Mysterious Writerly Names

November 20, 2009 in Queries | 23 comments

This is a very quick note. It will not apply to all of you. So, I get a lot of queries. And a lot of those queries are from mysterious writerly types who have chosen mysterious writerly names for themselves. Names like “J.D. Smith” or “P.U. Smellweather.” (Okay, maybe not “P.U. Smellweather.”)

When you’re P.C. Cast or J.K. Rowling, or you have a book cover to put your mysterious writerly name on, then you can use the initials. But in a query, if you use just your mysterious writerly name and nothing else, I don’t know who to respond to. And I feel stupid writing “Dear P” in an email.

You know my name. Can you please tell me yours when you query me? (Or, you know, tell me why people are so enamored with using initials as writer names? Is it the distinctiveness? The anonymity? The intrigue?)

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  1. K (as in Ken)’s avatar

    K (as in Ken) on November 20, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    My first manuscript had a female main character. I worried that a query coming from a male writer would already be a blow against me. Whether valid or not, using initials took away that concern. But I see your point. It’s a matter of courtesy.

  2. Kathleen’s avatar

    Kathleen on November 20, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    Pretty amusing since I think J.K.’s decision was based on feedback from her publisher and her queries would have, one suspects, been sent with her given name.

  3. Bane’s avatar

    Bane on November 20, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    This was definitely a mistake I made early on. J.S. McCune — never even occurred to me that my initials (all 3) were not exactly the best for the YA/MG market :) … Like the query, i’ve learned that it’s best to leave out the mystery.

  4. Lynn Rush’s avatar

    Lynn Rush on November 20, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    I have a pen name, but it’s not initials. In my queries I sign my full name then add on, “Writing as Lynn Rush” I had a writer friend tell me to do that so potential agents/editors know both the names. :-)

    I’ve always been confused by initials as first names, cuz you’re right, do you call PC Cast PC? if you talk with her? LOL.

    Great post. Have a nice weekend.

  5. Ashley Cook’s avatar

    Ashley Cook on November 20, 2009 at 2:31 pm

    I plan on waiting until AFTER one of my books sell to think of an pen name. Although, I doubt I would use one in the future anyway. I’d sorta rather see my real name on a book cover, so I can run my fingers over it time after time.

  6. Susan Quinn’s avatar

    Susan Quinn on November 20, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    I figure my name is my brand, as a writer, until or unless I change over to a penname. But that’s a joint decision, editor/writer, right? I have a “plain vanilla” name, but it’s mine, so I’ll keep it for now!

  7. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on November 20, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    Susan — It’s always the writer’s decision and they have that talk with their editor when the time comes. If someone uses a pen name, my only advice would be to pick one that’s short and that still has the .com version of the domain name available. :) But I still want to know their real human name when they query.

  8. Lacey Boldyrev’s avatar

    Lacey Boldyrev on November 20, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    I query with my given name but my networking profiles and my website are listed under my initials. That whole, I’m-the-only-person-in-the-world-with-my-name-and-I-don’t-want-strangers-to-find-me thing.

  9. Gisele LeBlanc’s avatar

    Gisele LeBlanc on November 20, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    I’ve decided to go with initials for my pen name because there is another girl with the same name as me and not only did she grab giseleleblanc.com first, but people sometimes confuse us–especially since we’re both from Canada. She is an illustrator, and I am a writer who dabbles in illustration as well.

    I didn’t want to go with a made up name so decided to use initials and my last name. Also, a lot of people have difficulty pronouncing my first name correctly–although I wouldn’t have decided to go with a pen name just because of that.

    And that is probably way more than you wanted to know. :)

  10. Gisele LeBlanc’s avatar

    Gisele LeBlanc on November 20, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    Oh, but I always include my full name on queries!

  11. Erinn Manack’s avatar

    Erinn Manack on November 21, 2009 at 6:13 am

    But my parents named me I.M Awesome. They don’t believe in extra letters.

    :-)

    I was wondering if you should query with your pen name or your real name.
    Because I. M Awesome would be a great pen name.

  12. Sarah Quigley’s avatar

    Sarah Quigley on November 21, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    I don’t care for initials for author names for the very problem you described (although in my case, I’m usually writing a fan message). That being said, I’ve always thought it would be amusing to write as S. Quigley and insist that people call me “squiggly.” Maybe someday I’ll be fancy enough for that.

  13. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on November 21, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Erinn — I love to get queries from real names. Speaking of which, I’m going to change my real name to I.M. Awesome. Thanks for the idea!

    Sarah — You don’t need to start doing that because I already call you “squiggly,” and I got B on that bandwagon, too. Great seeing you last Friday!

  14. Siski Green’s avatar

    Siski Green on November 22, 2009 at 10:02 am

    My byline has always been Siski Green rather than Franziska Green (my real name) purely because when I first started writing, I wanted to show people the article and say, “That’s me!”. I can count on one hand the people who even know my first name is Franziska, rather than Siski. It isn’t so great when people write checks to ‘Siski’ and the bank won’t cash them though.

    I’ve always been tempted to change my first name to Theresa. Theresa Green. Geddit?! I know, I know, I have an awful sense of humor but at least it makes me laugh!

  15. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on November 22, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Siski — I had a really long last name and changed it legally after the LA Times wouldn’t let me use a shortened version as a byline. I didn’t want to write or work with an unpronounceable name. Changing my name legally let me have the same name on the byline and on the check. :) Less hassle that way.

  16. Siski Green’s avatar

    Siski Green on November 22, 2009 at 10:17 am

    That’s a good idea, although now I wonder whether it’s good I have another name. I’m not sure whether I want the same name on my adult books as the children’s ones!

  17. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on November 22, 2009 at 10:40 am

    Siski — Well THAT is an issue you can discuss with your editor. For books, pen names are much more common. For newspapers and other markets, they don’t look kindly on pen names. (As the editor at the Times told me, “We are a newspaper. We deal in facts.”) So I don’t think you need to change your name legally for the fiction market.

  18. Ev’s avatar

    Ev on November 23, 2009 at 11:40 am

    Mary,

    For some of us, pen names protect us very nicely. They protect our private lives, our university jobs (or some other not-so-understanding employers) from putting us under too much scrutiny, as we secure our place in literary history. I chose initials because I have gone by initials for most of my life, so it was natural and comfortable. I have used my pen name on all of my print work – including newspapers and mags. But, you are correct in that my agent, agency, publishers, and editors all know my real name.

    From behind the veil,

    J.H. Everett
    (the “H” stands for Huckleberry, now who would want that in print? Oops. Now there is a story for a bottle of wine.)

  19. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on November 23, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    Ev — !!!! Thanks for stopping by the blog. I wasn’t talking about YOU, silly goose. Although, I will take you up on that story and bottle of wine. I understand people use of initials, I just am puzzled at the few who don’t mention a name I can respond to when answering their query.

  20. Jo’s avatar

    Jo on November 29, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    I write under my given name however my last name- Treggiari is unpronounceable for most people except for Italians so I gave a lot of thought to whether I would use it or not. My husband’s last name is Parris and that’s nice but eventually I decided my name is too wrapped up with my identity and decided to keep it. It’s great now, because all the kids who come to the writing workshops I do, pronounce it correctly and with great rolling ‘r’s and arm flourishes. The ‘Jo’ is often a problem because people want to masculinize it and add an ‘e’. I have accepted that my name will be mis-written and mis-read.

  21. Jonathan Ball’s avatar

    Jonathan Ball on December 2, 2009 at 7:34 am

    I think people are getting confused about the point of this post. The point of the post is that, even if you write under a name like “B. M. Xavier” and intend to publish your book under that name, when you contact publishers or agents you contact them as “Barry Xavier.” This is because when you write such a letter you are writing business correspondence not meant for publication.

  22. Mary’s avatar

    Mary on December 2, 2009 at 9:23 am

    Jonathan — DING DING DING DING DING! I find that blog comments veer off in their own directions sometimes but yes, that is indeed the point of the post.