The Name Game - Pseudonyms

While it may not be at the top of your to-do list, you need to decide if you want to use a pen name before you publish your book. The main reason I chose to use a pseudonym is my career outside of writing. As a lawyer, it is recommended by bar associations that I use a pen name to protect my livelihood and my firm's business. Depending on the subject matter, you may want to use a pen name to avoid your books affecting your career. If you're lucky, writing will become your main source of income. But for a lot of writers starting out, it is necessary to have another job. For that reason alone, having a barrier between your personal life and your life as a writer is not a bad idea.

I am also an incredibly private person. I admittedly hid behind my pen name in the beginning. At first blush you may think - I want everyone to know I wrote a book! It's a big achievement. And then it sinks in - everyone will know I wrote a book... When you're new to writing and publishing, it's daunting to think about people reading your work. Using a pen name gives you the ability to write and publish without your friends knowing you've done so. You will likely decide to tell them about your book baby, but you can do it on your own terms. After seven novels and numerous poetry books, everyone who knows me personally is aware of the fact that I'm a writer and they know the name I write under. But, the anonymity in the beginning gave me the courage to write about topics I may not have dabbled in if I knew my besties were going to read it.

Your pen name can also afford you some privacy when using social media. I watched a Carrie Underwood interview a few years ago during which she talked about her on-stage persona being different than who she is in real life. A pen name can do that for writers. Create social media accounts using your pen name and write exclusively about things related to writing and/or your books. I do reveal little details about my life and my hobbies on social media, but I don't write about my job or my family. I don't use a persona or pretend to be someone I'm not. I'm 100% me at all times, but they get a snapshot of me, not my entire self. If you ever become a bestselling author, you will want this privacy.

With respect to choosing your pen name, my advice is to pick a name that means something to you. A name to live up to. I chose family names - two strong and vivacious women who came before me. I am proud of these women and I want them to be proud of me. Living up to their legacies keeps me going on slow days and encourages me to be brave and really push myself.

After picking my name, I googled it to make sure there isn't an author already using it. We all know the traditionally famous authors, but there are a lot of independent writers who are successful on Amazon. You may not know their names, but they have a large following of readers who do. In addition to the author not appreciating a newbie riding her coattails, you don't want poor reviews based solely on the fact that readers bought your book thinking you are the author they already know and love.

I'm really glad I went the pseudonym route. Is it weird having people call me a name other than my birth name? In the beginning it was, but I'm used to it now. In some ways, it reminds me of what part of me I'm tapping into in that moment. If someone calls me Neva, they see me as a writer and that's the part of my life they have access to. If someone calls me by my birth name, they are more interested in the other aspects of my life. This may sound very strange, but I promise you, once you start heading down this road it will make perfect sense.

How about you? Do you use a pen name or plan to use one? Why or why not?