Psuedonym or Real Name?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by frahse

I write in different genres, and I believe that a readily available complete back list could be a damper for some of them.

I have no problem with an author who writes in, say, two different genres, using a different name for the two genres. Many authors do that - eg Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the name "Mary Westmacott", and that makes sense, since someone who bought something by an author they knew as a crime writer might be disappointed to find they'd got romance and not murder.

That's rather different, though, from using a different name for every book, which I thought was what you were suggesting?

[frahse]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have no problem with an author who writes in, say, two different genres, using a different name for the two genres. Many authors do that - eg Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the name "Mary Westmacott", and that makes sense, since someone who bought something by an author they knew as a crime writer might be disappointed to find they'd got romance and not murder.

That's rather different, though, from using a different name for every book, which I thought was what you were suggesting?

that was quick.
I hope you are not also waiting around for your doctor's appointment like I am. I am just sitting here itching and trying not to scratch a very, very bad case of poison ivy. I was clearing some brush and must not have seen it.

Anyway, my particular point about the "expendable name" was that if you try something new that you are not sure about, I think that it is best if you don't use your normal name. Since I mainly write under a pseudonym anyway, it is just a short step to pick another pseudonym for a new venture. In a way it is like a "throwaway cell phone" used in some questionable activity.

With success you can list all the books in the various places.