I just finished my fourth novel, right on the heels of my third, which is being edited, and I've run headlong right into a wall. Unlike the first three, which are modern, mythological fantasies, this one is more of an erotic thriller. Though still fiction, it is separated from the others by at least a few degrees, genre speaking. So I am confronted with the possible necessity of publishing it under a pen name.
There are several reasons why I should probably do this, of course. Readers tend to like their authors to write in just one genre, otherwise they are perceived to be too much of a "Jack-of-all-trades", and their books probably aren't as good as an author who sticks to just one genre. I've already noted this phenomena in my career as a visual artist, where I indulge myself in painting, photography, and sculpture, as well as commercial art.
Many authors of the past and present have used Nom de Plumes for this very reason, to keep separate their various readerships. Okay, it's common practice, so why do I hesitate?
The biggest reason, though, for me personally, to consider using a pen name, and thus try to build two reputations instead of just one--which is hard enough, believe me--is because of gender bias.
I just read a string on one of Goodreads' forums about this very question. The general opinion there was that men tended to be better at writing tight plots, while women were better at writing deep characters. The posters on that string were quite convinced--for the most part--that neither gender was very good at the other, respectively. The feeling was that they were more likely to read a male author's contributions in female dominated genres if that man wrote under either a gender neutral pen name, or one of a woman, both of which are common. Once that--I hesitate to use the word deception, but lets be frank--had been accepted, and the work judged for itself, the readers were more likely to accept the author, even if they were to find out it was a man. Now, don't get me wrong, this happens in the opposite direction as well, with women authors in male dominated genres.
My big question, I suppose, is why we, as a species, do this. Why does there have to be a conflict.
If you were to read my new book, which is written first person, from a woman's point of view, would you automatically discount the character, thinking that I, as a man, cannot properly write that character.
When it comes down to it, that is the only real reason I am considering coming up with a pen name, to give that character a fair chance of being accepted for who she is. I don't really care if some readers think I'm too much a Jack-of-all-trades, because, let's face it, I am. I don't really care if some people will be turned off the erotic elements in the story and may judge my other works because of that. I mean, sure, I want to be successful as a writer, and to be that, I need to make money doing it. But, bottom line, the real reason is I want that character, and that story, to be judged on their own merits, and not by the person who happened to write them.
There are several reasons why I should probably do this, of course. Readers tend to like their authors to write in just one genre, otherwise they are perceived to be too much of a "Jack-of-all-trades", and their books probably aren't as good as an author who sticks to just one genre. I've already noted this phenomena in my career as a visual artist, where I indulge myself in painting, photography, and sculpture, as well as commercial art.
Many authors of the past and present have used Nom de Plumes for this very reason, to keep separate their various readerships. Okay, it's common practice, so why do I hesitate?
The biggest reason, though, for me personally, to consider using a pen name, and thus try to build two reputations instead of just one--which is hard enough, believe me--is because of gender bias.
I just read a string on one of Goodreads' forums about this very question. The general opinion there was that men tended to be better at writing tight plots, while women were better at writing deep characters. The posters on that string were quite convinced--for the most part--that neither gender was very good at the other, respectively. The feeling was that they were more likely to read a male author's contributions in female dominated genres if that man wrote under either a gender neutral pen name, or one of a woman, both of which are common. Once that--I hesitate to use the word deception, but lets be frank--had been accepted, and the work judged for itself, the readers were more likely to accept the author, even if they were to find out it was a man. Now, don't get me wrong, this happens in the opposite direction as well, with women authors in male dominated genres.
My big question, I suppose, is why we, as a species, do this. Why does there have to be a conflict.
If you were to read my new book, which is written first person, from a woman's point of view, would you automatically discount the character, thinking that I, as a man, cannot properly write that character.
When it comes down to it, that is the only real reason I am considering coming up with a pen name, to give that character a fair chance of being accepted for who she is. I don't really care if some readers think I'm too much a Jack-of-all-trades, because, let's face it, I am. I don't really care if some people will be turned off the erotic elements in the story and may judge my other works because of that. I mean, sure, I want to be successful as a writer, and to be that, I need to make money doing it. But, bottom line, the real reason is I want that character, and that story, to be judged on their own merits, and not by the person who happened to write them.
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