Should I use a pen name?

1. 91

   poppyrposted 6 years ago

   Hi, everyone. A few of you may know I got two books published a couple of years ago by a publishing company. The company was awful: they didn't edit or proofread, insisted I had to do marketing while they raked in almost all the profits, and got shirty when I suggested changes. I ended up dumping them. Problem is, readers who had read my books pointed out some problems with them that weren't addressed by beta readers out of politeness, I think (I was quite young at the time). They were published under my real name. Since then they've been unpublished but like all books, the remnants of them are still on Amazon and Goodreads.
   
   I'm hoping to send query letters again next year for a new book I've written. I don't want those early books, which weren't my best work, to be on my 'record,' as it were. Do you think I should use a pen name? Any potential agent or publisher would have to know my real name anyway but I want to sort of distance myself between the new books and the old.
   
   I'm under no illusions that I'm going to get super famous or anything, but as I said I don't want that "stain" on my record.
   
   In addition, would I be legally obligated to tell any potential future agent or publisher about said books? I consider them failures because of the horrible treatment they had and the fact that people were too nice to point out mistakes, which shook my confidence for years. I also have a short story I self-published (which did get nice reviews) but have since deleted.
   
   Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

   replyreport
2. 60

   jayden4440posted 6 years ago

   hi my name is jayden i just signed up

   replyreport
   1. 91

      poppyrposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Wrong thread, Jayden.

      replyreport
3. 81

   Sed-meposted 6 years ago

   I am writing a book and considering using a pen name. The story I share is personal and I'm not sure I want to attach my name to it. Lol. Thanks for starting this thread.

   replyreport
   1. 91

      poppyrposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      That didn’t really answer my question, but thanks for sharing.

      replyreport
   2. 100

      DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If your book is on great recipes for chocolate chip cookies I want a cut!
      (I hardly ever get over here to the dark side of the forums but am glad I did today since I saw your post. I hope you are doing well.)
      tl;dr : a pithy yet meaninful remark.

      replyreport
4. 91

   poppyrposted 6 years ago

   Haha looks like we’ve gone a bit off-topic.

   replyreport
   1. 100

      DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I think I am infamous for that. I hope you are not going to report me to the off-topic police!!!!!

      replyreport
      1. 91

         poppyrposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         LOL! You'd better run Mark, they're after you!

         replyreport
5. 78

   EvieSparkesposted 6 years ago

   I use a pen name For YA fiction and I don't intend to disclose this when querying for agents for my adult fiction book. Effectively you're a different person.
   
   Evie x

   replyreport
6. 81

   Cheeky Kidposted 6 years ago

   It's funny that last night, the "Hubpages Weekly" pro tips section said something about how users of the forum should always "stick to the topic" of a thread. But then again, this comment of mine isn't sticking to the topic either. Ha Ha Ha!

   replyreport
7. 83

   Ronna Penningtonposted 6 years ago

   I don't think it's necessary to use a pen name for your new works. This kind of stuff is bound to happen frequently. A good publishing company will recognize the names of poor publishers and that won't reflect on you. Depending on your genre, just seeing that you've been published previously may even be an asset.

   replyreport