Why (Not) Write Under A Pen Name?

Writing under a pen name is something that has always intrigued me. I first discovered the concept when I was a young reader and came across a novel by Richard Bachman at the local library. As a flipped through the pages, a friend leaned over and said, “You know that Bachman is actually Stephen King, right?”. I had no idea! Years later I learned that the reason King used a pseudonym in the late 70’s/early 80’s was due to an unwritten rule in publishing, that a “real author” only released one...