As far as I’m concerned, there is no debate about this.Thanks for reading The Process Muse! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Pseudonyms have been around as long as there have been writers. Charlotte Bronte, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Clemens all used pseudonyms. I bet it goes back much farther than that, to papyrus and cuneiforms. Mary Ann Evans wrote as George Eliot. Alice Mary Norton became Andre Norton. Alice Bradley Shelton wrote as James Tiptree, Jr. Frank L. Baum wrote the Aunt Jane’s Niece series as Edith Van Dyne. Tom Huff wrote romances as Jennifer Wilde, Edwina Marlowe, and Beatrice Parker, among other names. Dean James writes the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries as Miranda James and other novels as Jimmie Ruth Evans and Honor Hartman. “Carolyn Keene” is a famous pseudonym used by countless ghost writers over the years for Nancy Drew.
I had never thought about pseudonyms at all before reading this. Obviously, I knew they existed, Mark Twain and such, but not how widespread their use is.
I do use my own name as a blogger and poet but usually use initials or nicknames for family when writing my blog to protect their privacy. I use my birth surname, so most of the family isn't revealed as their surnames are different; only people who know us "in real life" realize who they are.
If I ever decide to break into a new genre and need a pseudonym, I'll know to whom to look for advice!
I had never thought about pseudonyms at all before reading this. Obviously, I knew they existed, Mark Twain and such, but not how widespread their use is.
I do use my own name as a blogger and poet but usually use initials or nicknames for family when writing my blog to protect their privacy. I use my birth surname, so most of the family isn't revealed as their surnames are different; only people who know us "in real life" realize who they are.
If I ever decide to break into a new genre and need a pseudonym, I'll know to whom to look for advice!