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Pen name, I don't know what to do
Why shouldn't I use a pen name?Promoting your books when you've written under a pseudonym/pen nameUsing a pen-name: possible legal issuesShould I use a pen name so I don't get confused with other authors with similar names?Is it a bad idea to adopt an 'English' pen name as an Asian American writer to reach a wider audience?Do I need a pen name? And how do I pick a good one?Should I bother allowing images (headshots) for pen names?How do I get reliable information on things I don't know anything about?Can using my name as author harm my book sales?Should I create a domain name using a pen name that is common with another person's domain name?
So my name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. Do you think a good writer name is Ana N.? Because I really really don't like my last name Novkovic and it's so hard to pronounce and it would just distract and not look good.
creative-writing pseudonym
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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add a comment |
So my name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. Do you think a good writer name is Ana N.? Because I really really don't like my last name Novkovic and it's so hard to pronounce and it would just distract and not look good.
creative-writing pseudonym
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
3
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago
add a comment |
So my name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. Do you think a good writer name is Ana N.? Because I really really don't like my last name Novkovic and it's so hard to pronounce and it would just distract and not look good.
creative-writing pseudonym
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So my name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. Do you think a good writer name is Ana N.? Because I really really don't like my last name Novkovic and it's so hard to pronounce and it would just distract and not look good.
creative-writing pseudonym
creative-writing pseudonym
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
edited 5 hours ago
Cyn
24.6k253113
24.6k253113
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
New contributor
Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
asked 8 hours ago
AnaAna
161
161
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Ana is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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3
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
3
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago
add a comment |
3
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
3
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago
3
3
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
3
3
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
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You can publish under any name you choose. Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. Many great writers have done so -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader).
On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another.
I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. If they want to read it, they'll get past your name.
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
add a comment |
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
add a comment |
Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. Do you like your mother's maiden name? Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well."
I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-)
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
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3 Answers
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active
oldest
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3 Answers
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active
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active
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active
oldest
votes
You can publish under any name you choose. Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. Many great writers have done so -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader).
On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another.
I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. If they want to read it, they'll get past your name.
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
add a comment |
You can publish under any name you choose. Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. Many great writers have done so -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader).
On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another.
I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. If they want to read it, they'll get past your name.
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
add a comment |
You can publish under any name you choose. Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. Many great writers have done so -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader).
On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another.
I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. If they want to read it, they'll get past your name.
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
You can publish under any name you choose. Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. Many great writers have done so -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader).
On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another.
I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. If they want to read it, they'll get past your name.
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
answered 7 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
2,7182625
2,7182625
add a comment |
add a comment |
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
add a comment |
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
add a comment |
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
answered 5 hours ago
CynCyn
24.6k253113
24.6k253113
add a comment |
add a comment |
Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. Do you like your mother's maiden name? Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well."
I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-)
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
New contributor
TimeGlider is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. Do you like your mother's maiden name? Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well."
I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-)
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
New contributor
TimeGlider is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. Do you like your mother's maiden name? Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well."
I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-)
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
New contributor
TimeGlider is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. Do you like your mother's maiden name? Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well."
I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-)
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
New contributor
TimeGlider is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
New contributor
TimeGlider is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
answered 4 hours ago
TimeGliderTimeGlider
1035
1035
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3
If you do think that your last name is not good enough (although I personally just can't see why), you can choose a different pen name. However, I think "Ana N." is just too generic and would hurt your visibility when people start googling this name.
– Alexander
7 hours ago
3
I think Ana Novkovic is a very nice name. It sounds foreign to me (maybe Russian? Not sure), but is remarkably easy to read and would probably be easy enough to say for most English speakers.
– icanfathom
7 hours ago
This is a very very opinion based question
– DJ Spicy Deluxe
54 mins ago
Agree with @Alexander. Test with google (and others) first, it doesn't seem search-friendly.... It does have a kind of '80s Berlin punkscene vibe, which is cool but dated… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_F.
– wetcircuit
25 mins ago