Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

A Pen by Any Other Name

Choosing a pen name for a writing career is probably as difficult for most people as choosing a name for a child—and the same amount of thought and care should probably go into the decision. Yet just like those urban legends of parents who name their kids Female (Fuh-MALL-ee) or Lemonjello (Le-MON-juh-lo) or Shithead, there are always going to be pen names out there that will have you wondering just what the heck the author was thinking. So at the prodding of the Samhain staff and in the hopes of keeping authors from being made fun of at the industry playground, here are some tips to keep in mind when choosing your pen name.

Pick a name that’s easy to spell, pronounce and Google. The wrong name has the potential to stop readers from finding your books, and that’s the last thing anyone wants. If readers can’t remember your name, they’re not able to look for or recommend your books. If they can’t spell your name, they won’t find you at online bookstores or be able to look up your website to see future releases. If they can’t pronounce your name, they may hesitate to mention it to a friend or ask for help finding your book in the bookstore for fear of looking foolish. Your goal—not just for choosing a pen name, but for building a career in the industry—should be to make it as easy as possible for readers to find and buy your books. A complicated name or an uncommon spelling can become a barrier that stops readers from finding your books.

You can trust us on this. One of the most common questions we get asked at conferences is “How do you pronounce Samhain”? We pronounce it exactly as it looks because that’s the easiest way for readers and authors to find us. Even if you Google “Samhane”, we’ll still be a top result. But if you Google a phonetic spelling of the traditional Celtic pronunciation, you won’t find us at all.

Pick a name that marks you as a professional. And I don’t mean as part of the world’s oldest profession. Just because you write erotic romance doesn’t mean you have to sound like a stripper. Sure, you want a name that fits with the kind of romance you’re writing and the helps create a brand for you as an author. But sexy and tasteful aren’t mutually exclusive. This is a business, and you’re building a career. If you don’t show that you take it seriously, how can you expect agents, editors and readers to take you seriously? Witty names or plays on words may seem attractive, especially if it reflects your writing style, but try to resist. You want a name that’s memorable, yes, but not mockable. A lot of names come through the slush pile that I consider Purple Prose names—names that draw attention to themselves in a bad why by being too flowery, too intrusive, and just generally too much. Keep it simple.

Pick a name that will last for your career. Branding is important, and it’s definitely tempting to pick a name that matches the kind of book you’ll be writing. Fantasy authors, for example, can more easily get away with names that are unusual. Romantic comedy authors can have names that are a little bit cute. But keep your long-term goals in mind. If you hope to write in other subgenres, pick a name that will suit them as well.

Try to have as few pen names as possible. Picking your pen name can be a lot of fun, and once again, branding is important. But it’s becoming more and more common for authors to have two, three or even more pen names, depending on how many subgenres they writing in. I push my authors to think long and hard before picking a second pen name. A new name means starting over. You lose your built-in audience. You have to do double the marketing and promotion. It’s harder to maintain the momentum of two careers. And often multiple pen names aren’t as necessary as you’d think. If you’re a young adult author who’d like to write erotic gay romance, then yes, you’ll want to take a new name. But if you’re the author of sexy contemporaries and you want to write an erotic paranormal, is it really necessary? Sure, some of your contemporary readers may not want to follow you there and you don’t want to disappoint them. But the cover, the blurb and the warning should be enough to alert them you’re doing something a little different. The digital audience in particular is open-minded and willing to follow authors into new territory.

Avoid names that are too similar to existing authors. A memorable name should be unique rather than confusing. It might seem tempting to call yourself Myra Binks or Laurel Dain in hopes of skimming some of a popular author’s readership. But this is much more likely to work against you. Such an unsubtle play for sales will be off-putting to readers and other people in the industry, and you’re actually more likely to drive your readers to the popular author than vice versa—whose name do you think they’ll be more likely to remember? Or see in the bookstore and think it’s what they’re looking for? There are better ways to pick a pen name strategically. Julia Quinn picked a name that would put her next to Amanda Quick on the bookshelf. Lacey Alexander picked a name that would put her at the top of the Ellora’s Cave list of authors. But otherwise you should want a name distinct enough that you won’t be confused with another author, and that readers will remember on its own merits.

Pick a name that feels natural to you. If it’s going to be your name, make sure you’re comfortable with it. Practice signing to make sure it’s something that will flow—and flow naturally enough that you can sign while having a conversation with a reader. But this could also be a reason to pick a pen name that’s different from your real name—you don’t want to sign the wrong name when distracted by conversation. Also be sure it’s a name you can respond to—that won’t confuse you when people address you as such at booksignings or that you’ll recognize when your friends are yelling across a crowded hotel lobby at conference.

Be open to the possibility of change. No matter how much effort you put in to picking the perfect pen name, there’s still a chance that the publisher will ask you to change it. The explosion of social media means that many authors are out there promoting and building name recognition before they’ve sold a book. That’s great—publishers like authors who are savvy about promotion—but you have to be prepared for the possibility a publisher will ask you to change your chosen name, even after you’ve started building a fanbase with another publisher. This is less common at small presses like Samhain, but not unheard of.

How did you pick your pen name? What other advice do you have for choosing one? What other questions do you have about pen names or anything else? It’s Ask an Editor Day, and I’m here to answer.

Lindsey is the new Managing Editor for Samhain. Follow Lindsey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lindseyfaber