WHAT’S IN A PSEUDONYM?
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Months before my first novel came out, I contacted local libraries to see if I could set up reading events. Of course no one had heard of me, and the book was not yet born, so it was a difficult enough prospect to convince people I was a real author.
Most were kindly and I sent their contact information on to the publicity person at my publisher who was far better at coordinating those things.
But one librarian wasn’t as welcoming. Not so much because she didn’t like the idea of hosting a reading, but because of something else I wasn’t expecting.
My name!
After I introduced myself and told her about my novel, she said in a dry and condescending tone: “You’re not publishing under your last name—are you?”
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Wow.
Growing up as an ethnic in America, I am used to slowly spelling out my last name to everyone.
I laugh politely at their mispronunciations and try to be good-natured about anyone being taken aback by a last name that begins with a “Z” of all things (that particular letter seems to confound Americans in particular).
[image error]However, this librarian’s reaction was one that was totally surprising and I was not sure how to handle it at first.
I felt insulted, but on the other hand she had a point.
I will admit that my name is difficult to pronounce for most people. It’s not a commonly heard name (unless you are in Eastern Europe I suppose), and maybe it would be better for marketing purposes if I had changed it before publishing.
After all, many famous writers changed their names.
Sometimes it is less wearying to simply have a shorter, commoner, more memorable name. For example, the Polish-British writer, Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski is none other than the more famous and certainly the easily pronounceable Joseph Conrad.
Most likely, Conrad had his own fill of snooty librarians who found his Polish surname over-saturated with too many syllables and consonants for regular Anglo-speakers to utter properly.
Other writers blessed with easy-to-pronounce surnames also often choose to write under pseudonyms but for other reasons.
Usually, they don’t want to be discovered especially if they are writing in another genre or style or on subjects that might shock or alienate their fans.
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Joseph Conrad (1904)
Still others do it for personal reasons and tend to change their names often. Very famous writers like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King have written under pseudonyms as a way to discover if their writing holds up beyond their real world-famous names.
As for me, I decided to keep my name.
After that librarian’s haughty response, I did come back at her with this retort: “Well, Solzhenitsyn and Dostoyevsky didn’t change their names, and they did all right.”
Of course, I didn’t get to read at her library after I said that, but at least I felt better about keeping my name intact and on book covers.
But now and then I do think—what sort of name could I use as an alias? A name I would choose for myself instead of for my characters…
Something to consider for another book someday. But for now, I will continue to slowly spell out and distinctly pronounce my name for anyone who asks.
I’ll even laugh at the jokes and mispronunciations—all of which makes me very grateful for the others who get it right.
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Here is a list of writers who used pseudonyms for their own various reasons: https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/8-famous-authors-who-used-secret-pseudonyms
Writing Wisdom:
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”—E.E.Cummings, American Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Essayist, Painter.
Cheers, Irene
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