BR question about pseudonyms

xDanniellex · July 2014

Riddle me this, what is the point of writing under a pseudonym if an authors displays their "real" name on the book as well? Like all the In Death books saying they are by Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb.

I know the book JK Rowling wrote under her pseudonym was actually a secret for awhile. But others don't make any effort.

I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just honestly curious why an author who is well established would choose to write under a different name but not hide it.

julie37619 · July 2014

I think one reason is to differentiate between genres. Nora Roberts is used for romance novels and JD Robb for thrillers. And in some cases it may have started as an attempt to avoid name recognition, and then just made sense to keep going once readers were used to a certain name.

aggiebug · July 2014

That was my thinking Julie
@taylormillgirl‌ writes under 2 different names to differentiate the genres.

And I am pretty sure JD Robb was at one time used to avoid recognition but has long ago been recognized as NR and so now they are tied together but still identify different genres.

pinkybooklover09 · July 2014

The In Death books didn't start off having NR's name on them. In fact I read the first two not even knowing she was the actual author. I think she wanted to separate her romance novels from her romantic thriller series.

Usually I find that an author's name and pseudonym are only on the cover when the author becomes a raging success and they want to capitalize on that success by getting people to buy their old books. Like how Meg Cabot used to write under Patricia Cabot and Meggin Cabot. I'm sure there are others, I just can't think of them right now.

ohioloveyou · July 2014

I've always wondered this too, but just assumed they were found out somewhere along the way and it didn't make sense to keep playing along. But the separate genres thing makes sense.

GreenBride624 · July 2014

pinkybooklover09 said:

The In Death books didn't start off having NR's name on them. In fact I read the first two not even knowing she was the actual author. I think she wanted to separate her romance novels from her romantic thriller series.

Usually I find that an author's name and pseudonym are only on the cover when the author becomes a raging success and they want to capitalize on that success by getting people to buy their old books. Like how Meg Cabot used to write under Patricia Cabot and Meggin Cabot. I'm sure there are others, I just can't think of them right now.

Stephen King/Richard Bachman

RevJen · July 2014

I think either NR's publisher or editor suggested the pseudonym, fearing that no one would take the books seriously as thrillers if they knew a romance author had written them.

Pebble_Cafe · July 2014

pinkybooklover09 said:

The In Death books didn't start off having NR's name on them. In fact I read the first two not even knowing she was the actual author. I think she wanted to separate her romance novels from her romantic thriller series.

This is how I understood it too and typically why it's suggested. I cannot figure out Madeleine Wickham/Sophie Kinsella though. Books under both names are the same genre (chick lit) are they not?

Interesting little tidbit... I recently learned her sister are writers too (Gemma Townley and Abigail Townley).

Savanna111911 · July 2014

Pebble_Cafe said:

pinkybooklover09 said:

The In Death books didn't start off having NR's name on them. In fact I read the first two not even knowing she was the actual author. I think she wanted to separate her romance novels from her romantic thriller series.

This is how I understood it too and typically why it's suggested. I cannot figure out Madeleine Wickham/Sophie Kinsella though. Books under both names are the same genre (chick lit) are they not?
Interesting little tidbit... I recently learned her sister are writers too (Gemma Townley and Abigail Townley).

I was seriously going to raise this exact point. I like Sophie Kinsella and I like the books that are done under both names. But I don't understand the point of the pseudonym at all. When I was first introduced to her and realized that she and Madeleine Wickham were the same I thought maybe Sophie Kinsella was just for the shopaholic series. But that is clearly not the case. I don't get it. It doesn't really matter i suppose as long as i like both sets of books, but it is just confusing.

Lauren620 · July 2014

pinkybooklover09 said:

The In Death books didn't start off having NR's name on them. In fact I read the first two not even knowing she was the actual author. I think she wanted to separate her romance novels from her romantic thriller series.

Usually I find that an author's name and pseudonym are only on the cover when the author becomes a raging success and they want to capitalize on that success by getting people to buy their old books. Like how Meg Cabot used to write under Patricia Cabot and Meggin Cabot. I'm sure there are others, I just can't think of them right now.

I think JR Ward did this as well after BDB really took off. I started hearing a lot more about her books she wrote under Jessica Bird, I think she might have re-released some of her older books and now her covers say JR Ward writing as Jessica Bird.

BR question about pseudonyms

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