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For example, Stephen King writing as...
Why do many authors seem to do that? Also if you want to get a book published, can you use a different name, kind of like how some celebs change their real name for marketing purposes. -
Stephen King only had... two, I believe. Richard Bachman, and a name in which he released a short under.
Some people release books under different names (but including 'writing as) for several reasons. Nora Robert writes as J.D Rob because J.D Rob stories are crime novels, while Nora Roberts is a romance novelist.
Some people just don't want their names hooked together, for one reason or another.
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It can be used so Readers won't get confused about the author. I'll take my fave author
Erin Hunter:actually three people. Two take turns writing the book while one is the editor.
They use the name so readers will always see the same name on every book instead of seeing
Warrior cats by: so and so and going "What? I thought it was written by someone else." -
When you're referring to the "writing as" thing, I'm pretty sure that's only for writers who write as a substitute for someone else.
Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, died in 1964 I believe. Last year would have been his 100th year of life, so a new Bond novel was published in honor of Fleming. The cover reads "Sebastian Faulkes writing as Ian Fleming."
Other than that, I believe some authors might use pen names (also called pseudonyms) for other reasons, be it a desire for anonymity or to switch from genre to genre. The only two pen names I can think of right now are George Orwell and Mark Twain. -
Sara Douglass's real last name is Warneke. Apparently, when her first book was going to get published, she was told she had to pick a last name which started higher up in the alphabet. This was so that it would have more chance of being seen by shoppers in the bookstores - ie. Warneke would have been on the very bottom shelf on the floor whereas Douglass would be around eye level.
I know some female authors keep using their maiden names even after they've gotten married but this is because they've got a fan base around their maiden names and no one would know it was them if they used their married names.
Also, as Kody said, other authors use pen names if they're going to write a brand new genre that's not associated with them so that there isn't any reader bias. Gillian Rubenstein <-> Lian Hearn did this.
Otherwise, for example, people who would love crime novels wouldn't pick up Nora Robert's crime novels because she's known as a romance writer and would expect her to put romance in it which they probably hate. -
Stephen King wrote as someone else because he wanted to see if people bought his books because they were good, or just because he was Stephen King (or so the story goes).
People use pen names for various reasons. Like mentioned, some cross-genre and what sells in one area won't sell in another under the same name. -
I write under two names. My pseudonym is used for one genre only, while my real name is used for all my other works. Simply to separate my works.
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Sometimes women change their name around, or just use their initials so they'll get more male readers. But maybe that doesn't count.
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Its basically a verbal mask. It can be because an author wants to avoid direct publicity, or maintain a mystery existence or to make his name sound more like the book or genre.
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haha
like fantasy authors who change their name to Arther Knight, or horror writers who change it to Lucifer Daemon. Might as well just change it to Johnny Douchebag.
Random thread change, who can come up with the worst pen name. I submit Eldritch Von Beardbrow. -
I once came across a book written by a guy called Randy Bullock. I found it hillarious and I feel really sorry for him if that is his real name.
Some people may have the same name as an author or famous person and so may not be able to publish under that name if its registered or something like that. For instance if your real name was Stephen King, you couldnt then publish work under your own name because there is already an established author with that name.
Also if your name is something embarrasing or that sounds funny you may wish to change it. I have a friend who has written several radio plays over here in the UK and her real name is A. Smoothy, but she doesnt use it because she thinks no one will believe its a real name, so she writes under her mothers maiden name. -
Now I may have a problem there and I have to admit I never thought about it before. Mainly because Alfred Hitchcock writes a completly different genre than I do.
I just never thought about it before, now I guess I may have to. One thing I know and I am excited I have three chapters to go to complete one of my first novels. So time to think about the name game. -
Iain Banks writes as himself and Iain M Banks, using one for SciFi and the other for literary fiction. King wanted to publish two books in one year, but his publishers didn't want him to flood the market.
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From what some guy in the publishing world told me, changing surnames gets you closer to famed authors in that genre. Like, take King, for example. Many who write horror change their surnames to begin with K, so they'll simply be near his stuff in a bookstore shelf. It helps. I know I've often bought a book when I first caught sight of it by wandering over to a favored author's alphabetical area.
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I know some writers use it to create a new persona to write under, or to hide their real name from people. If I ever published it would be under a Pen name. I want people to buy my writing because it's good, not because they know me.
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I've read a book about the internship at hospitals, a true story, and it wasn't always flattering for the doctors involved. She writes under a pseudonym because else she would never get a job anymore or be taking seriously.
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For different reasons I gue. Gender--guys writing chick lit books and vice-versa and also because you wouldn't want for legal reasons--lawsuits and stuff like that or simply because you may not want to share that personal stuff and if people know you they
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There's an article on Sfwa
about someone who had to start using a pen name because her first couple of books completely tanked, and no book stores would stock novels in her real name.
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The reason why Stephen King did...
I read a book Stephen King wrote about his life. In it he said he used a different name because the company that was publishing his books only let him publish a certain amount of books each year. He wanted to get all of it published so he published the other ones under a different name. -
they probably do it for ***** and giggles.
hopefully they won't ruin any massive canon for you, in their little attempts at escape. -
if i was to ever get published, i'd use Nekoshema for a few reasons. first of all, i like it way more than my real name, second, if i want to become a seclusive author, i don't want people trying to track me down [like that would happen].
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Someone graduated from my school in 2004 and his name was Harry Potter. Obviously his mom named him that before JK Rowling had come out with the books. He's about 22 or 23 now, but just imagine if he became an author, actor or musician. Do you think he could just leave his name the same?
Also, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Lemony Snicket. He used a pen name for pure amusement on his part and to generate interest in his stories. He wanted to be a character, so he added himself in, creating a narrator persona and a sub-plot. -
Seeing the "writing as" thing reminded me that recently I saw a "new" Dr. Seuss book that said "Dr. Seuss writing as Theo. LeSieg" that made me wonder why he did so. Wiki provided the answer and it kind of answers the question as to why some authors use pen names too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss
Geisel switched to the Americanized pronunication [of Seuss] from German [ˈzɔʏs] because it "evoked a figure advantageous for an author of children’s books to be associated with—Mother Goose."[9]
Geisel also used the pen name Theo. LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards) for books he wrote but others illustrated. -
When I finish editing my writing so that it's readable, I am going to publish under an alias. Because I don't want my friends and family to read what I've written unless I've deliberately handed it to them. And if I hand it to them it's gotta be under an alias I'm willing to share with them. Because I plan on writing under several different aliases for each different novel or set of short stories I put out.
Whether it's online, in an ebook, or in a real book. And that's what I think of when I think of Aliases
.
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I have never been able to figure out why!?
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Another reason that I don't think anyone mentioned: their name is often mispronounced or spelled wrong. My real first name is constantly slaughtered, and it's irked me since I was a child (thanks mom). I'm planning on using more than one pen name, for the genre thing, and because I don't want the world to slaughter my name if I ever get a wide distribution. And because I'm shy and don't actually want anyone to find me. I want to be mysteriously rich.
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haha
i admire the optimism guys. ALready planning your alias's for when you becaome so rich and famous being bugged by heat magazine becomes a chore. -
It also depends on how well the name rolls off of the tongue. My first and last name don't particularly sound well together, so I plan on using some kind of pseudonym for my last name.
It's a rather materialistic reason, I suppose, but I guess that's why bands come up with snappy names instead of just being called "Joey Powell, Hank Morris, Lesley Corbin, and Bill Blank". If these four called themselves The Neitzsche Wannabes, as pretentious as that sounds it's still better than just their names. -
I don't know why, but I'll never need to. I'm the only Renaissance I know!
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Some times it's just a good idea to have a pen name if you're doing something really out there, or if you're already well established as a writer and you plan on changing genres or age groups. that way, small children won't pick up erotica because the author used to write juvenile fiction or something.
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I am going to use my initials and last name mainly because I hate my first name.
If I should get published in another genre then I would use a pen name for that as I want to keep things seperate.
Its a personal choice though and half the time these days you cannot hide behind a pen name because your real name is usually recorded in the Library of Congress.
And can someone tell me if Joe Hill IE stephen king's kid was every called Joe King.. because I can understand why HE would change his name. -
Everything I've ever published (mostly poems or short stories in romanian magazines) I've published under a different name because only two people in my life know that I write and I want to keep it that way. My work is too personal and I wouldn't feel confortable if anyone I know read my poems or stories and knew it was me.
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Some people prefer the image projected by a certain name more than the image projected by their own name. It's a way to use a 'better' name than their own without actually changing it.
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My Ex-wife?
Some things are better left in the anonymous category. I mean if I were to ever make it big, I 'd want only my dog to know I had a cool million bucks...
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Razael
Feb 2 4:25 PM
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