Ah, well, that makes sense. So let me ask another question, and it's a bit hypothetical based on several of my already existing stories or series that are currently in the "to be written" or "in progress" bins.
One series I have is a sci-fi (which is what I primarily write) with heavy Christian overtones and involves an adventure race through nature itself, so it contains some outdoorsman stuff as well. So it's not all space ships and high technology (well, yeah, there's some of that too, but not for the main characters), but rather a mix of genres to some degree. Sci-fi for the main villains and the alien creatures seen in it, adventure/wilderness for the main characters involved in the race, and a heavy slice of adventure/mystery/suspense for the entire book in general. So if I were to boil it down to three key elements, I'd say it's a sci-fi, a wilderness adventure, and religious fiction (exp: Left Behind). That's outside my normal orbit of writing, even though it does contain some aspects of what I'm good at.
The other is a three part fantasy novel. Actually, it's more than a fantasy novel, as it's not pure fantasy. It's a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid. One half of the story deals with pure sci-fi, the other with pure fantasy. Again, this is something that's outside my normal orbit of writing, even if it does contain elements that are familiar to me.
It's part of what spawned my original question. Since the styles and story structures are so off center of what I normally write (if you guys have read "oort perimeter", you'd know what I'm talking about), I wasn't sure how one would go about marketing them. Plus there's the fact that I feel a little hemmed in by the traditional 6 month release cycle for novels. Maybe that's because I'm a writing machine when it comes to novels. (I already have 35 total in various states of completion!) lol. Anywho, I had mentioned these little "problems" to a friend of mine who actually talked about possibly using the alter ego idea.
I hadn't thought about it up until that time, and personally wouldn't have done it, as I don't like using pen names, but the idea still intrigued me, hence I ultimately asked this question in order to learn more about it, how it might be used, who uses it, etc. So far the replies have been interesting and informative.
