QotW #120: Real name or pen name?

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

If you were to ever publish a book or story, would you use your real name or a pen name? If a pen name, how would you choose it?

If you have already published a book or story, which did you choose to do?

[CJ]

I have submitted a couple of things (poetry) for publication in the past but haven't had anything accepted. I did use a pen name.

[Random]

I've never written anything beyond what was required to pass certain classes.

But, if I did, I would use a pen name. I like my privacy. Its the same reason I've used this nick for the last 30 or so years.

[Shel, Moderator]

I've never really considered it! I guess if I were to publish anything, it would probably be in a professional journal or something, so I'd use my real name. I'm not a writer of fiction or poetry!

[Cheryl]

The only way I'd use a pen name is if my real name was too common. I, too, value my privacy but honestly I don't think anyone would care about what I write enough to track me down.

[Dawn]

My social media is a mix of mostly real and a little fake, so I'm not sure which way I'd go. I use my real first name for almost everything, and honestly, google knows everything about me already, so not sure it would matter?
But I do kinda dislike when my photo gets posted, so I'd probably err on the side of pen name. Though, if you get famous, it's not like it matters.
I'd probably look through a bunch of family names and cobble together something I liked.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

My last name is pretty common, so I’d probably want something that might be less ordinary and familiar, more unique. I’ve used a couple made up names on social media, so perhaps I’d use part of one of those with my real first name. However, don’t hold your breath waiting for the first publication by Kathi Marhan. 😁