by Rhulain Swann

Created on: April 17, 2009   Last Updated: April 18, 2009

Literary aliases no more cheapen a writer than screen names cheapen an actor. One could say that you cannot even compare the two because an actor's name is given more value than their performance while a writer's work is given more value than their name. I believe this to be an incorrect assumption. No matter how catchy or attractive an actor's name is, it simply doesn't get one hired if their performance is not up to par. The names of Julie Andrews and Fred Astaire are stage names but their reputation as good performers are what counts, not their names.

The works and reputations of Lewis Carroll, O. Henry, George Orwell, and Ayn Rand have not been cheapened in any way because of their use of pseudonyms. Even having a purposefully silly name like Lemony Snicket does not distract or turn away from the writer's work. It actually adds more to the work in question. Every writer must begin somewhere and since, unlike actors, writers do not have a face to promote their name on a movie poster, I don't see why they can't have a catchy name to promote their books or other works. The works of the beloved Dr. Seuss come to mind. Dr. Seuss is much easier for a child to remember and pronounce than Theodor Seuss Geisel, which is his real name.

In fact, there may be quite a number of readers who have picked up a book not because of a catchy title, but because of a catchy or interesting-looking author's name.

Not everyone who uses an alias or pen name is an amateur going through the motions just to fit in. Legit writers who choose to employ an alias may even take offense at being told to "get over themselves" and to being called "poseurs". Even if they are not the next Mark Twain, it's hardly appropriate to call them amateurs merely going along with some trend. After all, even Mark Twain was unknown once.

For those who are real writers, having an alias or pen name isn't about not being proud enough of their work to attach their real names to it. It's not about them being so full of themselves that they are comparing themselves to literary greats who had to use aliases for their own reasons. There is usually a purpose as to why a writer would choose to adopt an alias. Privacy reasons, perhaps, or maybe their birth names are foreign and difficult to pronounce and they would like something that is easily said. Whatever the reason, a writer with a pen name should not be mocked or discredited. They have just as much right to be out in the market as any other writer who chooses to use their real name.

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