Dear O'Abby: Should I use a pen name?

Dear O'Abby,

I'm getting ready to start querying my novel, and I was wondering if I should use a pen name.  I'm a pretty private person, and while I don't have anything in particular to hide, I can't help feeling that I'd feel safer and happier about putting my work out there under a different name.

Do you have any advice?

Yours,

Nameless

Dear Nameless,

There are any number of reasons why someone might choose to use a pen name and protecting your privacy is as good a reason as any other.  I mean, you probably don't want Janet in accounts knowing that steamy romance she's been reading in the break room was written by yours truly, right?

Or maybe you're writing police procedurals and your main character is pretty scathing about the inefficiencies and injustices she sees daily in her own department.  And your day job just happens to be as a cop.  Probably don't want your boss to know you're airing the department's dirty laundry to the reading public.

Or perhaps you've been writing non-fiction for years and are something of an expert in your field.  But this is fiction and written to appeal to a completely different audience than the non-fiction you're known for.  By all means, use a pseudonym.

I use one myself because I write primarily YA, but I do, on occasion, write and publish other genres, including (once or twice) erotica.  I don't want my YA readers to accidentally stumble on one of those saucy zombie sex romps, so when writing that type of stuff, I publish it under a pen name.

So yes.  Use a pseudonym if it makes you more comfortable.

Just remember there are downsides too.

One you're published, promoting your book becomes that much harder if you're using a nom de plume.  You can't reach out easily to the people you already know and ask them to help with the promotion.  You can't use your already existing social media networks.  You can't easily organize in-person events (although, in this new COVID-19 world, the concept of in-person events feels somewhat far-fetched).

So think hard about going down this route.  If you've been carefully cultivating a social media following or engaging thoughtfully with the reading and writing communities throughout your writing journey, choosing to use a pen name now may lose you all the ground you've built.  You'll be starting a brand from scratch.

If you are an expert on a subject, or have real-life experience in the area you're writing about (for example, the cop mentioned above), by using a pen name, you're losing the ability to use that real-life experience as part of your pitch as to why people will want to read this book.  People value authenticity, and being able to say in your author bio that you've spent 25 years working in a specific city's police department gives cachet to whatever you're writing about police procedure and practice.  But if that city's police department has no record of someone by that name working there, you could be called a fraud by claiming that bio.

There is also the legal aspect to think about.  When you publish, do you want the copyright record to be under your legal name or the pen name?  At the querying stage, you will want to let the agent know both your pen name and your legal name as all contracting and payment will need to be to the legal name.

My advice would be to think carefully about your reasons for wanting to use a pen name.  If they are more compelling than any of the potential downsides, then go ahead.  If not, I would seriously consider using your real name.  It's just so much easier!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: Can I sign queries with my preferred name?

Dear O'Abby,

I'm an agender writer currently preparing to seek representation for my novels. My preferred name is different from my legal name. How do I sign my query letters? Would it be unprofessional to put something like (Preferred name: such and such) after my legal name? I don't know how to navigate the situation and would appreciate any advice!

Yours,

Two Names

Dear Two Names,

I really don't feel like you need to use your legal name at the query stage.  You're beginning a relationship here, and you want to relate to the agent the way you feel the most comfortable, as the person you see yourself as.  Until you're signing any legal paperwork, there is no reason not to use the  name you use in your everyday life.  It's not a pen name you are using, its the name you identify yourself with.

When you get an agent, you're starting a relationship with someone who is going to work very closely with you, hopefully for a very long time.  Why would you start a relationship with a name you don't use?

If you are an #ownvoices author and want to mention this in your query because it's relevant to the story you are pitching, you could reference that this is your preferred name, not your legal name, and the reason why, but don't feel like you have to.  It's something you can talk to the agent about if you get to the point of having "the call".  And even then, only if you feel comfortable doing so.

The only time you need to use your legal name in this circumstance is when you are signing legal documents.  And by the time you get to that point, your agent will already know you by your preferred name, and will continue to identify with you using that name.

Hope that helps!  And good luck with the agent search.

X O'Abby

A Depressed Writer: Introduction

There are two aspects that have come to define who I am, in my own mind at least: I am a writer. I am depressed.

The way these two identities interact and play with each other in order to create who I am on a daily basis is...honestly, I think I could write an entire thesis or dissertation on it. Not that anyone would necessarily want to read that, but I could still write it.

In lieu of a dissertation, I thought I would use this platform to regularly explore what it looks like to a be a writer who is depressed. I should note that this is my experience only: I'm not trying to claim some sort of universal depressed writer way of living; and the things that work for me may not work for someone else! I do hope, though, that my openness and exploration of this topic will help you as you seek to make sense of your own life, calling, and illness.

I've considered myself a writer since I was a small child. I think I was in second grade the first time I told someone I was going to be an author when I grew up? It's just an aspect of myself that I've accepted and grown comfortable with for a long time now. I write not just because I have something to say, but also because, well, I have to. It's a compulsion, a need, a fierce burning in my chest that only grows hotter if I don't let the words come out.

That said, it took years for me to call myself a "writer," not just "aspiring" or "someone who writes." But once I accepted that this is who I am, not just what I do, it became so much easier to fall into this identity.

The depression was a different story. Not that it took me a long time to accept it, because I think that as soon as the symptoms began and the thought occurred, "maybe this is depression," I allowed it in. More that: I have a significant trove of memories that are un-depressed. I actually lived a life before Depression.

It's been about 10 years since the two have converged. Writer Karis met Depressed Karis and the two became one. It's not a happy marriage.

See, both of these selves want to be the one. The one [self] to rule them all. The king under the [brain]. (Listen, I don't know if these references are working so I'll just come out and clearly state: I am reference The Lord of the Rings. I am doing this for the laughs. Please let me know if you do laugh, as that will be a great boon for my Humor Self.)

There are periods in which I give myself over to one identity. I write and am not depressed. I am depressed and I do not write.

Most of the time, though, I straddle both identities. I write in spite of my depression. I am depressed despite my writing.

It's...a monumental struggle. When things are super bad, depression-wise, it's honestly the hardest thing in the world to do the bare minimum of getting out of bed. Eating, putting on clothes: those are worthy of a medal. Then if I'm actually productive? At that point, I may as well award myself the Nobel Prize for Achievements through Depression.

Through this series, A Depressed Writer, I want to explore the different nuances of writing while depressed; chat about a few things that have helped me cope with depression while remaining productive as a writer; and generally dive into this subject which is so personal to me for so many reasons.

I hope you'll enjoy, learn a lot, and be encouraged!