• Challenge,  On Writing

    Pen Names…

    Some More On Pen Names… A friend wrote me and pointed out that I was a little harsh on not needing pen names in the indie world in a recent post. He reminded me that there are many reasons to use pen names, something I know and tell people all the time. Reasons to use pen names in indie… You write erotica and other stuff. Keep the erotica under a pen name. You are a doctor or some such thing in real life and don’t want the fact that you write fiction out to your clients. You work in law enforcement or law and write mystery or crime or thriller.…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The New World of Publishing: Pen Names

    NOTE: This is a complete reprint of the pen name post I did back in January because I am getting so many questions about pen names lately. About one per day, honestly. So time to put this out again.) I get the “pen name” question more than any other question. Period. And that’s because I am very open about writing under different names and I have varied reasons for doing so. And weirdly enough, I have written under pen names since I started writing. So after a few more varied questions this last week about pen names in indie publishing, I figured it’s about time I give a full and…

  • On Writing,  publishing

    The New World of Publishing: Pen Names

    I get the “pen name” question more than any other question. Period. And that’s because I am very open about writing under different names and I have varied reasons for doing so. And weirdly enough, I have written under pen names since I started writing. So after a few more varied questions this last week about pen names in indie publishing, I figured it’s about time I give a full and complete opinion on the topic. But let me be clear here once again.  Ready? NO WRITER IS THE SAME AS ANOTHER WRITER. Or as a sign in our workshops say, “You are responsible for your own career.” Take my…