What this article will not be is a long detailed reiteration of what a Pen Name is or is not; there are plenty of websites that will do that for you to include http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_name. However, what we will do is quickly touch upon the major types and spend the bulk of the time looking at ways to create a Pen Name. One thing to say right up front is, don’t expect your pen name to keep your true identity secret for a long time. With the internet and network of critics searching information about authors and books it is difficult to really expect to maintain anonymity for very long. This happened to Steven King after he published a few novels under the pen name Richard Bachman and critics eventually recognized the similarities in writing style.
A Brief What and Why of a Pen Name:
So to get the obvious out of the way a pen name, also known as a pseudonym, or nom de plume is essentially an author’s or artist’s alias, and an author or artist may use more than one pen name to create or publish their works over their lifetime. [1] Pen names are used to disguise who they are for varying reasons such as: to protect oneself and family such as with the science fiction writer Alice Bradley Sheldon, a former WWII Army Air Force Intelligence career field and later for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had a several personal reasons for writing under the pen names James Tiptree, Jr. and Raccoona Sheldon [2] ; to mask or shift gender; disguise the fact that the author is publishing a large volume of works over short periods of time (Dean Koontz wrote under the names: Aaron Wolfe, Brian Coffey, David Axton, Deanna Dwyer, John Hill, K.R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Anthony North, Owen West, Richard Paige) [3] , or for establishing credibility for an author noted for writing in one genre and then later writing in another genre. Pen names are also used for unifying and branding purposes involving multiple authors under one name such as in the case of The Hardy Boys under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon [4] and Nancy Drew mysteries written under the pen name Carolyn Keene [5]. Both of these book series were actually written by several different authors. Branding pen names also includes the idea of using a pen name to encompass collaborative groups of authors such as the pen name Ellery Queen representing authors Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee.[6] Finally, another reason for use of a pen name is simply as a means of amusement or to relay a subtle message or as a link to the writer’s history, Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain is probably the most well known example of this type of pen name.[7]
Creating a Pen Name:
Let’s look at ways of creating a pen name. Author’s can make up pen names through anagrams, through a particular word, words with special meaning to the author, by selecting a name or combination of first, last, and middle initials from a hat or searching through the family lineage and select a name that is from several generations in the families past. Additionally, pen names can be created for amusement, sending a personal message by using unique words referencing the authors past, compounding words or names, using words or names translated into another language other than the author’s native language.
Anagram
An anagram pen name is simply rearranging the letters of a name to produce a new name, word or phrase using all the original letters exactly once; for example: an author with the real name of Karen Carpenter could use the anagram Carter N. Keapner, a gender switch or non-specific pen name.
For Amusement or to Send a Message:
This includes authors writing for the pure enjoyment of writing without a desire or concern to openly present or hide the real identity of the author. Samuel Langhorne Clemens using the pen name Mark Twain may be an example of the use of a pen name for amusement sake or for a subtle reminder of his past. The meaning of “Mark Twain” has two plausible meanings: first and most referenced is as a riverboat term measuring two fathoms (12 feet) in depth; mark being the count of water depth or fathom; thus it becomes mark the river two (twain) fathoms deep; secondly, according to Justin Kaplan, the term many also have come from Mark Twain’s time in Nevada, where saloonkeepers used the phrase “Mark Twain” to represent two drinks on credit. Kaplan maybe more correct than the commonly accepted River Boat inference; Clemens first used the pen name on February 3, 1863 Mark Twain after he travelled through Carson, Nevada and signed his “humorous travel account, Letter from Carson – re: Joe Goodman; party at Gov. Johnson’s; music with the name Mark Twain.” [7]
Benjamin Franklin “used the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood to get his earliest ideas published when he was sixteen years of age while working as an apprentice in his older brother James’ printing shop in Boston. Franklin created the persona of a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood.” [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_Dogood He created a whole background for his character, and explained this in depth in the majority of his first letter. “Once every two weeks, he would leave a letter under the door of his brother’s printing shop.” “The first letters poked fun at various aspects of life in colonial America.” Other pen names used by Franklin throughout his career include: Harry Meanwell, Alice Addertongue, Richard Saunders, and Timothy Turnstone. [9]
Name out of hat:
On separate pieces of paper write many first names and last names (scroll through a phone book or internet; however, don’t use the real full name of someone currently living) that sound good to you into a box, bowl, or hat. Use separate containers to collect first names and initials and a second container for last names. Start with last names first; draw out one name to establish your new pen name last name. Draw from the other container a first name and again for an initial. By this method you can actually create many pen names for multiple usages. Example: if you draw out a last name of “Feinstein” and then a first name of “Daryl,” and then eventually pull out an initial of “W,” you have the options of either using “Daryl W. Feinstein” or W. Daryl Feinstein or even D.W. Feinstein, so on and so forth. By using this method you can create multiple pen names of varying genders without complicating the pen name creation process more than necessary.
Rearranging the author’s real name:
This can be accomplished by various means: the first and last name can be flipped and dropping one or more letters within the name such as in this example: Mitchel Tyler can become Tyler Michel, or as in the case of Francis Marlow can be changed to Mark Francis. In the case of Pearl Gray a western novelist, he “dropped his first name and changed the spelling of his last name to become Zane Gray, because he believed that his real name did not suit the Western genre.” [10]
Character within the book:
Select a name from one of the characters within your book or from one of your previous works. This works especially well when the name you choose is also the character narrating the story. Samuel Langhorne Clemens not only used the pen name “Mark Twain,” he used the name “Sieur Louis de Conte” as his pseudonym for his book Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. Sieur Louis de Conte just happens to be a character within the book, specifically the narrator or alleged source of the pseudo-history and the story of Joan of Arc. [11]
Name linked to family lineage:
Trace your family lineage back three or more generations and select one of those names or combination of names to create a pen name and a personal profile to go along with the name. These pen names can work well when writing historical accounts that combine both fictional and non-fiction material. Don’t limit yourself to your gender; consider the point of view you desire to have the story told from; male or female, old or young, and participant or observer.
Compounding:
Compounding can be formed by taking two or more words to create a single new word or name. Compound words or names can be written as one word, as two words joined with a hyphen, or as a combination of a single word name and first name. More creative pen name creations can be accomplished by compounding names or words based on translations from author’s/artist’s home language into any other language of choice, especially if you are trying to send a subtle message. Select a brief message, four or less words. Translate those words into the language of your preference; you may want to try multiple translations until you find a reasonable number of translated words that can be easily combined and also still sound reasonable and plausible as representing a name for the country-language you’ve selected.
Here are examples of multiple methods combining techniques:
Example one: a subtle message with language translation and compounding. C.S. Lebenlernen (yours truly) is a pen name based compounding a word made up by combining two or more words into a new word (not to be confused with portmanteau or morphemes) an English translation from the German words for “live and learn and/or learn to live.” In this case C.S. is the author’s actual first and last initials of his name-my name.
Example two: The very common and, in my opinion” over used phrase “Seize the Day” can be translated from English to Spanish as “agarre el dia.” Then by using Agarre as a pseudonym for a first name, we can compound the words “el dia” to create a last name of Eldia. Thus we have a pen name of Agarre Eldia a fictitious Spanish author; notice how a person’s real name can still be totally voided in this way.
Example three: From the simple phrase, “Best Wishes,” and after trying a handful of language translations you select English to Dutch translation. The English to Dutch translation for Best Wishes is beste wensen. To create at least a last name you can simply combine beste wensen to create the name Bestewensen. For a first name you can pick either your real initials or select any name that has a reasonable fit to the compounded last name. In this case we’ve selected Jan, a common Dutch first name. Then we can create the pen name of Jan Bestewensen, a fictitious pen name of a Dutch author.
Copyright:
Is it necessary to copyright your pen name? Not really; however, it is beneficial to do so as a part of protecting the rights to the name and the work associated with that pen name. Some cities want you to file your pen name with them for tax purposes; this also has the added benefit of verifying your ownership of that pen name for legal purposes. Consider documenting your pen name(s) yourself on some type of document; have the paper notarized and preferably filed with your attorney (it will cost of course).
Summary
As we’ve shown here, there are several ways to create a pen name. A down side of using a pen name can occur if someone else later tries to claim your work as their original work and you haven’t copyrighted or legally recorded your pen name. Book signings at public events and book stores can become complicated as the fans or readers notice multiple names attached to the same face. Since book publishers want to get you out on the road for these book signings you can imagine the problems this creates. If your intent is to truly keep your real identity secret you will not succeed if you actually attend those signings, interviews or become actively involve in promoting your work. Additionally, the internet via book reviews, bloggers, Wikipedia, etc., it will not take too much time to discover your true identity if someone tries hard enough.
References:
1 Etymology of the term nom de plume is that it is a British phrase; although the phrase nom de guerre already existed in France and later the term guerre (war) was changed to plume (referring to a pen).
2 Pen Names James Tiptree, Jr. and Raccoona Sheldon, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tiptree,_Jr.
3 Pen Names for Dean Koontz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_koontz
4 Pen name Frank W. Dixon, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_W._Dixon
5 Pen name Carolyn Keene, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Keene
6 Pen Name Ellery Queen, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_Queen
7 Pen Name Mark Twain, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain
8 Pen Name Silence Dogood, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_Dogood
9 Pen Names, Harry Meanwell, Alice Addertongue, Richard Saunders, and Timothy Turnstone
10 Pen Name Zane Gray, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zane_Grey
11 Pen Name Sieur Louis de Conte, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Recollections_of_Joan_of_Arc
http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html