Pen Names by Harlow Y

A surplus of authors use pen names, also known as pseudonyms, when publishing their works. For example, the names Mark Twain and Dr. Seuss were pseudonyms. Their real names were actually Samuel Clemens and Theodor Geisel. From time to time, I myself use a pen name. There are countless explanation for this, such as to separate the author from their previous works or genres or to disguise the author’s true identity. An explanation prominent in the past was using a pseudonym to hide gender. Female writers were taken less seriously than their male counterparts and often were not published as a result of their gender. Using a male pen name solved this problem. Nowadays, women use male names for the same reason, but not nearly as often. Another reason for using pen names is, as I said above, for separating authors from their previous works in other genres. If an author predominantly writes in one genre and then pens a book or poem in another genre, readers might discredit it and write it off as less amazing than other books or poems in other genres. However, if they publish it using a different name, no one will know they already created other compositions. Finally, authors might use pseudonyms to avoid being controversial or having their name slandered. If they want to write about something that could spark an argument or give them a damaging reputation, they might use a pen name so their real name or the name they publish under is not defamed. Personally, I just use a pen name when I feel bored with my name. I hear it a ton, so at times, it becomes humdrum. I have used innumerable pen names, so I cannot recall or count all of them. On my poetry account, I have currently adopted the pen name Eloise Greenfield owing to its pulchritudinous sound and its relation to a successful poet. To sum this up, I only explained a few of the ideas behind pen names, but you can research a legion of them. What reasons can you find?