Tools & Techniques For

Managing

PEN NAMES For Authors

Why Have Pen Names?

You may write in different genres and don’t want to confuse your readers.

You may want to keep your identity a secret – e.g. Andy McNabb, the former SAS solider.

You may have a name similar to another author.

You may be a novelist and want to use the pen name of your main character and write the book as an autobiography.

Famous Authors Who Use/Used Pen Names

C.S. Lewis – wrote poetry as Clive Hamilton while teaching at Oxford University.

George Orwell wasn’t the real name of the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, it was Eric Blair.

George Elliot’s real name was Mary Ann Evans.

J.K. Rowling writes as Robert Galbraith. Following the success of her ‘Harry Potter’ books, she wanted to publish, “Without hype or expectation.”

How To Manage Pen Names

Life in the digital publishing era is fast-moving.

We need to be found if we want our books to be successful.

That means being everywhere – the big 6 social media sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest), as well as the book cataloging sites (Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing).

How do you manage all that without getting muddled? With tools and techniques.

Techniques

Tools

Tips

TECHNIQUES

Create Accounts Then Automate Them

Create accounts on the big social media sites, and the book cataloging sites, for each of your pen names.

Then automate them as much as possible.

Don’t try to spread yourself too thin – decide which accounts you want to focus on. Possibly not a blog and YouTube channel for each account but maybe a blog for Pen Name 1 and focus on LinkedIn; for Pen Name 2, focus on Twitter and YouTube.

Pen Name 1

• Social media accounts

• Book cataloging sites

• Amazon (& other book sellers) profile

• Blog

• Podcast

Pen Name 2

• Social media accounts

• Book cataloging sites

• Amazon (& other book sellers) profile

• Guest blogging

Pen Name 3

• Social media accounts

• Book cataloging sites

• Amazon (& other book sellers) profile

• Reviewing

Goodreads Link multiple accounts

Feed each Goodreads account from separate blogs, using RSS feeds.

Connect one Goodreads account to your Facebook profile and another one to that pen name’s Twitter account.

Take advantage of Goodreads widgets – put them on your website to pull in website visitors to your Goodreads profile.

Facebook Use Profiles & Pages

You can only have one Facebook account but you can have multiple pages. Use your real name or main pen name for your account, then use your pages as your other pen names.

Schedule posts on your pages in advance.

You can use one of your Goodreads accounts with your Facebook profile.

Twitter Have an account for each pen name

You can have more than one Twitter account, so use one for each pen name.

Link one or more of your Twitter accounts to each Goodreads account that you want to feed from.

Schedule tweets in advance to save time – but stop them if a major news story breaks.

TOOLS

KeePass

KeePass is free password management software.

Add a group for each pen name and new entries for each of your accounts.

Makes going to each of your accounts easy – blogs, social media sites, emails, etc.

Evernote

A simple way to save things you want to retrieve later.

Works like an online notebook.

Save URLs, photos, notes, To Do lists.

Create a notebook in Evernote for each pen name. Use it for ideas, source materials, etc.

Mobile Apps

Having the main social media sites’ apps can be useful – interact on social media while commuting or waiting.

Or use Hootsuite and control several accounts from one app.

TIPS

Plan Your Week

Plan your week (or month) in advance:

Monday – Pen Name 1: Social media updates/interaction; blogging.

Tuesday – Pen Name 2: Social media updates/interaction; review requests.

Wednesday – Pen Name 3: Social media updates/interaction; Record YouTube videos.

Thursday – Pen Name 1: Record podcast. Pen Name 2: Write guest blogs & blog spot requests.

Friday – Pen Name 3: Blogging.

Set Up Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alerts

Set up a Google Alert for:

Each of your pen names.

Each of your books.

Topics that you write on.

Monitor your mentions online and make the most of every opportunity.

Things To Be Aware Of

You can’t have more than one Facebook account.

You can have more than one account on the other platforms.

Be careful with LinkedIn. It is more formal and less ‘forgiving’ than other platforms. Probably best to stick to your real or primary pen name.

Transparency

Unless you are in the Witness Protection Program, consider being open about your various pen names – or at least some of them!

Explain that you are keeping your genres separate so as not to confuse readers.

Create a LinkedIn profile for your real (or primary pen) name and list your other pen names on that (“Also writes as …”).

Don’t Wear Yourself Out

Once you have set up a presence on the major social media and book cataloging sites, you don’t have to visit them all frequently.

Choose one or two to focus on.

Just having a profile helps your SEO and social proof.

Then just update each profile every time you publish a book.

By

MICHELLE CAMPBELL-SCOTT

Author of ‘Goodreads for Authors’, ‘Make Your Book Work Harder’,

‘Sell More Books’, & ‘PR for Authors’