To Pen Name or Not To Pen Name? That Is The Question!
‘I am a corporate consultant with a straight-laced job, but, I write erotica. How do I remain ‘genuine’ online yet keep those two personas separate.’
Very good question, and one people ask quite a bit. What are the disadvantages and advantages of having a pen name? This is tough for people because we say ‘brand the author, not the book,’ right? But this situation is a bit different.
Let’s deconstruct.
1) Privacy. This is the biggest advantage of having a pen name, particularly for the erotica genre. One of my clients is an MBA in a top corporate job, and one of our first orders of business was to set up her branding as an erotica author with a pen name.
Not only did this keep her job out of the equation, it also kept her family protected – especially important because she had teenaged children who would no doubt be horrified! And a husband who also had a conservative job.
She’s also quite active in her church with her family, so this was another important consideration for her.
Another client writes hot thrillers using his real name, but not a real picture. He’s in banking and doesn’t want his real life to mix with his persona.
2) Persona. Choosing a pen name allows you to become, to an extent, the best representative of your content. This allows you to become the content, if you will. For example, if you normally write MG or YA and you want to write BDSM or other hardcore material, it gives you a chance to be far racier in your online life than you would be in real life.
And this is an important distinction with regard to branding: you have written this content, whether it is based on real life or fantasy. You can interact with people you normally never would (which brings a whole other perhaps unwanted element, but that’s another point). The biggest advantage to creating this persona is being consistent – you are representing your books and your content across all channels of your erotica author platform.
This is where you can really delve into your interests as an erotica writer that you may not normally share on your more traditional author profile.
3) Branding. Let’s delve further into branding. I usually recommend that an author use their real name and use their picture as their avatar, but that becomes difficult if you’re trying to keep your private life private. In this case, many erotica authors use a ‘hot’ photo of some sort that has to do with their work.
And that’s appropriate in this case. Regardless of whether you are writing erotica or say, textbooks, it is possible to create different personas.
I do recommend still branding the author no matter the books. How? I think Bella Andre does it best: she has three pen names, each dedicated to a different genre. She personally hasn’t kept it a secret, but initially she did.
Finally, a quote from talented erotica author, Sandra Bunino:
‘I find myself walking a fine line between being genuine for my readers and maintaining the privacy and security of my non-online life. I love to engage my readers on social media and try to be accessible. I believe it’s an important part of the connection between reader and author.
That’s one reason I decided to use an actual picture on social media, my website and book promotions, though I do use a pen name. Of course, that overlap can be risky. There are times when my personal life and author persona collide and I’m okay with that. I’m proud of my work as an erotic romance writer. If it makes someone uncomfortable, it’s their issue, not mine.’
There are a few more considerations, but if you think ‘brand the author, not the book’ in all aspects of your promotion (whether your true self or a persona), you’ll achieve success!
What are your thoughts? Do you have a pen name? Share your experiences with us!
