Pen names are older than the novel itself, and the reasons writers reach for them haven’t changed much since.
A pen name is a pseudonym used by an author in place of their real name. In addition to well-known examples like Dr. Seuss and Mark Twain, there are lesser known cases you might be surprised by. For instance: Agatha Christie wrote romance as Mary Westmacott, and Toni Morrison was actually the pen name of Chloe Wofford.
Writers have chosen to use pen names for many reasons throughout the ages, ranging from privacy to the gender and cultural implications of using a legal name. In this article, I will explore a few of those reasons, and unpack the logistics of choosing and using a pen name when it comes time to publish. Lastly, I will give you a Story Weapon to see if a pen name would be right for you.
A pen name is used by authors to allow them to get to the heart of their work while remaining incognito. Decide on whether a pen name is right to protect your privacy, thinking, community, work, or personality. Operating under a pen name is a well-established practice and is navigable, but needs to be discussed early on with a literary agent to decide on one that lasts you a career.
The Why: 5 reasons to use a pen name
A writer’s reason for choosing a pen name is often just as personal as the work they’ve decided to share with the world.
Here are five reasons which are often cited.
1. Privacy
For some writers, making their work public can have serious implications for their private life. Using a pen name can help to protect one from the other.
A writer may rightfully wish to separate their creative work from their professional career (especially if that work features a nagging boss, or clueless coworkers). When the work isn’t tied to their legal name, a writer can also choose who in their personal life has access to it. This can prevent negative reactions, and unwanted judgement.
If the work reaches a larger audience, then a pen name may also provide a shield from their avid readers. While we all want to become successful in reaching the public with our work, becoming a public figure is an entirely different prospect –– one for which many are not, ultimately, suited.
Writers are not all like famous actors who thrive in the limelight. Whether or not to use a pen name is an important consideration for anyone who may find the most creative inspiration in a state of solitude, privacy, and introspection.
2. Handling criticism
A pen name can offer a degree of separation between a writer and the reception of their work.
While feedback is essential towards improving your writing, it is also easy to take a bad review personally. That’s your baby, and it probably came from a deeply personal place.
While trusted friends, writing instructors, or fellow writing students may be more able to offer conscientious and constructive criticism, the same will not be true of every stranger on Goodreads, or some professional critics.
Using a pen name can provide an emotional barrier, making it easier for you to tune out unproductive feedback, and focus on your next work.
This separation helps prevent unhelpful thoughts from invading the process. The question, “What will they think of this?” Is rarely conducive to the creative act –– but even more corrosive to it is the question, “What will they think of me?”
3. Discrimination
Historically, pen names have been used by members of marginalized groups to avoid discrimination in the marketplace.
While the publishing industry has made strides in diversity and inclusion over the years, gender and racial biases still affect how a book is received in some areas. By and large, readers tend to choose books which align with their own identities. In order to maximize their audience, a writer may choose to publish under a different name.
However, when the work is rooted in the writer’s culture and experience, a pen name can also detract from its ability to find the right audience. The tension between embracing one’s identity and accepting market realities can be difficult to reconcile. There are no wrong or easy choices in this regard.
4. A work’s integrity
For some writers, using a pen name can be a matter of how they want their book to be interpreted.
When readers become aware of an author’s identity, certain assumptions begin to color their understanding of the work. These assumptions are unconscious, which is why a pen name, and a limited biography, can help to reduce their influence.
With fewer details about the author, readers may engage more directly with the work. For example, knowing that the author is a professor, and the novel’s protagonist is also a professor, may reduce the character to a “self-insert” in the reader’s mind, and limit the universal experience the story attempts to convey.
Roland Barthes, in his essay “The Death of the Author,” writes that the artist is not the source of a work’s meaning. It’s a powerful argument in favor of pen names, which allow the work to be judged and interpreted independently of the author’s identity and background.
In Barthes’ view, the “death of the author” coincides with the “birth of the reader,” empowering them to apply their own experiences, ideas, and perspective to the work at hand.
5. Branding
In the music world, it is common for artists to present their work under a pseudonym, or band name, which captures the essence of their sound and personality –– their brand.
Writers can use pen names in a similar way, especially when working across different genres. This may also add another element of play to the process. A soft, round name might suit a romance writer, while a sharper, darker name might better match thriller or horror genres. For instance: Jennifer Harpdale vs Jack Raven.
If the pen name evokes a certain feeling, or seems catchier than a writer’s legal name, it can also increase the chances that a reader picks up their book for the first time, or remembers their name when the next one is released.
The How
If you’ve opened this article, then you’ve probably considered moving past writing in private, and putting your work out into the world. This is an exciting next step, but it’s also important to plan for it carefully. These decisions can be hard to reverse. Toni Morrison, for example, regretted using a pen name, and later wished she had published under her legal name instead.
Before settling on a name, consider what makes you feel most comfortable, your relationship with publicity, and how your priorities might evolve over the next ten or twenty years. If you’re torn between privacy, and maintaining a connection to your work, then one option could be to use your first and/or middle initial before your last name.
Once you choose a pen name, use it consistently when submitting work for publication. Some journals may ask you to sign release forms using your legal name, but will still publish under the name you submitted. Using the same name across your website, newsletter, or blog will also help to build your presence.
Once you’ve built your body of work, and begin the process of querying literary agents, a pen name may seem to complicate the contracts and payment arrangements to be involved. However, these situations are still navigable.
Many “pseudonymous” writers sign contracts using their legal names, often phrased as “Legal Name, writing as Pen Name.” Contract terms can be made to specify that a pen name be used for marketing and publication, while payments still get issued using the writer’s legal identity.
Depending on the level of anonymity you may desire, there is also a marketing tradeoff to consider. Some authors choose to remain totally anonymous, avoiding public events, and even forgoing a traditional headshot in favor of a logo or illustration. However, this can hamper marketing opportunities that are often critical in reaching a broader audience.
Ultimately, these decisions exist on a spectrum. It can be helpful to discuss preferences openly with a literary agent. An agent is oftentimes a relationship that lasts throughout an author’s career, and so it can be valuable to set expectations early, see where compromises are possible, and confirm which lines aren’t to be crossed.
Your story weapon: Is a pen name right for you?
How to present yourself is an important consideration for any writer who hopes to reach an audience. Whether you value privacy, are more sensitive to criticism, or simply ended up with a more common name like John or Jane Smith, a pen name can be a valuable tool for protecting the process of creating your work, and the joy of sharing it with the world.
The moment you attach your name to something — a draft, a chapter, an idea still finding its shape — you invite a kind of scrutiny that can, if you’re not careful, silence the very voice you’re trying to develop. A pen name creates distance. And sometimes a little distance is exactly what a writer needs to tell the truth.
Good writing demands that you stay emotionally open to your material, and that you get out of its way. A pen name, at its best, is not a mask. It is a door. One that opens onto a version of your writing self that is less guarded, less managed, more willing to risk. If choosing a pen name helps you walk through that door, then it may ultimately become the two most important words you’ll ever decide to write.
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