When mentoring, one-on-one or during my online classes, I’m often asked about pen names, also known as pseudonyms and noms de plume. Sometimes it’s smart to use one, such as if you’re an elementary school principal and writing erotica. Or if your name is the same as a celebrity or a notable person, such as having your parent name Khloe Kardashian, Ernest Hemmingway or Bruce Wayne. Some writers choose a pen name if their name is complicated or seemingly unprofessional.

Most writers agree that pen names work best for novelists because with nonfiction readers want to know that the writer has some expertise on the topic. Hence, a physician writing about the long-term negative effects of COVID will use her credentials to validate the info. If she used a pen name, why would anyone believe her?

Lots of writers have used pen names. Check out this fun list: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pen_names Some of my favorites are:

• Mary Westmacott (real name Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie)
• Toni Morrison (real name Chloe Ardelia Wofford)
• JK Rowling and Robert Galbraith (real name Joanne Rowling)
• Richard Bachman (real name Stephen King)
• George Elloit (real name Mary Ann Evans)
• Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler)
• George Orwell (real name Eric Arthur Blair)
• Dr. Seuss (real name Theodor Seuss Geisel), he also wrote under the names of Theo LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards) and Rosetta Stone
• Mark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens)

I’ve never considered using one as from the get-go in my career, I wrote articles and short stories. My focus was and still is to build name recognition. That said, if you choose to use a pen name, consider your reader and the image you want to reflect. If you’re writing Western novels, Suzi Q. Conners (you real name for our purposes and example) might not be as convincing to the reader of the genre as S. Q. Conners.

Yes, is it legal to use a pen name. An author of a copyrighted work can use a pseudonym or pen name. A work is pseudonymous if the author is identified on copies or phonorecords of the work by a fictitious name. Nick names and other diminutive forms of legal names are not considered fictitious. Copyright does not protect pseudonyms or other names. Here’s some good info on the topic: https://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl101.pdf

Whatever you choose to do, you’ll want to make sure your bank will accept the checks and you may need to file paperwork with your city if you’re doing business under another name. Be prepared to explain to editors that you are writing under one name, but your legal name is another. Editors might ask why.

To simplify your life, unless you ARE Khloe, Bruce or Ernest, why not use a variation of your official legal name? My full name is (take a breath) Beverly Eva Fay Klein Shaw. As a child my mama always called me Bevy, which is adorable, but growing up I felt more Eva than that childhood name. I wanted my writing to be taken seriously and Bevy didn’t cut it. These days I could still write as B. E. Shaw or Eva Klein-Shaw (which I rather like) and wouldn’t have to explain why I’m using a pen name.

If you really would like to know more on the topic, I found Kelly Notaras founder of KN Literary Art’s article on her site to be incredibly informative. You can find it at: https://knliterary.com/using-a-pen-name/

PS: Special thanks, Christina, in one of my online classes for sparking this blog. I had been weighing a few topics and then you asked the question that generated this.