Pen Names, Aliases, Nomes de Plume

People choose to write under a different name for a whole range of resons:

• to preserve their anonymity
• to allow them to write for more than one genre
• to team or ghost write
• to write something controversial
• to write in a gender-biased genre

or because their own name

• is too hard to pronounce
• is already taken; or
• puts them too far down the bookshelves.

It is quite straight-forward to write under an assumed name. When submitting a manuscript you simply write your 'real' details in the corner of the first page and then write your pen name after the title of your manuscript. Publishers will know which to put on the cover of the book and which to put on the contract!

Speaking of contracts, there is no formal "rights" process to undergo (unless you end up doing a JK Rowling in which case every bit of you is trademarked within an inch of your life) but the following is recommended:

• Check first to make sure the name you choose doesn't belong to anyone else (particularly an other writer or a porn star!)
• Check to see that the domain name (and variations of it) are available for your registration. Check by typing it into the address bar, then double-check by searching for it on a reputable domain registration website.
• Ask around (friends, forum) to make sure there's nothing about the name that you don't know (imagine trying to publish 'Inspirational' if your pen name was 'Monica Malinski')

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