One Night Stanzas

OK guys, this may just seem like a trivial matter, but working out a good writerly pen name is quite a big deal, and a lot harder than you’d think! It’s something a lot of people do when they decide to start sending their writing out into the world, and it can be a really good thing - but it does take some thought!

Firstly, you need to decide whether you really want a pen name, or whether actually, you’d be better off using your real name. Chances are you can easily prove your birth name and identity, and you probably already have a bank account and whatnot set up in that name - useful, if your work ends up in a magazine that wants to pay you! However, pen names are good things for those of you who have the same name as already-famous people, for example; donning a pseudonym can clear up any confusion and prevent those annoying “oh, are you any relation to…?” comments.

Not sure whether you want a pen name or not? Check out these pointers…

- Think about why you want a pen name in the first place. Is it because you just don’t like your name? Is it because your real name is, say, Michael Jackson, and you want to avoid confusion, and /or irritating comments? If so, you could always keep your real name, but just doctor it slightly. Maybe publish your work using initials instead of your first name? Many of the greatest poets have done this, after all - WH Auden, e.e. cummings and WB Yeats, to name just a few. Or, if you don’t like your last name (I can relate to this!), you could publish using your maiden name, your partner’s name, your mother’s maiden name, etc. This means that your pen name does not force you to assume a whole new identity… it just allows you to tweak your own a little!

- If your reason for creating a pen name is because your real name seems boring, or because you don’t think it sounds “literary” enough, remember this: you don’t necessarily have to have a cool writerly name like Dashiell Hammett or Fyodor Dostoyevsky to get your work out there! Try to think of some super-successful writers with everyday-sounding names - I bet you can think of heaps! Billy Collins, for example - he’s one of the most famous poets in America, and yet there’s nothing at all fancy about his name. Doesn’t seem to have stopped him from selling books! Sometimes, it’s better to embrace who you are than to worry about projecting an image. If your poetry is good, your name shouldn’t matter one bit!

However, if you’ve read the previous two points but still definitely want to write under a pen name, that’s cool…you just have to pick one. But as I say, it’s harder than it seems!

- Make sure your pseudonym is not stolen from someone else; that’s not fair. I remember when my sister and I were teenagers, we both wanted to use the pseudonym Elizabeth Gill. It was her idea first, but I latched onto it, and obviously the whole situation resulted in much scrapping and sulking… and in the end, she was right, it was mean of me to steal her thunder! So if someone you know confides their idea for a pen name to you, don’t steal it from them…no matter how cool you think it is! Similarly, if you want to use the actual name of someone you know - your friend, for example, or one of your tutors - you might want to ask them first. It might be (you never know!) that they already have something published or copyrighted under their name… and even if they don’t, you still ought to warn them, or they might get a big shock if they ever Google themselves!

- Try and make your pen name sound realistic if you can. You might think it’s cool to combine your love for your cat and your favourite football team in order to make the ultimate pen name…but a pseudonym like Snuffles Hibernian - while personal to you - doesn’t exactly give you a heap of street-cred! There’s nothing wrong with a quirky name, but think about it this way: you might just be sending the odd poem out here and there now, but what about in five years’ time? What about in twenty years’ time? If you’re forty and you end up with a massive book deal, would you be OK with putting your chosen pen name on thousands of covers?

- Please, please don’t use the name of an already-famous writer, literary character, or mythological figure. This might sound like a no-brainer, but trust me - I see this all the time! Morgan le Fay is particularly popular… Read This can sometimes get two or three submissions per month from people with that pseudonym! We’ve had someone who gave their real name but asked for their poems to be attributed to Oscar Wilde (they got a polite but firm no!), and there are many, many people who name themselves after characters from books, film and TV (Sally Stitches and Hamlet are particularly memorable ones that I’ve seen).
OK guys - please don’t do this! It’s just like stealing someone else’s pen name idea, or using someone else’s name without permission - only it’s worse! Some editors may not be too happy if you sign your submission email “Geoffrey Chaucer,” “Sir Lancelot” or “Rocky Balboa.” They’re on the lookout for originality, for someone who celebrates their own uniqueness… so your pen name should reflect you!

- Try to make your pen name exactly that… a name. This name’s hopefully going to be seen and heard by editors and other literary bigwigs; it is not just a nickname or a screen name on a forum! For that reason, try to avoid combinations of words and numbers - things like “Becca666” or the like. You should also avoid weird symbols in names - so in case you were thinking about it, steer clear of “$@R@H” and that kind of thing! And finally, you’re not a rapper, so be wary of things like “Justpoemz” or “WriterBitch.” Amazingly, I see things like this on a regular basis. You need your readers to take you seriously, and to do that you probably want to project a mature and intelligent persona. Your pen name - if you choose to adopt one - will have to be part of this!

Hopefully, you should now be able to decide whether a pen name is right for you, and choose a good one that will see you and your writing a long way! If you’ve picked a name but you’re still not sure if it’s OK, try setting aside a few days or a week, and adopt your name for the whole of that time. Introduce your pen-name-self to your family and get them to call you by your chosen name. Send off letters and postcards to friends and sign them from your pseudonym. Ask people you know what they think, and get their most honest opinion. After a week of trying and testing, if you’re not embarrassed by or sick of your new name, chances are it’s a good one!

Good luck, writerlies!

Thinking of taking on a pen name? Why - and what ideas do you have? Or do you already have a pen name? If so, how did you come to choose it? Why did you want to use a pseudonym?

(Photo by Redcoat1510)

 Subscribe to ONS!