- They value their privacy, though nowadays it's not that hard to figure out who an author really is - you leave too much of a paper trail in a modern society to hide for very long.
- They already write under another name (which might or might not be their real name) and want to publish something in a different genre. Using a pen name ensures they don't mislead or confuse readers who like the books that have already been published.
- There's already another famous author with the same name as them, or a very similar one.
- Their real name is too hard to spell or pronounce, or too long to fit on the cover at a reasonable size.
- Their real name doesn't sound like the sort of name that a writer of that sort of novel "ought to" have - a man writing romance would probably use a female pen name, and a woman writing thrillers would probably use a male name.
Comments
One or more of the following...
- They value their privacy, though nowadays it's not that hard to figure out who an author really is - you leave too much of a paper trail in a modern society to hide for very long.
- They already write under another name (which might or might not be their real name) and want to publish something in a different genre. Using a pen name ensures they don't mislead or confuse readers who like the books that have already been published.
- There's already another famous author with the same name as them, or a very similar one.
- Their real name is too hard to spell or pronounce, or too long to fit on the cover at a reasonable size.
- Their real name doesn't sound like the sort of name that a writer of that sort of novel "ought to" have - a man writing romance would probably use a female pen name, and a woman writing thrillers would probably use a male name.
To protect my business and because my real name is pretty friggin BLAH. (thanks Mom and Dad for running out of creativity after 4 kids!)
For anonymity as well as having that might sound more writerly.
To separate their two selves.