Pen Name Part 2

Something occurred to me today, as I was actually writing and thinking at the same time (but I wasn’t chewing gum).

Why am I considering giving my main genre – GLBT – a pen name for the sake of the ‘maybe’??

So, it is decided. I will use my real name (which is interesting to pronounce) and consider a pen name for the YA book(s) if it ever happens. So there. Nyah.

I am almost 40 and still can’t make up my mind easily. Must be the blond hair.

Comments

  1. I tried to post this yesterday and it didn’t go through. Trying again…

    I used a pseudonym for about a year and ended up hating it. First, because using a pseudonym on some of my work (my erotica, then only my e-zine erotica) made it seem like I was embarrassed of what I was writing– which I’m definitely not. Second, because bylines are few and far between and I like seeing my name on what I’ve written– using a pseudonym gave me a let-down feeling. Maybe it’s ego, maybe it’s that I felt like I was hiding, but now I don’t use a pseudonym unless requested by the editor (recent examples: a gay anthology asked me to use a more gender-neutral name, so I went with Kris instead of Kristina; another antho is using three of my stories in one collection and wanted three names, so I used different variations of my full real name).

    As for your goal to write for the YA market: Leslea Newman (author of Heather Has Two Mommies) is one of my role models in this regard– she edits and writes lesbian fiction as well as being a children’s author (her recent Hachiko Waits is a wonderful story based on the real Hachiko, a Japanese dog who waited for years at the train station for his master who had died). Of course, I don’t have kids and I’m not a teacher, so my feelings might be different in those situations, but I don’t think so. I figure if someone has a problem with what I write, it’s *their* problem, not mine. I say, do what makes you feel comfortable.

    Good luck with Bella Books, by the way. I have a story in their forthcoming ghost anthology and they’ve been great to work with.

  2. I’ve emailed Gerri Hill a few times and she has the same opinion about Bella Books.

    And thanks for the advice. I like Leslea Newman’s books too.

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