Publish under My Own Name or Pen Name?

[Erron]

I was always going to publish using my own name on my books, social media etc. But talking to friends and family it seems I'm on my own in this, as they all think I should use a pen name. My daughters argument was "there's just too many psychos out there". Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this issue?

[Astrid Torquay]

I think there are so many views on this. To be honest, I never considered the psychos.

For many, it depends on the nature of what you're writing -- do you want your neighbor/boss/accountant to know what you get up to?

Also, it's your brand name.
In my case, my legal name is very long (it would take up half the book cover), unusual ("Oh yeah, I remember your name, it was something unusual, what was it again?"), difficult to spell, and contains punctuation ("a hyphen? which one's that?")
So, a pen name was a no-brainer for me.

[Doglover]

I decided to use my own name because it is unique. I am the only person in the country spelled like that so I wasn't going to get mixed up with anyone else. But I regret it because people have since asked me those intelligent questions like: 'where do you get your ideas?' There are others, like 'how is the book going?' - I've got 30 published so what are you on about? Then there are the ones who think you must be making a fortune, since you have books published with good reviews, and are always hinting about how hard up they are.

I am planning a new genre after this book I'm working on, and it will definitely be under a pen name.

This has nothing to do with the question, but I simply must use that waggy dog and that black cat.   

[NathanBurrows]

In my case, my legal name is very long (it would take up half the book cover), unusual ("Oh yeah, I remember your name, it was something unusual, what was it again?"), difficult to spell, and contains punctuation ("a hyphen? which one's that?")
So, a pen name was a no-brainer for me.

Same for me - my legal name is unpronounceable and unspellable! I don’t hide behind the pen name - the pic is me and friends and family know the name I write under, but I do like having a small degree of separation between me and my writing.

Top tip for choosing a pen name - make sure the domain name is available, and register it even if you don’t use it.

[Robin]

I use my real name. It's unique in my genre and easy to spell and read. I toyed with the idea of a pen name but in the end I decided to use my own and I don't have any regrets.

[MelanieMRodriguez]

I was always going to publish using my own name on my books, social media etc. But talking to friends and family it seems I'm on my own in this, as they all think I should use a pen name. My daughters argument was "there's just too many psychos out there". Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this issue?

It doesn't matter for me! 

While I could worry about cyber bullies and weird people, there are 610 books already underneath my name on goodreads. If I ever landed a job somewhere besides stay at home wife, and anyone found out, I'd be surely asked about how I wrote all those eroticas, yet wrote such refined scifi, or maybe how I wrote every kind of romance and still managed to balance non-fiction?

I have no control over who out there uses my real name as a pen name. It just happens to be a super simple name that's short and kind of cute. I even got asked about it one time at my own bank in my small town.

Domain is taken for a lovely woman who dates for a night in a big city.   It's also an indie guitarist from another country I found out.

Can I control what name I publish under? Yes.
Can I control what happens with my real name when so many people have it anyway? Nope.
And so I've written from pen names and my real name. I'm screwed either way.

If you have the power, use it however you want to. Bunchie away! 

[Lex]

My legal name is

I think there are so many views on this. To be honest, I never considered the psychos.

For many, it depends on the nature of what you're writing -- do you want your neighbor/boss/accountant to know what you get up to?

Also, it's your brand name.
In my case, my legal name is very long (it would take up half the book cover), unusual ("Oh yeah, I remember your name, it was something unusual, what was it again?"), difficult to spell, and contains punctuation ("a hyphen? which one's that?")
So, a pen name was a no-brainer for me.

I second all of this. For me, I like the small amount of control I have over who knows what I write. I don't really keep it a secret, but with a pen name, I can if I want to.

I also have a hyphenated name, and while it isn't very unusual, I can still remember the look on almost every substitute teacher's face when they got to my name in roll call. Like, "Oh great. How the hell do I say this name?" For some reason, hyphens freak people out.

[Misti]

While I really like the anonymity, my real name is also a pain for anyone that might try to search for me. My first name is “misspelled” and my last name is spelled with complete disregard for the rules of the English language. It doesn’t really matter to me if it’s mispronounced, but it’s also difficult to read/spell. I prefer something that’s not super common, but that’s easy for people to spell and read phonetically. Less to worry about, for me anyway.

[Erron]

Thanks everybody. I decided to go for my real name, and use another if I ever branch into another genre.

[Ghost5]

I also have a hyphenated name, and while it isn't very unusual, I can still remember the look on almost every substitute teacher's face when they got to my name in roll call. Like, "Oh great. How the hell do I say this name?" For some reason, hyphens freak people out.

I chose to hyphenate when I married and had no idea how confusing that would be for people. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only woman in history to ever do that. 

[LilyBLily]

I wonder if anybody else ever used the pen name Currer Bell? "By a Lady" evidently didn't suit Charlotte Bronte's too forceful writing style. Unsuitable for a lady, and all that.

People are going to be so glad 100 years from now that they didn't have to live in our time.

[Lex]

I chose to hyphenate when I married and had no idea how confusing that would be for people. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only woman in history to ever do that. 

My parents hyphenated MY name. They both kept their names. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do when I get married. Add another?