In which blogger completely negates having a penname by wondering if she should use a penname.
I'm really torn up about this, you guys. Should I write under a pen name? I know I'm a ways off from being actually published, but knowing your identity is important. I want to keep Stolzer. Stars align I will be married some day and I want Stolzer to endure in some fashion. It's the Jameson vs Jennifer part that baffles me.
I just don't think Jameson Stolzer flows, and I don't know if maintaining an alias is worth all the extra paperwork. There's no guarantee I'll sell any or need to maintain anonymity of any kind, but better safe than sorry? Or as my mother puts it... is being true to myself more important than that? Being true and being proud? I can still be proud of myself under the penname Jameson can't I?
So here's a query for any readers, Penname Jameson Stolzer? Yes or no?
Try number 2:
ReplyDeletePen names are a funny and tricky thing these days, they are often used to hide who a person is and this can be a positive and a negative thing...
The most famous one I can think of, is the person who did the art for such things as Death-note. No one knows who they are, yet they are still very famous. Another point is that yes the pen name stops you from having to change your name on all your books when you get married.
Consider that, if/when you get published and recognized by the wider world as a writer as you have been by your current fans, such as those of us who've followed your long running work on Deviant Art. See if something such as Twilight which has characters more cardboard than an acting performance by Keanu Reeves can become popular, then something by a person who understands characterization and plot, should do brilliantly.
Now if/when this does come to pass, pen name or not it is likely people'll find out who you are, so privacy isn't something you'll have for too long. But on the other hand, we online; your fans have known you as Jameson for such a long time now, and no one has ever complained, in fact it feels right to refer to you as such.
So in closing, do what ever makes you feel happy. If you wanna be Jameson Stolzer, no one's gonna complain, if you want to be known by your proper name? Same thing again. Man this turned out so much worse the second try around... sorry for such a convoluted first comment.
No it's good to hear some feedback! I'm going to have to ask a lot of people this question. i'd love to be Jameson Stolzer... the name Jameson has been with me since highschool. I'd love to keep sigining things as "Jame", I think it's super cute. Much cuter than my boring normal name. But at the same time something about going as my real name sound right. It'll be real easy to figure it out... I use my real name as my twitter handle afterall -_- I guess it's just that initial anonymity and the fun of having another name that draws me.
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