Picking a Nom de Plume

Just like naming your characters, giving yourself a pseudonym can be tricky. There are many reasons that authors choose to write under a pen name - familiarity, ease, and anonymity to mention a few. I decided on a pen name for two reasons: my real last name is difficult to pronounce (more on this later) and I needed to protect my queer identity from people who know me in real life. It took a while to pick a name that stuck, so I'm here to give you some tips to make the process a little easier.

Your author name is your brand, so it's important to pick one that feels right for you. You might not get the chance to change it later. With that, here are a few tips to nailing your nom de plume.

If, like me, your real name is hard to pronounce, you might lean towards something easy. My last name is very European, but its spelling and pronunciation leave people stumbling. My full name is also quite long, and I didn't think it would look good on a book cover. That's not to say you have to change your name - if people can learn to pronounce certain names, they can learn to pronounce your name, even if it's from a different culture. Especially if it's from a different culture. I chose to change it, for ease.

One way I did that was to consider my mother's maiden name. It's simple, and surprisingly not too common in the young adult section (this is another thing to consider: does someone already have the name you want? or your real name?). I decided that will be my last name, but my first name was a little more tricky. I like my real first name well enough, but it didn't suit my genre (oh gosh, another thing to consider). I played around with some different character names, but none of them felt like me. So I went even more simple: I took the first sound of my first name, and from that, I got Kay. I thought about it for a few days, working out the sounds in my head, and finally decided: yes, this is me.

Another way you can pick your pseudonym is to mix-and-match some of your favourite names. I played around with variations of Alex/Alexa/Lexi for a while when I was younger, but I had a character named Lexi and I knew I didn't want to name myself after one of my own characters (like a reverse self-insert).

If that doesn't work, turn to baby name sites like behindthename.com. (Okay, it's not a baby name site, but it is my favourite trove of names from around the world, with their meanings and variations in different languages. Plus, it includes mythological names, and has a section for surnames). Even when I'm naming characters, this is my first stop. If you'd rather look at baby name sites, you can probably find a good collection of current popular names or obscure names or names that were popular when you were born.

Still no luck? Try your family tree. If you can, ask your parents what they almost named you or if they almost named you after a relative like a great-grandparent. My parents almost named me Rachel, but I already had a cousin with that name. And there are a bunch of Josef's in the family tree, but only one of me.

Still nothing? If you're still struggling to find the perfect name for yourself (it's not a character name, that you can always change in edits), try strolling through a cemetery or reading the credits at the end of a movie. Pick a few different names, piece them together, see what works. (This also works for characters, by the way, but I think it's a little harder for your author name). Remember, you also want something that is memorable and stands out on bookshelves (mine will be right at the beginning of the young adult section, near the top, if I ever get traditionally published).

As I mentioned above, there are some things you have to consider when picking your pseudonym: does someone else have the same name you want/the same name you already have? (The only Kay Adams I found was a sports reporter.) If your real name is fairly common, you might want to think about using a different name. On top of that, there is this weird association of certain names with certain genres. To me, Kay feels like a fantasy name (or rather, looks pretty on the cover of a fantasy novel). V.E. Schwab looks great on her adult novels, but Victoria works much better for her middle grade books.

These are all little things to consider when choosing your pen name, but I hope my tips helped. It's not quite the same as naming a character. Once you've established your author brand, people will begin to associate your name with the books you write and the characters you create - but ultimately, it's your name they will remember. Make sure it sticks.

As always,