I created a pen name for several reasons. One, and the most important, was safety. I see a lot of authors get treated badly by readers when a book doesn't hold up to their expectations. When I wrote Fanfiction I was a victim of serious bullying and threats. To have a pen name seemed like a no brainer for me.
The second reason was security. What if I fail? What if nobody likes my books... WHAT IF! I can just disappear and me, my family and friends will never be affected.
I know you are all reading this and saying, "I don't see her issue. She seems to have a good reason for using a pen name."
Okay, okay... So, last night I was tagged on Facebook to talk about my WIP (Work in Progress). I was tagged under my real name not my pen name. I wasn't sure what to do. I went back and forth. I talked to a good friend who knows me and my pen name we debated it and in the end I talked about my WIP under my real name.
A little while later one of my proofreaders/BETA messaged me saying, "Are you sure you wanted to do that? People will put 2 and 2 together when it releases." I was at the "I'll deal with it then," mind set. For all I know nobody was paying attention.
More people know me as the real me because I love the genre I'm writing in and I talk to a lot of authors and such. NO ONE aside from a few know me by my pen name.
From a business stand point would my pen name or my real name sell my book better? Do I say YEAH I'M BOTH? Does it make having a pen name moot at that point?
With my book on the cusp of completion I find myself at a cross roads. So I blog and I'm hoping to hear from anyone and everyone about this. What does a new author who doesn't want to lie about who they are but also wants to keep herself and family protected do? Is it a thrive in business or thrive in life sort of choice?
PLEASE weigh in!!!!
