pseudonyms

I think it's pretty common for authors to use pseudonyms, regardless of the reasons. WoTF judge, David Wolverton, goes by David Farland as well, and his only reason was to allow for easier genre hopping.

If you think it'll be helpful, I say go for it.

I read a post about Dave getting a review where the reader made the comment that Wolverton could be found on the last shelf at the end of the last row. That was unacceptable. I believe that Farland is his mother's maiden name.

We are fiction writers, and spec fic at that. You can be anything you want. I think having a difficult name is an excellent reason to change it. If people can't remember or pronounce your name, how will they tell their friends to buy your books one day? Choose wisely. It will be your brand, and as you build your brand, that name cannot be changed without losing all the work you did to make it known.

When you write your stories, your real name and address go on the upper left of the first page, but your byline is your pseudonym.

Thanks all. I think I'll continue to use my more easily pronounceable/spell-able name then. My current name isn't very long, but in my experience nearly everyone I've ever met has had difficulty even attempting it.

On a related note, is it still limiting to have a female name when writing sci fi novels, or are we past that now?

We are fiction writers, and spec fic at that. You can be anything you want. I think having a difficult name is an excellent reason to change it. If people can't remember or pronounce your name, how will they tell their friends to buy your books one day? Choose wisely. It will be your brand, and as you build your brand, that name cannot be changed without losing all the work you did to make it known.

Right, readers have to be able find your books. When I worked at Barnes & Noble, half the staff would shelve Eric Van Lustbader's books under "L" and the other half under "V". Like Moon says, choose wisely.

On a related note, is it still limiting to have a female name when writing sci fi novels, or are we past that now?

We better be past it... but almost every female author I can think of in the genre uses their initials, which makes me think this is a hill that hasn't been taken yet.

Dave's email for today mentions Anne McCaffrey. No initials there and one of the greatest female writers ever IMHO. If any of you have never read her Pern series you have something to look forward to. Especially if you like dragons.

On a related note, is it still limiting to have a female name when writing sci fi novels, or are we past that now?

In getting that novel published right now, and in garnering awards, I would think it's a plus to be known as a female author. The industry is bending over backwards right now to prove it's inclusive. Not just me saying that--I've had this discussion with other editors as well. Look at the 2019 Hugo and Nebs for best novel, and you'll see Mary Robinette Kowal. An SF female author that doesn't feel she needs to hide behind initials to sell, and indeed, she does not.

Having said this, here is the reason I believe the industry is bending over backwards, and why some female authors still have fears about writing under a female gender associated name. Funny, I read this after the post above. Serendipitous timing! Here's the empirical data.

https://www.tor.com/2019/09/10/gender-a ... fe286990c7

Writers of the Future is blind submissions, so your name, gender etc. can't even have a subconscious effect in this contest. I don't know much about novels, but many of my favourite contemporary short stories are by female authors.

Have you thought about using the initial for your difficult-to-pronounce name? Or shortening it in some way? A difficult-to-pronounce name doesn't seem to have done Annie Proulx, Chuck Palahniuk or Dr. Seuss any harm, but there are exceptions to every rule of course.

Privacy-wise, I didn't want to use my name initially, being a private person myself. I always used a pseudonym online and spent months coming up with a domain name for my website. But I ended up in a band and winning photo competitions, so my name started appearing online and in newspapers, interviews etc. I gradually became more comfortable with that sort of exposure, and I am proud of my name - it's part of me. All that time thinking of a domain name turned out to be a waste of time as I decided I didn't like it. Rather than think of another new name, I ended up redirecting it to a domain name of my name. Just something to think about - like Wulf says, your name is your brand. It'd be a pain if you wanted to change it in the future. Then again, a maiden name isn't really a change is it? So after writing all that, my feeling is you'd be forever happy using your maiden name!

For most of my life, my name was Chris Hinkle. But, about seven years ago I changed it to Chris Henckel (the original spelling before in was anglicized 300 years ago).

Thus far, I publish under the Hinkle spelling of my name. Mostly because this is stuff I wrote while learning the craft of writing. It’s not necessarily award winning material.

But, once I go pro (and I will, because I’m determined) I will publish under the Henckel spelling on my name. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one to me.

…Or I could publish under an entirely new name. Maybe Hank. I could be a Hank…

Hank Henckel has a certain ring to it.

Dr. Hank Henckel III, Jr.

I got two words for ya: Engelbert Humperdinck.

I changed it to Chris Henckel (the original spelling before in was anglicized 300 years ago).

Hmm... Dane MacThoirdealbhoigh has a ring to it... or perhaps its translation, Dane, the Illustrious Son of Thor

...but for now I'll stick to Curley. 😉

Growing up I was Donnie to family and friends. George Harrison named his son Dhani and I like that spelling.

My mothers maiden name was Beck. I came up with a pen name of Dhani Beck I plan to use in the future.

That should move my books closer to the front than they will be with my given name.

I read a post about Dave getting a review where the reader made the comment that Wolverton could be found on the last shelf at the end of the last row. That was unacceptable. I believe that Farland is his mother's maiden name.

Seriously, for a guy writing fantasy, Far Land is kinda perfect.
I figured he picked it for that reason, would be cool if it's a family name.

I read a post about Dave getting a review where the reader made the comment that Wolverton could be found on the last shelf at the end of the last row. That was unacceptable. I believe that Farland is his mother's maiden name.

Seriously, for a guy writing fantasy, Far Land is kinda perfect.
I figured he picked it for that reason, would be cool if it's a family name.

Ha, I never noticed that before!

There's a scientist called Richard Wiseman and all sorts of other real-name examples. One of the funniest I saw was Jenny Taylor, who wrote a book about certain parts of the anatomy.