Combining: Book released under a pseudonym then rereleased under real name

[Sara ♥]

There are 8 books that Meg Cabot first released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll, that have since be rereleased under her real name.

How would you suggest combining them? Make Meg Cabot the primary author, and Jenny Carroll the secondary author?

[rivka, Former Moderator]

I think so. Generally that's not how we handle books published under different versions of an author's name, but I think the real name should take precedence in this case, no?

[Sara ♥]

That's the question. Right now, a couple of the books are combined, and the rest are not at all. I feel like they should be together, since the text of the book is identical.

Could I combine the editions, then go back and make "Jenny Carroll" the primary again, with Meg Cabot secondary? So that the database info will match the book cover?

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For]

I wouldn't swap the author order back. Getting the author consistent is more important than matching the book cover in this case. Whether its best to list the pseudonym or the real name first, depends a bit on how well the books are known under each name.

A few other similar cases:

* Isaac Asimov as "Paul French" (pretty much only known under Asimov's real name)

* Stephen King as "Richard Bachman" (currently this is mixed; most books list King first, but quite a number list Bachman first)

* Neal Stephenson as "Stephen Bury" (this is actually a combined pseudonym of two authors, which complicates the issue slightly)

* Nora Roberts as "J.D. Robb" (This is a case where J.D. Robb is best left as the first author, since the books are so well known under that name)

[Sara ♥]

She's definitely better known as Meg Cabot. But we are in agreement that the books should be combined, yes?

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For]

Yes, definitely combine.

[Sara ♥]

All right. Done. Thanks for your help!