JK Rowling, the Meaning of a Name, and Me

Just last week it was discovered (or leaked, really) that J.K. Rowling, acclaimed author of the Harry Potter series, wrote and published a book this past spring under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.  Uproar!  Outcry!  How could she deceive us like this?  ...Let's all run to the bookstore and buy her new book!

And J.K. Rowling sat back and watched it all happened, confessing that she was "disappointed" that the secret had slipped after only a few months.  And I completely empathize with her disappointment.  She had many reasons for using a pseudonym when she wrote The Cuckoo's Calling and many questions that she'll never know the answer to:

How might the book have fared if the public never found out it was penned by Rowling?  How would critics have received it?  How many copies would it have sold?  Would "ex-military man" Galbraith have achieved as much fame and recognition as Rowling?  Doubtful.  But here are some things that happened "pre-reveal:"

-The Cuckoo's Calling sold around 1,500 copies
-It received many positive reviews by critics and the public alike
-It also received many negative reviews from people calling it "slow-paced," "poorly edited," "unexceptional," and "unambitious."

If I was Ms. Rowling, I would have treasured the negative reviews just as highly as the positive reviews because they were REAL.  They were authentic.  They acknowledged the story and the writing rather than the author who wrote the words.  After so many years of zero anonymity, it must have been a relief to see people talking about the story without paying attention to the name behind it.  Which leads me to my point: names.

Names mean a lot.  Names sell books.  Even the "name" J.K. is fictional (Joanne is Rowling's first name; she has no middle name).  Rowling created her pen name in order to make herself more marketable (It is a sad truth that a male author's name has more selling power than a female author's, thus the ambiguous J.K.).  For a few years, I have been considering the use of a pen name in my own writing.  Rowling gave me the shot of courage I needed to follow through with my plan.

My reasoning?  Threefold, really.

Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those?1. My real name is difficult.  It is German, practically unpronounceable to Americans, and tough to spell.  Not great for marketing.  Instead, I've chosen a name that is easy to spell, an English word, and memorable.  It might also reflect some of my characters' attitudes (or my own, at times), but don't quote me on that!

2. I would like to separate my writing persona from my actual persona.  Not that we're entirely
different, mind you.  I'd simply like to create a bit of a barrier between my personal life and my professional life.  It's a privacy thing, yes, but it's also a way to say, "Ok, I'm stepping into character now.  Time to write."

3. I'd like a clean slate. It's about time to leave all the embarrassing pictures of the twenty-one year old, crazy college girl in the dust.  My new character doesn't have a past, only a future.  Isn't that liberating?

So, thank you J.K. for giving me the courage to let my alter-ego emerge.  It feels great to let her out.

-Kate Bitters

P.S. This change requires a super, mega, massive reworking of my entire author infrastructure: Facebook, website, Twitter, revising my book cover, new marketing campaign, new business cards, etc.  Next week's post will be about the ins and outs of building this infrastructure.  Wish me luck and, in the meantime, Like my new Facebook page!  *wink*