Perhaps you recently listened to a book by Juliet Hulme or David John Moore Cornwell. Or maybe it was a novel from Chloe Ardelia Wofford or Sidney Schechtel. If these names don't sound familiar to you, it's because you know them better as , , , and . For centuries, writers have been using alternate names, also known as pen names, noms de plume, or pseudonyms.
There are several reasons why writers choose to use pseudonyms, and a lot of other things to learn about them. In this post, we’re rounded up everything you need to know about pseudonyms to satisfy your curiosity and help you decide if you want to publish your writing under a pen name.
What is a pseudonym?
A pseudonym is a fictitious name taken by a writer in place of their real name. The term "pseudonym" is a Greek word that literally means "false name."
Why do authors use pseudonyms?
There are many reasons why an author might use a pen name. A woman writer might have a better chance of getting published if she is thought to be male. This was done frequently in earlier centuries, when women were not published at all. For example, , , and first published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin also chose to use the pen name for this reason, although it was becoming more common for women writers to get published in her lifetime.
Alternately, to cite a recent example, more male authors are choosing female or gender-neutral pen names when they submit thrillers, a genre that has become female-dominated over the last decade, thanks in part to authors such as , , and . (Todd Ritter), (Daniel Mallory), (Steve Watson), and (Tony Strong) are some of today's successful writers to adopt this method.
Some authors choose a pen name to write in a different genre than the one for which they are best known. published several romance novels under the name . and both chose pseudonyms when they started writing crime fiction. You will find their mysteries under the names and .
Another reason writers have chosen to publish under pseudonyms is to avoid
repercussions when expressing controversial or unpopular political stances. For example, Ibn Warraq is a pen name that has been used by dissident authors throughout the history of Islam. And if an author is writing something incendiary that might cause them embarrassment in their private life, they might want to hide their identity. In the 19th century, an author known only as Walter published My Secret Life, the sexual memoirs of a Victorian-era gentleman. Walter was later unmasked as book collector and bibliographer Henry Spencer Ashbee.
