Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Tuesday Talks | Pseudonyms

Tuesday Talks is a book discussion group created by Janie and Janelle and every single Tuesday we discuss a new bookish topic. If you haven't checked out the goodreads group, you definitely should. It's a great way to connect with fellow book lovers.

Pseudonyms
A pseudonym is when an author publishes a book under an alternate name. Some authors publish everything under pseudonyms, some use a different one for different genres, sometimes it's a man's name, sometimes a woman. There are so many different reasons an author might use a Pseudonym to publish there books, so this week we're discussing our thoughts on the topic. 

I can understand why an author, particularly a well known one, might want to try publishing under a different name. If you want to branch into a different genre, it might be difficult to break a certain mold you've been following. Readers of the current genre might not like that you're moving away from what they liked and readers of the new one might not take you seriously. Sure there are some readers who will read anything a certain author puts out, but that's not always the case. 

In today's world I think it's hard for a writer to use a pseudonym. With everything so internet based people have an easier time of linking all of the names of one author back to that person. So I think it can be a good thing to use an alternate name to branch into a new genre, but once that's done I think it makes sense to acknowledge your other pseudonyms. 

Personally I don't really mind either way. If an author uses one (or more than one) name to publish, so what. It can make it difficult at times to follow an author that you really like, so I can see a downside, particularly for the reader. 

As a writer, I can see the appeal of writing under a pseudonym. You can choose to be whoever or whatever you want! It's part of the appeal of writing in the first place. 

This post is kind of a ramble, and maybe it doesn't make sense, but I find pseudonyms interesting. What do you think? Do you care one way or the other? 

2 comments:

  1. Absolutely not! I often research an author before reading a book by them to find out what else they've written. As long as the content is dexterous, I don't believe it matters if the author uses another name. People often find pseudonyms comfortable because 'they' are anonymous.

    TheDonkeyInvasion - A Bookish Blog!

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    1. Thanks for commenting! Yes, I don't really get why it's a big deal if people use different names. If I want to read the book, I'm going to read it. I don't even look at an author's name a lot of the time (unless, of course, I'm searching for a book by a specific author).

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