Friday, June 22, 2012

Pen Names

I've often considered creating a male pen name for myself.  Nothing new for me, I always wanted to be a boy when I was growing up.  Why?  I got tired of being told that climbing trees wasn't lady-like.  As for the male pen name, I thought maybe that might help to crack a few markets I'd like to see my work published in.  And yes, for whatever reason, there does seem to be a bit of a boy's club out there.  It is changing, but so does sand on the desert.  One grain at a time.

Of course creating a new writing persona can be quite complicated as explained in this thought provoking essay  http://www.booklifenow.com/2012/06/whats-in-a-name/

9 comments:

Thomas Pluck said...

If you see anything by Veronica Codhacken someday, that'll be me. Etymologists will be amused if they linger on that name.

It worked for James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Sheldon) one of my favorite short story writers.
May I suggest Seamus Sanderson? :)

sandra seamans said...

Seamus Sanderson? A bit too Irish for me, though it does work. Many writers do well with pen names, it gives them the freedom to experiment in other genres without the expectations of the stories they're known for.

Zackel, Fred said...

I always wanted to change my last name -- the "Z" to a "C." Look how many best selling authors have last names that begin with"C." Chandler, Christie, Cain, Bob Crais, Conan Doyle, Lee Child (who changed his name, Bill Crider, John Connelly, Michael Connelly (I know, I know), Carr, Chesterton, Mary H. Clark, her daughter, Wilkie Collins, Max Allen Collins, Patricia Cornwell ... and now I am depressed again.

sandra seamans said...

Yes, having your name at the beginning of the alphabet helps put you on a higher shelf in the library and book stores, Fred. I nearly have to stand on my head to read the z's in the new release shelves. The regular w's and z's are hidden in a tiny cramped isle that I rarely visit.

Makes you wish that once in a while they'd run the alphabet backwards. Just so you see what you're missing.

sandra seamans said...

and that would be aisle. Though a nice quite isle for reading and writing would be quite inviting today.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Abbott gets me into more trouble than Nase did. My kids hated getting called on first so often. I like the anonymous middle.

sandra seamans said...

Makes Fred's C sound like a comfortable place to be, Patti.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

My last name has been spelt, written and pronounced in a hundred different ways and none of it closest to the original. It’s a bit of a tongue-twister, isn’t it? Hopefully, that’ll be the reason people will remember my book(s), if and when I write them.

sandra seamans said...

Yes, sometimes it's the unusal names that stick with readers. And it doesn't matter if they misspell or get the pronunciation wrong so long as they remember your name. :)