In the nineteenth century, women writers were not taken seriously. Consequently, some of the best female authors of the time, authors we continue to love today, took male or neutral names in the hopes of having their work published and read. The Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, chose the neutral names of Curer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He chose to write under a pen name because he was a very private person, a scholarly man who didn’t want his reputation for writing a children’s book to downgrade his position in the academic world.

There are many justifiable reasons for authors to choose publishing under an assumed name. Perhaps the author is best known for a certain genre and doesn’t want a different genre to affect their already popular works. Like Joanne Rowling who used the pen name J.K. Rowling for the “Harry Potter” series and another pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, for a crime fiction novel, “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” Why? Her fantasy “Harry Potter” series had gained her so much notoriety that readers couldn’t (or wouldn’t) take her seriously in any other genre.

Many other authors are best known under their pseudonyms, but it boils down to personal choice. My personal choice is to use my full name, Emily-Jane Hills Orford, though I sometimes use my maiden name, Emily Hills or Emily-Jane Hills. I’m recognized as an author of comfort mysteries with a classical music twist. I also write creative nonfiction and memoirs, as well as historical fiction/time travel, and some fantasy and science fiction. During Covid, I wrote a couple of rather harsh dystopian novels, including “Dystopian Sunrise”, which to this day remains unpublished. I used the pseudonym Jane Bell. Just as well, since some of the responses from potential publishers were rather harsh. One wrote: “Please do not submit to us again.” With that attitude, I certainly wouldn’t consider that publication again, but it did strengthen my resolve to only submit this novel under a pseudonym.

How did I choose my pseudonym? It’s quite simple: I merely chose a name and claimed it. I chose Jane Bell after one of my ancestors (I hope she doesn’t mind). I didn’t want to pick the name of a famous person or a public figure. Why? I didn’t want to risk the famous person claiming my work and royalties. Plus, some of these ‘famous’ people have existing trademarks on their names, and/or they’re well linked with a domain name using my potential pseudonym. There’s a Fictitious Business Name Statement that needs to be filled out, too; it’ll ensure all correspondence and payments go to this pseudonym. And there are bank forms to complete if I want to ensure that I can cash a cheque made out to my pseudonym. Copyright registration also needs to be completed using both the real name and the pseudonym. Most authors using pseudonyms inform their publisher of the preferred name change to avoid all this extra paperwork and to allow correspondence and payments to come to the real name. Considering the unsettling response from a potential publisher, I have decided to maintain the anonymity of my pseudonym. At least for this one work.

Personal choice: it’s yours to make. It doesn’t mean you’re not proud of what you’ve written. It’s merely something you choose to do. It was something I chose to do.