Pen Names and Pseudonyms

“Versatility is one of your outstanding traits.”

One of my UCLA writing professors told me that it’s wise to be established in one genre before branching out. Like the rebel I am, I’ve decided to publish a cozy book (confession: my previous book was categorized as multicultural women’s fiction). My solution? Use a pen name.

Pseudonyms help readers to easily figure out what genre they’re buying. For example, J.K. Rowling first published her mysteries under the name of Robert Galbraith. However, after reading Toby Neal’s excellent post about changing names (and potentially losing readership), I’ve opted to use my initials (J.J. Chow) for my Asian-American mystery. It helps folks understand that I’m writing a different type of novel (and I can still use this website domain!).

What are your thoughts on pen names? Do you have any favorite authors who use them?

Also, I’m excited to be celebrating three years with Wordsmith Studio! These online writing friends helped me establish my blog, build an author platform, and encouraged me in my writing career.