Pseudonyms

Compiled by Janice Kay Johnson, a.k.a Janice Bartlett (1995)

A pseudonym is a fictitious name used by an author on his or her books. An author might choose to use one for a number of reasons: to conceal her identity, to distinguish for the sake of her readers one kind of books she writes from another (for example, mainstream psychological suspense from historical romance), or because her own name might be difficult for readers to pronounce or remember. Publishers sometimes require authors to use a pseudonym; Harlequin/Silhouette, for example, has long done so. A beginning writer does not need to think up a pseudonym or submit to publishers under it, even if she intends to use one when she sells. The publisher will know the author's real identity, and contracts and checks will have her legal name on them.