©2010 Faith Bicknell-Brown

(This article has been updated. Comments welcome. This article is based on my own experiences, what I’ve witnessed during the years I’ve been online, and through discussions with editors and colleagues.)

Pen names, aliases, nom de plumes, pseudonyms, alternate identities…what pitfalls and amenities arise from using them? They serve in giving writers anonymity, but aliases can cause problems for a writer if he’s not careful.

With electronic reader sales and e-book purchases steadily climbing, the perfect pen name is as important as finding the perfect literary agent. Whether it’s the print or e-book world, rest assured, your pen name, if used and promoted effectively, will be recognized.

When I was running Avoid Writers Hell (the books are HERE) and its sister site, AWH Chatters, one of the most common questions writers asked me was whether or not to use a pen name. And that question is usually followed by: How do I choose one to reflect who I am as a writer and the material I write?

There are many reasons for using a pseudonym, but writers must carefully weigh the pros and cons of an alias. However, no matter the motivation behind a pen name, a writer must choose something he’s comfortable using and one that’s professional, too. Once he shrugs into the coat of an alias, readers know him as that person.

Often one reason for a pen name is when a writer writes more than one genre such as erotic romance and young adult fiction. I know authors who pen both, and they are very careful to keep the two genres and their pseudonyms separate. Erotic romance is a booming market. Penning adult romance stories often causes people to raise eyebrows (oh, stop drooling. You’re getting the keyboard wet). Sometimes family members, small towns, religious communities, or an employer will frown upon adult fiction. In that case, Jane Doe might write science fiction, but she might also pen erotic romance as Jane D. Smith.

Additionally, I’ve spoken with scores of e-book authors who use aliases because of ex-spouses. The last thing these authors need is an ex causing trouble online as well as in the real world.

There are times a writer might not want anyone to know he writes fiction until he’s well established. I hate to say it, but I’ve encountered people who feel writing isn’t a real job, or, if he isn’t published by a big print publisher, then he’s not a real author. Such viewpoints can make a writer glance heavenward and utter a few warm, fuzzy words, so until he establishes his career, he may choose to use a pen name.

So how do you choose a nom de plume? Well, it depends on what you write and what you want to convey through your writing.

Do you want a name that sounds like a porn star? Sorry, but I had to list that one first. I’ve worked for e-publishers and newsletters, so I’ve seen many a pen name that made me wince or caused me to snort coffee through my nose. Exercise caution and taste when pondering a pseudonym. Cherry Surprises or Boinka Allnight will give editors and readers the wrong impression.

A byline must be easy to remember. Unique is good, but if it’s too unique, then the reader might have trouble remembering your name.

Imagine yourself in the local Barnes and Noble as you’re looking for more books by a great, new author. However, you can’t recall her pen name because it’s so unusual. You approach the store manager and say, “Excuse me? Do you have any books written by What’s Her Name?”

“Who?”

Then, with a pained expression and smoke billowing out of your ears, you concentrate to remember the author’s name, and all the while the clerk wonders if you’re constipated. You then leave the store in a huff and thoroughly embarrassed.

A really long name or one difficult to spell makes it tough for readers to remember too. People use search engines to find information on authors and Hollywood actors all the time, so something catchy yet simple is a plus and easy to Google.

Long names are a pain to fit on a cover, whether on print or e-books. Such names create more work for the cover artists and those who format the fonts. Print magazines and e-zines allow a writer more leeway, which is why I use my full name in non-fiction articles, but I use a pen name or an initial variation of my real name for my e-books.

Another question to ask yourself is whether or not your name conveys the wrong genre. Take my name, Faith, for example. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear it? Inspirational? God? The Bible?

It’s sort of like using Strawberry Shortcake as the author name of a horror novel or Genghis Khan for inspirational fiction.

I have pseudonyms I use for my erotic romances, depending on sub-genre and category. If you’re an aspiring author or desire to break into another genre, remember the more pen names you have, the harder it is to promote them and to find the time to promote them. If you have two or more pen names and need the anonymity of each, then there are obstacles a writer must address and manage.

• You’ll need a website for each name.

If you’re able to hire a web designer and pay for domain names and website services, that’s great, but most writers have day jobs and families, and therefore tight budgets. WordPress is a blog site offering excellent free and premium web services. If you opt to use the free version, choose a template then find a friend who can whip up a static page, a matching banner, and an email signature banner. Another method of avoiding extra expenses caused by multiple pen names is by finding someone who will swap services with you.

Two good friends of mine design static pages and banners for me, and I repay them with books and items from their amazon.com wish lists. And since both live in other countries, this system works well because we avoid the headache of customs and the money exchange rates for monetary payments.

• Juggling alternate email accounts is as difficult as managing several websites.

If you must keep your pen names quiet, maintaining more than one email account will force you to gnaw on your keyboard into confetti. The same goes for handling more than one website. An author must be careful where he posts; otherwise, there is always that person who notices the slip-up in email addresses and blabs about it in cyberspace.

• Keeping your identity safe when promoting on groups and forums is difficult.

Writers haunt groups and loops such as Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, and the thousands of private forums in cyberspace. These are the worst places for a writer to slip up by revealing their pseudonym(s) via posting from the wrong site with the wrong email address or ID. If your anonymity is of the utmost importance, be careful!

Another problem of multiple aliases is others with alternate IDs.

Did that make you pause? It should.

As much as we like to believe we’re safe online, many groups and forums have trolls and members with egos big enough to fit inside your Aunt Gertrude’s size 54 muumuu. And when new or aspiring authors are all competing for acceptances from the same publishers, jealousy will rear its head.

My rule of thumb as an author is to avoid most of these circles. If you must participate in them then lurk for a few weeks. Watch IDs that seem like trolls. Bear in mind these are communities of struggling authors, so the e-publishing world is dog-eat-dog. If you’re attacked online by author John Doe, who goes out of his way to slam your work, stop and consider that he might also be Jack Deere who hangs with you at your favorite forum. An online brawl is not only unprofessional (watch out for that beer bottle!), but it can follow an author all over cyberspace. If you find yourself in a situation where you must defend your work, choose your words wisely so you’re not accused of unprofessional conduct. Such fiascos can ruin an author’s name and kill book sales.

You never know who you might be talking to online. Authors use more than one pen name, and you might find one of them in the office cubicle next to yours (no one likes an office catfight…well, maybe me).

• In order to promote on blog or interviews sites, you often must reveal your true identity.

I’m a firm believer of watching sites and reading their material for several days or weeks before approaching them for blog or interview spots. Sometimes an author must supply factual information. Do you trust who runs the site to keep your pen name quiet? Most places keep such information confidential, but occasionally problems do arise, so be wary.

• Unless you’re open about your pen names, your reader base won’t be able to find your other titles.

Again, writers have various reasons for using pen names, but should you want your readers to buy your other pen name material, you have no choice but to reveal your identity. Using different names requires the author to build individual reader bases. Do you want to do all that work for each name? Do you have the time? Can you hire someone to do it for you?

Ask yourself this: How much time will multiple pen names take away from my actual writing time?

Think it over, choose one, maybe two, and concentrate on those. With dedication, professionalism, and hard work, your readership will grow.