WANA Wednesday is the day I am dedicating to blogging about social media tips I give in my new book We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and even some tips I didn’t include so that the book wasn’t 170,000 words. Also, as I stated in last week’s post, social media will change so quickly it will give your brain whiplash. There is nothing like writing a book that is trying to beat obsolescence to keep you on your toes.

Today’s tip? Think about why you want a pen name.

There are a lot of good reasons to have a pen name.

1. You have an embarrassing last name. Won’t mention any so I don’t hurt any feelings, but we have all met them and went, Seriously? No, really. What’s your real name? If you have a name that really should have been changed when your ancestors stumbled off on to Ellis Island, then pen names ROCK.
2. You have a last name that is difficult to spell, remember or pronounce. All my Polish, Czechoslovakian, and Russian readers…yeah. That probably includes you guys. If when we read your name, we need a phonetic pronunciation guide or have to ask if it is possible to buy a vowel, then a pen name might be a good idea.
3. You have the fortunate (or unfortunate) luck of having a name that is exactly the same as a mega-author. Gonna go all Highlander here on you… “There can only be one.” So if you write horror and your name is Steve King, you might want to change it. In fact, it is likely that an agent will encourage this. Could people pick up your book thinking they bought a book from Stephen King? Yes, but that kind of bait and switch is just likely to tick people off. So for all the Dan Browns…Daniel Browne might fare better…or not. Do you really want to be the Rotex author, Guchi writer, or Prawda storyteller? Just saying. Best to become your own great brand than a perceived knock-off.
4. If you write more than one genre, pen names are a good idea. Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb. Two different types of books and two separate audiences (which eventually merged).
5. You have a name that is very vanilla and similar to too many other names. I really feel sorry for the real John Smiths trying to check in to a hotel.

What’s your name?

John Smith.

*wink, wink* Suuuure it is.

There are all kinds of good reasons to have a pen name, and these are just a few. The problem that I have seen in my career helping writers become authors, is that there are quite a few writers who have a very bad reason for using a pen name.

FEAR.

We will use a non-writer example. My sister-in-law is a brilliant interior designer. She wants to start her own business next year so she is taking a class in entrepreneurship. As an assignment, she had to turn in an executive summary of her business. Instead of using Designs by Kimberly (which I have been suggesting for YEARS, because she is THAT brilliant) she chose Second Nature, which to me sounded like a brand name for eco-friendly toilet paper, wireless bras, or absorbent diapers…not high-end interior design.

When I took a look at the name of the business, I asked, “What happened to Designs by Kimberly?”

She waffled a bit, so I interrupted (shocking, I know, :D).

I said, “If tomorrow, a wealthy benefactor stepped in and said, ‘I am going to funnel ten million dollars in to you designing your own brand. Not only that, but I will pull some strings and guarantee that you get a layout in Texas Monthly, Fort Worth Magazine, and Architectural Digest, and, heck, throw in Better Homes and Gardens.’ Would you, after all of that, call your business Second Nature, or would you call it Designs by Kimberly?

I am guessing all of you have figured out her answer.

See, Kimberly was doing the exact same thing I see happen to so many aspiring writers. The pen name becomes more about a cushion in case of failure. The problem with that type of thinking is two-fold. First, you have essentially planned to fail. Secondly, you will double all of your social media efforts by using a pen name at the expense of your own.

How?

These days, a lot of writers are already on social media. Many have Facebook pages or MySpace pages that they’ve built for years under their real name—friends, colleagues, business connections, people they knew in high school and college, etc. Sometimes, they even have hundreds of followers.

Then they decide they want to be writers…

And then half their life becomes State’s secret.

When I talk about building a social media platform, I can almost see the panic flicker in their eyes because they are staring down the barrel of building from scratch…new pages under a new name and totally new connections. Why? They are terrified of failure. It’s the idea of I’m gonna try out this writer thing and if it’s successful, then I will tell my friends, family and close connections. What is flawed about this thinking is that it is very defeating. You will do better as a writer if your family is part of your team. Building a platform of fans if far easier when you activate those close circles in your network.

My great aunt who is 96 years old was so proud of herself for reading my book, and she brags about me to everyone she knows. This is a woman who began life in a horse-drawn carriage reading a book about Twitter. But she loves me and wants to support me and she bought her own copy of We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media even though she is not a writer, has never used a computer, and has severe macular degeneration and can barely see. The point of this story? There are probably some unlikely friends and family who will be there to help you succeed. Don’t so quickly count them out. 

And as a quick note, if you want to use a pen name simply because you are using family members or close connections as character templates, and you are worried they will find out and sue….here’s some good news. Most of them will not recognize themselves in your work. People don’t see their flaws the way others do. Why do you think we spend years in therapy? Some of us need to spend $150 per hour for half a decade to see that we might actually have something to do with our own problems. Duh. So relax. These individuals will likely read your book and say, “Boy that Suzy character was an awful and difficult woman. What a manipulator. She reminds me of such-and-such,”

…and you can just smile.

In order for someone to sue you for libel, there is a tremendous burden of proof on their part. They must prove that anyone reading your work, without a doubt, would know your character was based off of them, and that, as a result, their reputations have suffered irreparably. Tough to prove. So if you are adopting a pen name because you are worried the evil secretary at work whom you are using as your villain will sue? Just change up the character enough to squash any court argument…and go ahead and use your real name.

Being a successful writer is hard, and becoming a career author is getting harder by the day. Why make it any harder? Your close networks are going to be your first fans. Your family will be lined up for a copy of your first published book, regardless of whether they know postmodern literature from a comic book. They likely will also tell all their friends, family and coworkers about your book.

You really cannot “hide” in a pen name anyway. With the Internet and so much free information flying around, if someone is truly motivated to figure out the person behind the pen name…they likely can. So you really cannot disappear if that’s the motivation.

Am I against pen names? NO! But I do advise that you take a moment and ask some important questions first. If I the magic genie could wave a wand and GUARANTEE that in three years you would be an international success, would you still want the pen name? If the answer is yes, then go for it and make sure you get a copy of my book so you know how to tackle building a platform for your pen name without making yourself crazier than necessary.

Most of us will fare best by sticking with our real names. Sigh. Yes, Kristen Lamb is not exactly a glamorous name, but it is easy for me and others to remember. In the end, the name is about what can SELL the most books, and less about whether we always wished our mothers named us something cooler, like Anastasia or Isabella.

Happy writing!

Until next time….

Noteworthy social media links for authors:

Jaime Harrington’s Let’s Talk About Your On-Line Platform–Get a Gravatar

Writer’s Digest Editor Jane Friedman’s Recommendation On-Line Marketing for Authors-Interactions are Personal Not Business

Author Jody Hedlund’s Why an On-Line Presence Can Help Every Kind of Writer  (yes, even those who write for children!)

And finally, a short yet interesting blog on the pros and cons of using a pen name.

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