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Good Christmas Eve afternoon to you!
Since you’re all out doing battle in malls, cutting your way through the crowds with a machete,
I’d like to make a quick point with this quick post:
Watch out for pen names. There’s a use for them, but there’s been some bad advice splashed around because of some weird over thinking about branding. I use my middle name and go by Robert Chazz Chute for this blog and my fiction submissions. I do this for the same reason Michael J. Fox has a J. There is a native American poet from Maine who goes by the name Robert Chute. He came first, so to avoid confusion and out of respect, I went with my middle name. I think that’s a good reason to use a nom de plume.
About the bad uses of pen names: In the past, agents, editors and publishers often advised writers to use pen names when writing for different genres. They feared brand confusion. That was silly. Consider the biggest book brand of them all: Stephen King. I’ve read all his horror. It turns out I have no interest in his Dark Tower series or the any of those graphic novels. But I did try them out because I like Stephen King books generally. If you like an author’s book, you might like their other books.
Too few people buy and read books to play games making it more difficult to find your work!
Consider James Patterson and his 157 or so books that are now out in different genres. One name provides cross-marketing and cross-pollination for his body of work. Isaac Asimov wrote what? 500 books? Much of it was non-fiction, too. (The most readable anatomy book I own is by Isaac Asimov.)
So if you’re going to use a nom de plume, do it for considered reasons. Don’t do it because you fear your romance audience won’t follow you to your fantasy epic.
People who read books get enthusiastic about particular authors, not just particular books.
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Filed under: authors, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, Rant, rules of writing, What about Chazz?, Writers, writing tips, authors, bad writing advice, Dark Tower, Isaac Asimov, James Patterson, Michael J. Fox, nom de plume, Pen name, Publish, Robert Chazz Chute, Robert Chute, Stephen King, When should I use a pen name, writers
C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m 
I use a pen name, albeit one comprised of my nickname and surname. There are a whole raft of reasons why people might adopt a pen name, and it’s not just to differentiate between genres. They might want to distance themselves from their work due to employment restrictions, or disapproval from their families, or they just generally might want some privacy. I agree that people should think carefully about using a pen name but telling them simply not to do it ignores the positives that a pen name offers.
I am reminded of Robert Heinlein who wrote under many pen names based on what he thought was the quality of his work. Apparently he even required different pay rates based on which name he chose to sign to a particular piece. I have always found that a very interesting idea. Knowing how I am consistently disappointed with my own work, I’m not sure how one decides what name you assign. Perhaps he was a less self-conscious writer than I am.
Hey Pam! That’s so interesting about Heinlein. I’ve read a bunch of his stuff but didn’t know those details.
I was also thinking of Stephen King’s Bachman books experiment and how they took off in sales after King’s ruse was revealed. It’s not like his sales as Richard Bachman were that bad, but then they went through the roof. I enjoyed The Stand (which of course he wrote as Stephen King) but in many ways, I think King’s best book might be a Bachman. I loved The Long Walk.
Hi Icy,
After reading your icy comment, I read the post again to be sure it says what I meant to say. It does.
Yes, we agree. There are other reasons (not sure how many can fit on a raft.) I gave that a nod, but I stick by my main point that brand/genre confusion alone isn’t a good reason for using different pseudonyms.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment on such a busy day.
Old post, but I still like the advice a month later. 🙂 I write under a pen name, Reena Jacobs. Tada! Not to differentiate the various genres I write, but rather to distance myself from reality, as Icy mentioned. I’ve come out of the closet to those I want to know about my writing career. I’ll come clean to others when I’m good and ready… or they find out my little secret. 🙂
On the other hand, I agree with you, Chazz. Writing under separate pen names to help your audience keep your genre straight seems like a great idea. However, it really does divide a writer’s efforts. It’s tough enough starting from scratch without having to worry about doing it a second, third, forth time. 🙂 As for me, I’m giving my readers the benefit of the doubt and assuming they can actual read. The blurbs, categories, and keywords are there for a reason.