I've been thinking about the opportunites that have arisen for the indie author in our current turbulent and exciting times, and I wondered what are your takes on the pseudonym in fiction?

I use them myself. My own name I keep for experimental stuff, the kind of fiction I know wouldn't have a cat in hell's chance of being published. There i keep my original name and that writing becomes a playground of sorts, where I can let go completely.

But I've written in the past under various psedonyms when I thought the work might be more commercially viable, or if I just want to take a break from myself. In the past the pseudonym was almost a given, especially in the pulp days where practioners such as Max Brand would regularly publish under dozens of different names. Even the mighty Stephen King has done this with his Richard Bachman alter ego.

So my question to you, fellow writers, and readers, what do you think of the pseudonym? Does it put you off the fiction if you know that one author has produced many different works under different names? Do the writer's out there see any benefit to the pseudonym, do you use one yourself or are you considering using one? Do you write in multiple genres (as I have) and use a different pseudonym for each?

I am considering using a NDP from now on just because I think having amy real name attached to anything fictional could be rather - bad - for my full time job.

I have no problems with them personally, Up until like two years ago, I still thought Robert Jordan was born Robert Jordan.

I am considering using a NDP from now on just because I think having amy real name attached to anything fictional could be rather - bad - for my full time job.

I have no problems with them personally, Up until like two years ago, I still thought Robert Jordan was born Robert Jordan.

I learn something new every day, I had no idea about Robert Jordan before.

At the moment I'm thinking of playing the ressurrection trick on the 10 or so complete novels I have, and using pen-names on them. Haven't yet figured out how I'll do it, but it should be a fun experiment.

Haven't really thought much about this subject before, but as a reader I thought of Ruth Rendell also writing under the pseudonym of Barbara Vine. Never bothered me, and I knwo 'Barbara Vine's' writing is a bit different from 'Ruth Rendell's' so it makes sense.

A different pseudonym would certainly not put me off, but it might hinder me in recognising the author. If you really feel it's best to seperate between two styles, why not?

It would make sense from a marketing perspective if Bob writes only cyber punk splatterhouse type books and then suddenly says hey now i want to write romance

Bob's readership would only pick up his latest work and then the nerd rage would begin. Now if Bob says his name is now Mary, no one would know any different - readerships can remain their loyal fan base without worrying about author A jumping the shark or becoming author B or selling out or any of the other fun and exciting things kids on the internet think of these days =)

Moe - I say go for it if you want to try and sell something, why not - i mean whats the worst thing that could happen

It would make sense from a marketing perspective if Bob writes only cyber punk splatterhouse type books and then suddenly says hey now i want to write romance

Bob's readership would only pick up his latest work and then the nerd rage would begin. Now if Bob says his name is now Mary, no one would know any different - readerships can remain their loyal fan base without worrying about author A jumping the shark or becoming author B or selling out or any of the other fun and exciting things kids on the internet think of these days =)

Moe - I say go for it if you want to try and sell something, why not - i mean whats the worst thing that could happen

Extra points for 'Nerd Rage' :) But I think you're right. Looking over the stuff I have, and the stuff I write now, it's an odd clash. Whereas I write more lyrically, and probably less marketable now, it's a lot more fun, and truth be told, easier. The other stuff is crammed full of what I thought at the time - you know the usual stuff about what sells and the like. Most of it was aimed at markets and agents I thought it would sell to.

I'm going to mull it over some more before I make any final decisions on where to go with all this stuff.

I have no problems with pseudonyms, especially if they help an author experiment beyond the confines of expectations from previous works. Whether this is transparent or not...no, it still doesn't bother me, unless I am a significant fan of a writer and would like to know, simply from a desire for completeness on my "read everything by..." list. I like how Iain Banks very slightly alters his name on his books, dependant on content, as it helps with expectations (and I like his work both without and without the "M.").

For me, I'd possibly use a pseudonym if only to avoid the possibility of being confused for either a well-known bookie/sports handicapper, or someone responsible for a few appalling movies, in the latter case, likely to the of annoyance of both his fans and detractors. ;)

Cheers,
Marc

pseudonyms are fine, they should be able to allow an author to experiment with different genre, much as you seem to want. as long as the main name is retained perhaps for the 'best' work and as long as there is an aka back-association it wouldn't overly worry me as a reader....

I considered a few pseudonyms when I started writing... after all, Steve Jordan is almost as common as John Smith! Someday, maybe I'll rebrand the novels under a more unique name, to separate me a bit more from the crowd. (If I think of a name I want to use, that is.)

Some change their name to protect themselves from those who would denigrate them through their work, subject matter, or style. However, I haven't written anything that I wouldn't want associated to me, so there's been no reason for me to do so. Now, when I start writing my gay bondage nazi druglord series...

I considered ... a more unique name, to separate me a bit more from the crowd. (If I think of a name I want to use, that is.)



How's about Chesty L'Amour?

How's about Chesty L'Amour?

>BRAAP!< Oh, sorry! Try again!

Sorry about hijacking the thread with a stripper pseudonym for Steve.

Honestly, between work, reading, and MRing (not necessarily in that order), I don't have time for the (as the kids nowadays call it) "fanboy" stuff. Who on earth cares enough to keep up with a favorite author's assorted miscellaneous names? Just pick an NDP and stick with it.

Of course, if you bomb badly enough, you may be justified in choosing a new name in order to "make a fresh start." Just don't bomb and you will be fine.

In order to make amends for hijacking a serious thread, I have a serious recommendation for you all. Dragon Naturally Speaking. It is speech recognition software. Tim is using it to write his book, and it is very good. There is a bit of "training" of the software to get started so that it can understand your jargon and accent.

Saves wear and tear on the keyboard.

In order to make amends for hijacking a serious thread, I have a serious recommendation for you all. Dragon Naturally Speaking. It is speech recognition software. Tim is using it to write his book, and it is very good. There is a bit of "training" of the software to get started so that it can understand your jargon and accent.

Saves wear and tear on the keyboard.


Make sure you only use it in a quiet environment, though - people whispering in the background, and telephone's ringing do play havoc with results ....

If there are any Mac users out there, Dragon have a product called Dictate: http://WWW.NUANCE.COM/naturallyspeaking/products/macintosh.asp Not tried it out, but the idea of speaking stories is interesting me a whole lot.

As we all talk to ourselves, it does also make sense to talk to your PC - no swearing though, tutting or sighing !!!

As we all talk to ourselves, it does also make sense to talk to your PC - no swearing though, tutting or sighing !!!

I'm very interested in trying this out for one of my pen-names to see what happens. A couple of interesting nights ahead I think :)

Please let us see the un-edited results .... lol ...

Tim has been using it for a few months, ALWAYS with the MP3's playing LOUDLY on his computer, me walking in and yelling at him to turn down that racket, etc. It never picks up any of that.

He uses a headset with mic and earphones, so maybe his close proximity to the mic is why it doesn't pick up outside sounds?

I'm thinking of putting it on my laptop. It has the built-in mic, so that may be less likely to filter out noise. It's all a grand experiment.

Tim has been using it for a few months, ALWAYS with the MP3's playing LOUDLY on his computer, me walking in and yelling at him to turn down that racket, etc. It never picks up any of that.

He uses a headset with mic and earphones, so maybe his close proximity to the mic is why it doesn't pick up outside sounds?

I'm thinking of putting it on my laptop. It has the built-in mic, so that may be less likely to filter out noise. It's all a grand experiment.

It was tried for me when I was at work, but it kept picking up too much extraneous sound ... mind you it was only a trial to see if it could help me ! needless to say it couldn't ....

I hope nobody here wants to be Ernest.

But if for some reason someone wants to be Ernest, we can make a new movie.

Ernest buys an electronic eBook reader

I hope nobody here wants to be Ernest.

But if for some reason someone wants to be Ernest, we can make a new movie.

Ernest buys an electronic eBook reader


AH! - but which one would he buy !? :chinscratch:

I hope ...
Ernest buys an electronic eBook reader


Hey Vern! :rofl:

It would make sense from a marketing perspective if Bob writes only cyber punk splatterhouse type books and then suddenly says hey now i want to write romance

Bob's readership would only pick up his latest work and then the nerd rage would begin. Now if Bob says his name is now Mary, no one would know any different - readerships can remain their loyal fan base without worrying about author A jumping the shark or becoming author B or selling out or any of the other fun and exciting things kids on the internet think of these days =)

Moe - I say go for it if you want to try and sell something, why not - i mean whats the worst thing that could happen
Nora Roberts writes romance. But she also has her In Death series which she writes as J. D. Robb. We do know it's Nora who writes it. And that's fine. That's actually a good thing. It means if you get a Nora Roberts book, you'll get romance and if you get J. D. Robb, you'll get murder mysteries with a little romance tossed in.

>BRAAP!< Oh, sorry! Try again!
How about Jordan Stevens?

AH! - but which one would he buy !? :chinscratch:
Probably a Gen3 so the screen can mysteriously break and he can go on all kinds of wild adventures trying to contact someone at Bookeen to get it fixed and then when they tell him he broke it and has to pay, he'll have more wacky adventures trying to get Bookeen to fess up that it's a flaw in the Gen3 and not his fault.

Probably a Gen3 so the screen can mysteriously break and he can go on all kinds of wild adventures trying to contact someone at Bookeen to get it fixed and then when they tell him he broke it and has to pay, he'll have more wacky adventures trying to get Bookeen to fess up that it's a flaw in the Gen3 and not his fault. :rofl::rofl:

Hey Vern! :rofl:
Ernest: Hey Vern! Which reader should I get?
Vern: Why not ask HarryT over there?
Ernest: Hey HarryT! Which reader should I get?
HarryT: Get a Bookeen Cybook Gen3. It will display Mobipocket eBook the best.
Ernest: Oky doky!

3 weeks later....

Ernest: Gosh darn the screen just broke! Now I'll have to contact Bookeen to let them know so I can get an RMA number to send it in so they can fix it under warranty.

3 more weeks....

Ernest: Bookeen has not gotten back to me about the broken Gen3. I'll have to have some wild wacky adventures trying to get someone to respond to my emails.

now, boys and girls, the moral here, is not to trust anybody with a RED sony !!!!

Well I just tried out Macspeech Dictate :rofl: It's so awful I can't even begin to tell you. I can type at 70-100wpm, using this software I might get 5wmp (and three of them wrong).

now, boys and girls, the moral here, is not to trust anybody with a RED sony !!!!
That leaves me out. I have a blue one.

When I was a little kid, every morning before school my mom would tell me "Remember you're a Guyton." She meant to behave myself and treat others honorably.

I guess I am just too proud of my own name (or rather, any honor perceived associated with it) to put any other name on something I am proud of. I understand that other writers want to branch out kind of secretly, but I don't care to do that.

I go by David J. Guyton because there is already a famous doctor (and author) Dr. David Guyton (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmer/employees/cvs/Guyton.html)

Never met the guy but he lives somewhere near me as I am near Baltimore.

Strangely enough I can publish under 2 separate names as I have two birth certificates :) Okay, so one of them isn't legal anymore, but I was called by that name and legally certified under that name for a whole year, so I reckon I can use it.

I go by David J. Guyton because there is already a famous doctor (and author) Dr. David Guyton (http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmer/employees/cvs/Guyton.html)

Never met the guy but he lives somewhere near me as I am near Baltimore.
Is there a way to get your eBook Mighty Hammer Down in any other reflowable format other than AZW? Without DRM perhaps if the answer is yes?

Is there a way to get your eBook Mighty Hammer Down in any other reflowable format other than AZW? Without DRM perhaps if the answer is yes?

Right now all I have available for sale is Kindle and paperback...however I have a review copy I can send you in PDF for free if you really want it. email me at d@davidjguyton.com

I'm not really familiar with DRM...I know it's Digital Rights Management right? I don't know how that affects anything. (forgive me I have no ebook reader of any kind yet)

Right now all I have available for sale is Kindle and paperback...however I have a review copy I can send you in PDF for free if you really want it. email me at d@davidjguyton

I'm not really familiar with DRM...I know it's Digital Rights Management right? I don't know how that affects anything. (forgive me I have no ebook reader of any kind yet)
DRM is Digital Rights Management where our rights are controlled and mostly taken away from us. Thanks to the DMCA, we have to break the law to be able to get our fair use.

What format file did you send to Amazon to convert into a Kindle Edition?

If you start off with a well made HTML file, you can use Calibre to convert into MS Reader, LRF, Mobipocket, and ePub. Then you'll have versions that will satisfy most people.

Unfortunately, PDF just isn't an eBook format. It's a page layout format.

I did check out your listing on Amazon and there are some good comments (did not read them all) and that got me interested.

Are you interested in having other formats available for non-Kindle owners?

DRM is Digital Rights Management where our rights are controlled and mostly taken away from us. Thanks to the DMCA, we have to break the law to be able to get our fair use.

Jon, with all due respect, let's try to be a bit more clear about DRM, other than making clear we don't like it! :rolleyes:

David, DRM is designed to tie purchased content to a specific device (or a few), so it cannot be shared beyond those devices, and potentially flood the market with copies of a product that will not earn the publisher any income (which is why publishers like DRM).

Which sounds like a fine idea, but DRM A) has been known to prevent consumers from transferring a bought product to a new legitimate device, especially when the company that issued the DRM'd product goes out of business, making it impossible to upgrade to a new device (and with the e-book market, this has happened far too often... this is why consumers hate DRM). DRM also B) makes it difficult or impossible to convert an e-book from one format to another, often necessary due to the multitude of formats and readers. Unfortunately, though DRM is often breakable, it is also C) supported by the DCMA, a federal law, making it illegal to circumvent in many cases.

So, consumers want restriction-free content, and publishers are sure that restriction-free content will cost them more than they will profit... and so far, a lack of acceptable (to all parties) alternatives has left the e-book universe at an impasse regarding DRM.

And that's it in a gnarled little nutshell.

By the way: Although PDFs aren't preferred by most e-book consumers, tagged PDFs can be perfectly good (though large) e-book formats, depending on the device used to read them and the PDF software loaded on it.

Ok yeah that is basically what I assumed DRM was thanks.

Yes the file I uploaded was originally HTML. I will work on getting these different formats together....are there major sites people go to for these different formats? I know there's mobipocket, and amazon obviously....not sure where to advertise the others.

I have given out the PDF before and I was told that it works on the Sony (although I don't know which version).

That leaves me out. I have a blue one.


seems my eyesight is getting worse as I age ....

Jon, with all due respect, let's try to be a bit more clear about DRM, other than making clear we don't like it! :rolleyes:

David, DRM is designed to tie purchased content to a specific device (or a few), so it cannot be shared beyond those devices, and potentially flood the market with copies of a product that will not earn the publisher any income (which is why publishers like DRM).

Which sounds like a fine idea, but DRM A) has been known to prevent consumers from transferring a bought product to a new legitimate device, especially when the company that issued the DRM'd product goes out of business, making it impossible to upgrade to a new device (and with the e-book market, this has happened far too often... this is why consumers hate DRM). DRM also B) makes it difficult or impossible to convert an e-book from one format to another, often necessary due to the multitude of formats and readers. Unfortunately, though DRM is often breakable, it is also C) supported by the DCMA, a federal law, making it illegal to circumvent in many cases.

So, consumers want restriction-free content, and publishers are sure that restriction-free content will cost them more than they will profit... and so far, a lack of acceptable (to all parties) alternatives has left the e-book universe at an impasse regarding DRM.

And that's it in a gnarled little nutshell.

By the way: Although PDFs aren't preferred by most e-book consumers, tagged PDFs can be perfectly good (though large) e-book formats, depending on the device used to read them and the PDF software loaded on it.


with knobs on !!!