dragonsanddreamsYes, “Becca” is probably a friendlier name for the author of a kid’s book than is “Rebecca.” 

But what about other factors, such as shelf position, not to mention the possibility of even marrying right?

Oh, the possibilities. Kindle Boards has a lively discussion on writers’ names, with thoughts from authors of various genres.

Related: Google links to pen-name generators.  

2 COMMENTS

  1. I toyed with having pen name, if for no other reason than to have privacy in my non-writing life. I gave up the idea because it seemed like adopting a role that wasn’t me. That said, at times I do wish I’d gone with M. W. Perry rather than Michael W. Perry. It’s simpler and adds a bit of mystery. I still could, I guess. Mike Perry wouldn’t do. It’s too common, as you can see by checking out Amazon.

    I’ve always thought G. K. Chesterton was most fortunate. Chesterton is unusual enough, he’s not playing in a cluttered field and yet no one would ever misspell it. Easily spelled but not common isn’t easy to achieve.

    Not so Tolkien. “Ie” and “ei” spelling is always troublesome on English. I had a exchange of letters a little over a decade ago with a lawyer representing the Tolkien estate. Even he slipped up and gave the name as Tolkein from time to time. Fortunately, he no longer represents the estate. He was so ill-tempered, I referred to him as a “junk-yard dog.” He seemed to be laboring under the illusion that, lacking a strong legal argument, he could win by bullying. We eventually went to court and they lost, with their case dismissed by the judge “with prejudice.”

    Looking back, I would encourage new authors to at least consider the idea. It’s probably easier to flip and change your authorship to your real name later than vice-versa.

  2. When I named my company, 1 to 1 Discovery, I went back and forth about using numerals or spelling out “One.” Then I realized numerals guaranteed it would be first on every list or directory. That made the decision easy. 🙂

    I never considered using a pen name for my writing. The spelling of my first name is pretty unusual, and I like that.

The TeleRead community values your civil and thoughtful comments. We use a cache, so expect a delay. Problems? E-mail newteleread@gmail.com.