, the romance writer nora roberts writes mystery novels under the name j. War veteran bill spence writes as jessica blair, and lawrence block writes under a number of both female and. The legal consequences of using real people in fiction. If you dont have a chapter name and dont want to use chapter numbers, you can simply start your text a third of the way down that first main page. Newt scamander fantastic beasts and where to find them. A pseudonym is distinct from an allonym, which is the real name of another person, assumed by the author of a work of art. Another use of a pseudonym in literature is to present a story as being written by the fictional characters in the story. If the genres arent too dissimilar, it might actually work in your favor to keep writing under your name in order to retain your readership. In the submission process, you dont want to confuse the editor or agent by using multiple names. Writing under a pen name, or a pseudonym blomsbury is the publisher which publishes the harry potter series.
In fact, its far more difficult to name yourself than to name a character when youre writing novels. Writers use pseudonyms for a variety of reasons, and many successful. In those days, they were only allowed one book a year under most. Taking a pen name might be best for yousay, if youre writing erotica but want to take a shot at middle grade fictionbut maybe not. Charles dodgson was a mathematician and anglican deacon who possibly wanted to distance himself from his hobby of writing nonsense literature and childrens stories. Ill take another look at it soon to do some further revision, but im very pleased to have got to this stage and im pretty happy with the story. Use a pen name to switch genres or professions joanna penn is a bestselling nonfiction writer. Its a pen name if the writer picks it, a house name if the publisher has a series where many writers contribute books to it. Whenever fiction writers ask for my advice about pseudonyms, theyre usually wondering. My real name is michele cooke, but i write as chele cooke because my internet presence over the last decade has always been under the name chele. The series of novels known as a series of unfortunate events are written by daniel. But with the pen name, i know exactly what im getting before i buy a book. But she has also penned works under two other names. There is only so much room on a book cover, so the shorter the name, the more.
If you want to write a book, you need word processing software thats up to the task. This also works the other way, and there are men writing as women in the romance genre. In another instance, stephen king wrote a few books early in his career under the name of richard bachman. If the authors name is hard to remember or is unusual. When youre writing an essay that includes a book title, it can be confusing to write the title correctly. My main character is loosely based on a real person. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over. Rowling writes a crime novel under a male pen name j. Using different author names or a pseudonym as a writer the. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. Often, writing under a pseudonym is as easy as putting the phrase writing as on your manuscript. Using different author names or a pseudonym as a writer. Mar 29, 2019 wikihow is a wiki, similar to wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are cowritten by multiple authors.