What’s in a Name?

Ah Shakespeare. What a profound question. No really, it is. Besides not calling everyone “hey you,” which would get really confusing (trust me, try being a parent in Target when a child yells, “mom”), why are names such an important part of our identity? Many of us grow up with nicknames because our given name is hard to pronounce, similar to other people we hang out with, or maybe we just don’t like the name we were given. We’re still the same person, we’ve just created a new way to be summoned. Hearing your nickname is always more pleasant than hearing someone say your full name. Only the people we know well use our nickname, because they’re the only ones who know it. And if we go by a nickname or alternate name on the regular, we can easily identify the telemarketers when they call. But it still all comes down to identity. Our name is our brand. It’s our label. It’s our own personal designation and a huge part of our identity.

Our nicknames usually have some connection to our given name or reference an identifying feature of us as a person. We want people to associate that name with us at our most personal level. But what about when an author chooses to use an alias or pen name? I’ve always wondered why a writer would choose to put another name on their work. They put all of that time and effort into their writing. Getting published is freaking hard! Building an audience as an indie author can be even harder than getting published. Why not claim the credit and put your name on the book for everyone to see and shower you with accolades of greatness?

I had that question about one of my favorite romance novelists. She actually writes under three different names, but it turns out one is actually her real name. So my original assumption that she used a pseudonym (or three) because she didn’t want people to know she wrote romance was way off base. Nice how I projected my own insecurities onto her, right. Yeah, I caught that. So why does she use three different names for her books? ….. Branding! Turns out she writes across multiple genres and was finding that using one name across them all was misleading readers. Someone who’s really into protector romance novels will associate the author of protector romances with that genre. So when they pick up a small town/ paranormal/ cowboy/ romcom they’re not getting what they expected. At all. And that can lead to some pretty strong reactions. Imagine going to sonic, ordering a chicken sandwich and chili tots and getting an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with plain tots (yeah, that happened). You’d be pretty frustrated, right? It’s not at all what you wanted or expected. And even if you do try to eat it, it would leave a pretty bad taste in your mouth. Reading is not that much different. So this author created pen names for her different genres. Brilliant! For the record, I love absolutely everything she writes, but I’m coming to understand I’m a cross genre reader. And I love her style of writing, so while the content is different, the style has enough similarities to make me very comfortable with her books regardless of the genre.

I know that’s not the case for all authors, though. I did recently come across a new-to-me author that I really love. And she does use a pen name rather than her real name for all of her books. She’s open about the use of the pen name, which I love. What I don’t know is why she uses it. I could have asked her, but I’ve opted not to. It’s not that I’m not curious, I just don’t think it’s my business to pry. And unlike the author referenced above, I don’t know her well enough to feel comfortable asking. She could use a pen name for basic privacy reasons. It could be because of another job she has and she’s concerned about the appropriateness of what she writes as it would be seen by the portion of the population she works with. Maybe she just likes her pen name a lot and wants a chance to try it out before changing her given name. Maybe she’s in the witness protection program (ooooh, new book plot?).

When I asked an audiobook narrator why he uses a stage name, he basically said it’s SOP for the industry. He chose to use one years ago because the books he was narrating fell into the NSFK realm, and being a scout master he felt it best that the kids not come across the material through a random google search of his name. Not because he was embarrassed by the material, but because I think we can all agree there are certain subjects that are perfectly acceptable for adults but really not appropriate for kids. There’s also an excellent argument for keeping your personal life separate from your working life. When what you do for a living can easily be found and accessed on-line, having that separation really becomes essential for protecting your own privacy, especially when you work in a sensitive industry like romance or erotica.

I struggled with using my name for reviews when I started reading romance novels. No, wait, let me rephrase that into something more accurate and truthful: I didn’t write reviews because I didn’t want someone I knew to see my name on a review and know I was reading romance novels. Because I was afraid they would judge me. For reading romance novels. I had a lot of growing up to do, and a lot of personal judgement to get over. I could have changed my screen name on Amazon, so maybe it was never about me being judged. And let’s be honest, if someone saw a review from me it would be because they were looking into reading something I’d already read. It’s not like Amazon broadcasts your name and review to everyone you know on all social media platforms. My problem was with my own insecurities. Getting over it and writing my first review set me on the journey to this blog. Which is actually interesting in another way. I eventually changed my review name on Amazon to match this blog. But it wasn’t to remain anonymous, it was to streamline the brand across the platforms. Huh, look at that. Personal decisions based on a specific situation, not my own personal insecurities. I’ll consider that positive personal growth.

I guess there’s a lot in a name. Basic identity, alternate identity, brand recognition, anonymity, intent, … they’re all valid and respectable. A rose by any other name does smell as sweet. It’s not the name that counts, it’s the person behind it. The reason they use the name they choose is irrelevant and uniquely their own choice. And that’s pretty damn cool.