I read with great interest the post that Alexi Silversmith did the other day on the topic of pen names used by authors of m/m romance and erotica as well as the comments it generated.
Yet, one thing kept on going around and around in my head – so much so that I begged Wave to let me do this follow up post – and this was the question ‘do readers actually give a toss about pen names?’
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not deliberately being dismissive about why authors choose or choose not to use pen names because there are many very valid reasons as to why they would or wouldn’t. However, whilst reading the comments on Alexi’s post, I kept asking myself ‘do I really care about who the person is behind the pen name?’
Erm. No offense meant. 😀 Hey, I’m not a hypocrite! I only use part of my RL name myself because of the existing online presence I have associated with the EDJ.
Still, this was me pondering:
Do I care if it’s a girl or boy author writing the m/m romance and erotica? Nope.
Do I care if it’s a pen name? Umm, why??? I pretty much assume most of them are anyways.
Do I care if it’s a girl/boy with a boy/girl author name? I’d probably be O_o, but, as long as their writing doesn’t suck and they’re not a total prat about it, it’s none of my business.
In fact, there was only one real instance I could think of where I’d be pretty pissed off about the use of a pen name. This would be when an author has deliberately started to use a pseud so as to avoid the shit storm associated with their last/other author name. To me, especially if that situation was the author’s own damned fault, this borders on the unethical.
But maybe I’m the only reader who is this laid back about the whole issue? *shrugs* Could be.
So what about you? Have you actually stopped mid-purchase to say ‘oh, I’m not buying that m/m book because that’s obviously a pseud’? As a reader, do you actually give a toss about an author using a pen name?
Oh, and keep it civil please. No mentioning names or being rude. I am WAY nastier than Alexi and Wave and will hold no punches in return. Just warning you.
As a reader, I certainly don’t care what name an author is using–real or pseudonym, it doesn’t matter to me. In fact, I don’t even remember every author I read. If a book is very, very good (or conversely, very, very bad) the name might stick with me, but for all those mediocre books in the middle, the author’s name is as forgettable as their story (sorry hard-working authors, but not everything out there is 5 stars, at least for me).
As was mentioned in the other comments, in our alway-connected Internet world, there has been a loss of privacy, for all of us. I think, in “the old days,” except for a few best-selling celebrity authors, the vast majority of writers were relatively anonymous. Except for the bio at the back of the book, what else was known? Authors didn’t have webpages or email. I remember writing an author once and having to send the letter c/o the publisher. Of course I never received a response and I didn’t really expect to. It was years before anyone knew that Richard Bachman was Stephen King–and that only came out when King was famous and they republished the Bachman books in the hope that they would become bestsellers the second time around.
L
Leslie, thank you for being so honest. I was worried that I was going out on a limb by admitting that it just didn’t bother me that much.
“In fact, I don’t even remember every author I read.”
I either remember the author, the title or something about the story. Like you, it tends to be my extreme response that makes me remember the whole deal.
“As was mentioned in the other comments, in our alway-connected Internet world, there has been a loss of privacy, for all of us.”
Yes. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to share my own story because it does tend to be a two-way street and the bottom-line is a reader can understand, accept and… well, that’s the end of it.
Kris
>>Oh, and keep it civil please.<< Does laughing count? 🙂 As a reader, I only mind when an author misrepresents herself as male in order to gain credibility as a gay man. There's an author who I won't name (because you said "no mentioning names") *hint* her historical book is reviewed on the site :)who changed her pen name and website to male because everyone had dumped on her previous books written under a female pseud. That's fraud. As a reviewer, ambiguous pseuds make the pronouns difficult to figure out. I can't call the writer 'it' in my review or keep calling him/her by their full name throughout the review because it's repetitious. I know that Rick Reed is a guy so I refer to him as 'he' or 'him' but I don't know about "J.R. Nobody". Just this week I stepped into a pile of dog do do (which is not unusual for me) and made the assumption that an author was female when he was, in fact, male (quite a change in M/M romances where most authors are women). I STILL scratch my head about that - I think more gay men need to step up and show their stuff in M/M. 🙂 Please don't beat me up authors, that's a joke!
*sigh* Yes, laughing counts. 🙂
“Just this week I stepped into a pile of dog do do (which is not unusual for me) and made the assumption that an author was female when he was, in fact, male… ”
Okay, I admit that this made me laugh… in a civil way… because as a reader I do tend to assume that the ambiguous names mean that the writer is automatically female.
The situation you described about the female author is, erm, interesting, for wont of a better word. Wave, did she originally get criticised because her writing was too much like ‘chicks with dicks’? Because if that’s the case then I would definitely be POed if a male pseud was taken in an attempt to get around this issue.
Kris
>>Wave, did she originally get criticised because her writing was too much like ‘chicks with dicks’? Because if that’s the case then I would definitely be POed if a male pseud was taken in an attempt to get around this issue.<< She was criticized because she is a horrible writer. I don't often say this but she's really one of the worst writers I have come across and that's saying something. 🙁 A couple of years ago I refused to review one of her books (it was het) but I told her what I thought of it when she asked for my honest assessment, then she accused me of bias. So I gave up. I will email you a link to a review that another site did for one of her books where she was pilloried - I didn't like the way the review was done, but sometimes I guess you have to be cruel to be kind. I would NEVER do that when you write *your* book Kris, under another pseud. 🙂
Thanks for appeasing my curiousity, Wave. I’m sure that that has nothing to do with the fact that I would have bugged you relentlessly about it offline.
“I would NEVER do that when you write your book Kris under another pseud. :)”
Yeah. Cos I’m writing up a storm as we speak and was thinking of using Royale Icing before Tam stole it from me.
I don´t care Kris. I, like you assume, every name is pen name.
Yeah. To be honest, and this might get my arsed kicked, I even assume that a lot of the male author names are also pseuds. Not for any reason other than to protect privacy, which is something becoming increasingly scared in this world of ours.
In most cases, it doesn’t matter to me… but there are a few cases in which I’d be very disillusioned to discover that the authors using male names were actually not male (or not gender identifying as male).
Chris, you know I’m nosy. You need to give me more. 😉
For eg, do you mean like when an author has built up a reputation as a male author of m/m romance and erotica and has become someone that you greatly admire because of this and his (hopefully) work??
Heh, you probably already know to whom I refer, but yes, that’s what I mean. 🙂
Heh. I can take a guess. 😉
So are you going to email me before my curiosity makes me pull my hair out? 🙂
As a reader i certainly do not care if it is a real name or a pseu. Im more disturbed by some of the titles.
Though some names make me go o_O as well
“Im more disturbed by some of the titles.”
*snort*
Larissa, there are a few pen names out there that make me go O_o too, especially in erotica. Some of them sound more like porn names. LOL.
Well it can’t be as bad as Laurell K. Hamilton’s Swallowing Darkness. Knowing that Darkness is a person
I’ve just woken up, barely had a sip of coffee and now have the weirdest images in my head.
Thanks, Larissa. Thanks a lot.
Hahahaha glad to be of service!!!!
I really don’t care. If the book is good I don’t care if it was written by man, woman or alien or if the writer uses real or pen name.
In fact… sometimes is better that we don’t know things about the authors. For example, 1984 used to be one of my favorite books. Then I learned Orwell was a government informant. Regardless of his motives, the hypocrisy sort of killed my enjoyment. Not completely, but enough to teach me a lesson. So, I enjoy the books and stay away from writers’ lives, names, personal motives etc.
“So, I enjoy the books and stay away from writers’ lives, names, personal motives etc.”
I have to admit that I’m the same, LadyM. To a certain extent, I LIKE keeping my head in the sand so that an author I enjoy can remain up on the pedestal that I put them on. Maybe that’s too simplistic a view on it, but keep on giving me books to read and I’m pretty happy here in my bubble. 😉
Larissa
>> I’m more disturbed by some of the titles.<< Funny you should mention titles because I was thinking of doing a post on book titles. Maybe you could email me some of those that bother you 🙂 to get me started.
I think you should do pen names too so that we can really have some fun. 😛
Kris
You don’t think I’m in enough trouble with authors already? Now you want the site to be shut down? Just because it makes your computer crash is no reason for your scheming mind to find ways to get me off the interwebz. 🙂
I’ve reconsidered – I’ll do author names but only HET authors because they never come here and I don’t review their books. 🙂
Your site hates me. I don’t see then why I can’t get to have some fun with it right back.
Hi, I read all kind off books and never cared who wrote that book until after I started – I don’t choose a book because of the name of the writer when the writer is somebody new to me.If it was well written than I’ll certainly buy other books written by the same author ,if not… So I couldn’t care less if it’s a woman or a man or if its signed with a pen name or with a real name. When an author real got to me, I take the time to search for a website and read all I can find about her/him. All the author deemed as public info. That’s all. When a book it’s fascinated doesn’t matter IMHO who is the person behind the words curtain.
“When a book it’s fascinated doesn’t matter IMHO who is the person behind the words curtain.”
Lacri, that’s exactly it. I can’t recall – which I think is saying something in itself – ever reading a book, loving it to pieces, but then kicking the hell out of it when I’ve found out something horrid about the author. In fact, I have several books on my shelves that I’ve kept regardless of what I’ve heard about an author’s dubious fan fic beginnings because I loved them so much.
I would be interested to hear other people’s stories about this.
I find cutesy pen names (Royale Icing anyone?) annoying and I’m less likely to try a new author whose trying too hard with a name that is so unique and unusual. If you feel the need to try SO hard to get my attention creating a name then maybe you are relying too much on that sucking me in and not the work. I find this less in m/m than in m/f.
I find it annoying when authors use a shit load of pen names. Okay, maybe for certain genres you use different names but if you write m/m I do’t really care what subgenre, keep to the name. I’ll either dislike or like your style, tricking me into trying another book by you by changing your name and hoping I won’t notice is annoying and will turn me off.
But in general I have no clue who is or isn’t themselves and I dont’ really care. I don’t often pay attention to the name or remember them as Leslie said. Too many to keep everyone fresh in my mind.
Tam, we’ll be ostriches together. *g*
“I find it annoying when authors use a shit load of pen names. Okay, maybe for certain genres you use different names but if you write m/m I do’t really care what subgenre, keep to the name.”
I can absolutely understand why authors would use pen names for different genres, especially if they are as divergent as young adult and erotica and romance, but otherwise… no, I don’t get that at all and, yes, it does seem a bit tricksy.
I only care because one author using multiple pseudonyms led me to buy books that I otherwise wouldn’t have bought. I had issues with the writer and when I tried what I thought was a different author in the same publishing house, I was puzzled by the similarity in their writing. At first, I thought some of the similar writing quirks were due to an overreaching editor. It never occurred to me that a writer would use more than one pseudonym within the same genre. I later found out that the author had at least 3 pseudonyms and that another author in the same epub house had 2 pseuds.
In retrospect, it should have been obvious to me. This experience made me very reluctant to buy ANY books from this publisher, other than a handful of authors who were very good and who had distinctly different writing styles.
I’m used to most m/m authors being vague about their gender. I tend to assume they are female unless they state they are male. Deliberate deception might make me hesitate to from support the author, but gender per se doesn’t affect my choices.
“It never occurred to me that a writer would use more than one pseudonym within the same genre… This experience made me very reluctant to buy ANY books from this publisher… ”
Ah, I am pretty sure I know who you are talking about – both author and publisher – and, yes, I was also miffed when I find out about it, especially because I could see know obvious reason as to why this was done. Regardless of motives, I felt, as I said to Tam, like I was being
tricked. Not a great feeling to have when you are spending your hard-earned $$ on a product.
“I’m used to most m/m authors being vague about their gender. I tend to assume they are female unless they state they are male.”
Yes. Author ambiguity does tend to make you assume a lot of different things. Val of Obsidian Bookshelf wrote a great post about this early last month I think it was. The discussion made for really interesting reading.
I personally don’t care. Use 10 names, 100 names, whatever.
The only thing I care about is that there are still a number of female authors purposefully pretending to be male. They go so far as to put up male author pics and deceive readers. I don’t care what gender authors are honestly and if they want to be gender neutral on purpose, absolutely go for it. But I dislike when they lie and although a lot more have come clean in recent years, there are still several authors actively lying. That’s bothersome.
I’d be surprised if anyone came along and had issues with authors using a pen name.
Kassa
>>But I dislike when they lie and although a lot more have come clean in recent years, there are still several authors actively lying. That’s bothersome.<< Hear, hear. It's the continuing coverup in many cases, not the original crime. As you said, many authors are coming clean, but not enough. So originally female M/M authors thought that they had to have either a male pseud or an ambiguous name or readers wouldn't buy their books. Well that's all changed. Why the continuing deception? Years ago Victor J. Banis and William Maltese and many other male authors wrote Harlequin romances but they came clean a long time ago. Why can't female M/M authors do the same?
“The only thing I care about is that there are still a number of female authors purposefully pretending to be male. They go so far as to put up male author pics and deceive readers.”
Seriously?? A part of me is curious as hell, but another part of me doesn’t want to know – that damned pedestal thing. Maybe they continue with the pseuds because of the name they have built up? Then again there is general acceptance for female authors of m/m romance and erotica so it’s not as ‘taboo’ as it once was. Interesting.
“I’d be surprised if anyone came along and had issues with authors using a pen name.”
That’s what I really want to know. If there are any readers out there that the use of pen names really bothers.
“regardless of what I’ve heard about an author’s dubious fan fic beginnings ”
Kris,
They have to learn their craft somewhere! Better to put it out as fan fic and get evaluations and learn how to write. I have read a bit of fan fic in the past several years and I enjoy reading the work of someone who is learning and improving (providing they had some talent to begin with!) and watching them develop as writers and story tellers. If/when they go on to publish for sale, I miss the free stuff but I am happy to buy from a writer who I know I enjoy.
On the pen name subject, I really don’t care whether some one uses one or not. If I was writing, I certainly would in order to keep some privacy. I tend to think of an author’s name as a key to finding books I will probably like. If someone wants to use different names for different genres, wonderful – I won’t buy the ones I am not interested in. Recognizing a name that I connect to good writing means I will take a look at the book. And the reverse – there is definitely a list of those I will avoid.
“They have to learn their craft somewhere! Better to put it out as fan fic and get evaluations and learn how to write.”
Celeste, sorry! I should have better explained myself. I meant that the author in question is said to have some dubious things in relation to her fan fic – there were allegations of plagiarism. I didn’t mean that the genre itself was dubious. My apologies for that.
“If I was writing, I certainly would in order to keep some privacy.”
Exactly! I guess the point I was trying to make in a roundabout way is that readers get this and don’t mind about the use of pen names for these types of reasons.
I don’t care, really. Sometimes I get curious about it, though. I’m not sure how I feel about those who pretend to be a gender they’re not. I take that back. I feel like the author is playing a game at that point, where some people are ‘in’ and everyone else is ‘out’.
“Sometimes I get curious about it, though.”
Me too. *points up to my reply to Kassa* Then something else comes along to distract me and I forget about it… until the next time. Damn toy poodle flu. 😉
Interesting comments. Lots of people object to authors changing his/her sex–misrepresenting him/herself has been stated. But what about other salient facts of an author’s life? I know one author who took a pen name and wrote a bio, saying that she was married, with kids, lots of cats, and lived in X state but in reality, she was single, child- and pet-less and lived in Y state. In fact, the only thing that was true in her bio was her sex. Does that bother people? Is that the same level of misrepresentation? Why or why not? (I ask out of honest curiosity…)
L
Interesting question, Leslie.
For me, it would also depend on the type of work that the author was writing. For example, if she was implying or stating outright that she was using this happy family life as a background to writing down-to-the-earth contemporary romances set in the place where she lived and I found out that it was all make believe?? Well, I’d be seriously pissed off about that level of misrepresentation.
If, however, the bio was more of an ‘oh, that’s interesting to know’, harmless addition to the kind of stories she wrote, I wouldn’t be as bothered. I would probably raise an eyebrow, wonder why she did it and then move on.
Oh, and I’m pretty sure that Val (I think?) did a post about author bios a little while ago. There were a few comments about the fact that people weren’t really interested in this type of information anyway and often liked those author bios that had a scattering of truth mixed with humour as opposed to a life story. Can someone tell me if I’m recalling this correctly?
Hi, Kris! (Thanks for the mentions 🙂 ) That sounds about right. Also, it turns out that everyone hates that cliche in author bios that goes something like,
“I came out of the womb, clutching a crayon in my fat little fist, and I’ve been writing ever since!”
Phew. I was getting a wee bit snoozy by that point, Val, and wasn’t sure I was recalling that correctly. Thanks for the confirmation.
You’re very welcome. 🙂
Maybe when authors take a pen name, it becomes their secret identity, a story in and of itself, with a whole different life depicted on line and in the bio.
I can easily believe how someone can get caught up in the persona they’ve created and that it could totally run away from them. Take this Kris person for example…
Oh, wait…
Whoops.
Wren
>>I’m not sure how I feel about those who pretend to be a gender they’re not. I take that back. I feel like the author is playing a game at that point, where some people are ‘in’ and everyone else is ‘out’.<< If an M/M author who is female represents herself as male, with a male bio, then to me that's misrepresentation. It's not playing a game. I read M/M books whether or not an author is male or female and I have my faves in both sexes but deliberate misrepresentation is something different. Think of it this way. I have said on this site many times that I'm black and have done a couple of posts from that ethnic perspective. If you found out that I had curly blond hair and blue eyes wouldn't you be pissed and feel that it was misrepresentation?
I don’t think I’d be pissed, Wave. Nonplussed, yes. Concerned, maybe. And I’m pretty sure I’d do a mental shrug and decide I probably wouldn’t trust you much after that.
I’d be pissed but that’s just me. I guess I understand why female authors felt they had to establish some sort of credibility a few years ago as a man, maybe even a gay man, in order for readers to buy their M/M books (and this is the only sub genre I’m talking about). However, now many authors *have* established credibility with readers but they still use male or ambiguous pseuds. Maybe they are embarrassed to “come out” after all this time, but a lot of other authors did.
I’m not sure I’d be pissed but I’d be confused and as Wren said, pretty much unlikely to trust anything you ever said again. I’d think you probably have some kind of deep seated issues that need adressed in therapy if you need to publicly pretend to be something you are not (and I’m not talking shaving 20 lbs off your weight). I’d probably gradually disappear from your life as I think “If they lie about something SOOOO big, what about all the little stuff? Likely bullshit too.”
I think trust is a big part of the on-line world. You follow and respect people who’ve earned your trust through their on-line interactions. When that is shattered you don’t usually recover because there are a million other people on-line that you can turn to. It’s not like you live in a small town where you only have 10 friends. If someone in the virtual world burns you, you delete the bookmark, ignore them and find others you do trust. So I think authors or people in general, who play the deception game, are going to get burned themselves when suddenly all of the friends/fans float way to other more trustworthy sources.
As for the lying on a bio? Well, I do find it interesting to know a bit about people. But I’ll be honest, 90% of the authors I read I don’t really pay attention to the bio. Usually it’s through time and interaction I learn about someone on-line. Otherwise it doesn’t mean much although I suppose knowing someone lives in the UK and writes about it makes me trust that they know their stuff more than someone who lives elsewhere. (Doesn’t mean it’s true necessarily but my brain is likely to make the connection.)
Posting a response before I get lost in the comment trail so apologies if I’m repeating what someone else says.
I’m with you, Kris. As a *reader* I don’t care if it’s a pen-name. Unless I’m looking for the work of an author I already love, I probably only notice the author name if it’s one of those sickeningly cute ones, when I think ‘Good Lord, what was going through their head when they called themselves Roiyalle Iczing?’ and then forget it again.
And when I think about most of the authors that are auto-buys for me (Tere Michaels, Sean Michaels, K A Mitchell, Z A Maxfield, Josh Lanyon) I realised that up until the Recent Controversy, not only had I no idea if any of them used a pen-name or not, I hadn’t even wondered about it.
“I hadn’t even wondered about it.”
A lot of readers obviously feel the same and, unless there is a sense of misrepresentation, most seem to shrug off the ambiguity relatively easily. I wasn’t sure if I was the only one that felt like this so it’s been interesting to see this confirmed by others.
I pretty much don’t care one way or the other either. Pen name, real name, heck they can use the cat’s name, if a book is good, it’s good! I have tons of e-books, all in files with author names. Do I care that it’s possible I have books from one author filed under two names?…nope. (The OCD side of me does, but I try to squish her like a bug for things like this lol!) That old saying “it’s all in the name”….I don’t think it applies to me personally, (and I have written the next line about four different ways and it comes across as massive attitude, and that is not my intent at all so bear with me please) cause I actually read a book for the content inside the cover, not the name on the cover. From reading some of the other comments, a lot of people do have legitimate concerns or reasons for taking issue with pen names….and I realize that my attitude may seem a little blase. Maybe because books are my way of escaping MY rather staid boring life, I understand why an author would want to do the same by “becoming” someone else when they write. This was a great topic, and it has made me realize that I don’t care WHO writes the books that I love….as long as I enjoy reading them and the author enjoys writing them, it’s all good with me.
“The OCD side of me does, but I try to squish her like a bug for things like this lol!”
*gasp* Bite your tongue! 😉
“This was a great topic, and it has made me realize that I don’t care WHO writes the books that I love….as long as I enjoy reading them and the author enjoys writing them, it’s all good with me.”
I don’t think you’re being blase at all because, any question about misrepresentation aside, I think that this is the bottom line for many readers. Did I like the book? Yes. The End.
I would note that I have *always* submitted author bios as female or gender-neutral. They have not always been not-male by the time the editor was done with them — and I did not know about my sex-change until I received my contributor’s copy of the anthology.
The last time that happened to me (that I’m aware of) was before m/m romance took off, back when a lot of editors/publishers of gay erotica explicitly asked women to use male or ambiguous names. But it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if it was still happening in some erotica markets where the primary audience was gay men.
Jules, thank you for commenting and sharing your experience. That is very interesting indeed.
I can see why editors/publishers would do such a thing given their market. Doesn’t make it right, especially as it went against the author’s own wishes as it did in your case, but I do understand why.
In the Internet Age, I think it’s amazingly ballsy that any author of LGBT fic or any kind of erotica or such things that will press the hot buttons of some wackos out there (no offense to the wackos, just sayin’) would NOT use a pen name.
As a reader, I don’t feel entitled to know the true truth about the authors I read. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to know the true truth. Sure I do, I get curious, if it’s an author who really speaks to me, someone whose books become more than just a pastime.
Authors whose voice becomes important to me — I begin to think I know something true about them, not just about what they write. So, if I learn that bio information is just a pseudonymous role the author plays for some books, well it’s a bit of a shock and maybe feels like small betrayal. Which is my problem and not the author’s, IMO.
I don’t think authors owe their readers anything except their writings. I think authors are absolutely entitled to as much privacy and even elaborate identity hoaxes as they wish for — in the realm of fiction. (Authors writing non-fiction in some genres maybe have obligations of honesty, but that’s OT.)
I like to think of myself as a discerning reader, who can tell about the kind of person an author really is from reading their fiction. LOL What a shock to my pride when I find out I’ve been imagining some author all wrong. And it sometimes takes me a while to forgive the deception. But still, I think of that as my issue, my problem, and not the author’s. No matter how much I may love the writing of a particular author, we are strangers to each other. Our relationship in the Real World is the commercial exchange of money for prose. It’s unreasonable of me to expect an author to bare his/her personal life outside of the written page to me just to satisfy my curiosity. Doesn’t mean I don’t want that from my favorites, just that it’s unreasonable of me to expect it — or to feel betrayed if an author is going all Wizard of Oz and pulling levers behind a curtain, telling readers to look up at the stage show.
“In the Internet Age, I think it’s amazingly ballsy that any author of LGBT fic or any kind of erotica or such things that will press the hot buttons of some wackos out there (no offense to the wackos, just sayin’) would NOT use a pen name.”
Yes! I think that’s part of the reason why I automatically assume that the author’s name is a pen name anyway. After all, why the hell would you?! Scary things might happen. Maybe that’s me being a wuss though.
I’ve also had feelings that it is unreasonable of me to expect to know everything about an author. They’re entitled to their privacy like anyone else.
Also, if the tables were turned there is no way in hell that I would be doing the same, therefore what right do I have to demand all their truths. Nuff said.
Maybe it’s not so OT — if an author of fiction is going out with a truly elaborate and dynamic pen identity and labeling it as non-fic and intereacting and advising others on real life matters as this imaginary persona, at some point that passes what is okay to me. Not easy to say where that line is drawn.
I used a similar hypothetical example to Leslie’s question about how far is misrepresentation when it comes to an author’s bio. That is, it’s too far for me when the author using their so-called RL as the basis of their fiction or non-fiction. That to me is lying and that’s just way too far.
You guys are having way too much fun with this post. Shame on you. 🙂 I’m sure Lady Kris meant this as a serious topic for readers to ruminate about, and here’s Cary talking about “authors going all Wizard of Oz and pulling the curtain, telling readers to look up at the stage show”. LOL
Wow. You called me a ‘lady’. Mumma would be so proud.
And wackos. Don’t forget about the wackos!
Wren, this was the first comment I saw this morning. Needless to say that I thought you were talking about me. I think I may have a complex or something.
We don’t want to forget why we like authors, right? It’s for the feeling of truthiness their fiction gives us as readers and the immersion into the world of the author’s imagination. Seems unfair to blame them if there’s a penumbra effect around their writing, where fiction and tedious real world facts kind of merge and swirl around.
>>where fiction and tedious real world facts kind of merge and swirl around.<< Is that like one of those swirly ice creams? Today was so hot I could eat 10 ice creams. 🙂
I’ve been pondering this exact topic for a few months now, Cary, and have basically come to the conclusion that I would hate to be a writer for the very reason that readers – myself included – are so demanding, especially with regard to the romance genre. They want a story to be real enough so that they can relate to it, yet they want to be entertained or lose themselves in the romance fantasy of it. Sounds like bloody hard work to me.
I can understand why many authors use pen names to write erotic fiction. That’s something a boss at a day job or people you know at church don’t need to know about. I found that several of the authors I assumed were male — or male-bodied — were genderqueer. I thought about that for a bit, and realized that what I appreciate is the author being able to write a good male viewpoint, regardless. As a reader, you don’t have the right to know all about the author’s personal life. It’s nice if they choose to share a little, but it’s not required of them.
“I thought about that for a bit, and realized that what I appreciate is the author being able to write a good male viewpoint, regardless.”
Emilie, I think that’s a really good and important point. That is, that there are may readers like us who don’t want or expect authors to feel as though they have to legitimise the fact they write m/m romance and erotica by taking on a male persona. Those days have come and gone, imo.
Mmmmm, ice cream. 🙂
I’d happily buy ice cream for each of my favorite authors, the living ones anyway. Kris is so right: good writing looks like hard work and we readers are demanding.
I agree with the readers here that authors can have as many names as they like.
I do prefer it when authors let me know what other names they are writing under. I gloam in an OCD kind of way, and they get more of my dollars if I am aware of all their works. When I read a book that I enjoy I will start searching for more books by that author. If they become an auto-buy for me (Alexi I give your list an A++) I will purchase their books, usually on the day they come out, from the smaller publisher and I am assuming the author gets a bigger chunk of the purchase price then when they show up on the bigger sights.
Can I ask why we are not mentioning names? I am kinda new to the Genre and really curious. I get it if it keeps it more civil and less flamerey, but really kind of crazy curious making.
BTW – That Cat picture – double snort worthy
“I gloam in an OCD kind of way, and they get more of my dollars if I am aware of all their works.”
I glom too, especially with new-to-me authors, so I like to know all of the multiple author personalities they have as well. If there are no ramifications associated with the naming of all pen names (such as erotica vs young adult, etc, etc) I think it certainly makes marketing sense to let readers know as much about their work as possible.
“Can I ask why we are not mentioning names? I am kinda new to the Genre and really curious. I get it if it keeps it more civil and less flamerey, but really kind of crazy curious making.”
That was my decision, Heidi. I didn’t want the discussion to be derailed into scary-arse wanfestry, which it can sometimes do when the issues of pen names and certain authors names come up. It can be hideous so I said poo to that. If it’s absolutely driving you bat-shit crazy either email myself or Wave and we can chat offline.
“BTW – That Cat picture – double snort worthy”
It’s a fave of mine. 😀
Personally, as a reader, I could give a rat’s arse. Seriously.
An author uses a pen name? I’m not surprised. I don’t blame them/us. Especially as I’ve seen so many wank-fest exchanges between readers and publishers (an no, not naming names, even privately) where the readers have tried to bully people with publishers into giving them authors’ “real” names, addresses, phone numbers…
One can only imagine why they want that info. I mean, think about it. Not everyone is benign, right?
But strictly as a reader… the only times I care about pen names are in instances where one author has several and doesn’t cop to it. Because (as someone said above) if I really like the way they write, I want to read everything of theirs. Alternatively, if I DON’T like their writing style, I want to know who to avoid.
Gender… I could care less. I think it’s a wee bit shady for someone to lie about theirs, but that’s up to them and will likely bite them on the bum if it gets found out, but that’s not my business.
I buy a book because I want to read a story. Not because of the gender associated with the author.
That said, I’d be more interested in knowing the names of the people who write really great blurbs for ho-hum books. Because they either need to start writing books that live up to the blurbs they write OR stop writing blurbs that get me to buy books that don’t live up. But that’s a whole other post, isn’t it? 😛
In conclusion… don’t care if people use nommes de plume. Just would be happier if they only used one within the m/m genre. I’m cool with them using another for other genres. *shrugs* Doesn’t bother me at all.
Just my two cents.
~Tis
Tis, thanks for giving us your perspective – rats arse and all. 😉
“One can only imagine why they want that info. I mean, think about it. Not everyone is benign, right?”
You know, this made me feel slightly guilty for badgering Sean Kennedy’s snail addy out of him just so I could send him a Valentine’s Day card. Only slightly mind you. 😀
In all seriousness, though, the mind certainly boggles with the scenarios associated with that situation. What the hell could a reader possibly be thinking trying to interfere in the private life of an author and then engage in total craziness. Bloody hell.
“I buy a book because I want to read a story.”
Again, the bottom line, because ultimately that’s what it boils down to.
“That said, I’d be more interested in knowing the names of the people who write really great blurbs for ho-hum books… But that’s a whole other post, isn’t it? :P”
Cheeky. Me, I just want some authors to write blurbs that don’t give away the friggin’ story. /rant
Kris~
Oh, Lord. Don’t even get me started.
I love me a good blurb, but if it summarises the entire story and gives away the ending, why the feck do I need to buy the book? LOL
Poor Sean… I’m sure he’s feeling stalked. And spending the minor ducats we writers make on more security around his home. Like a brand new string-and-tin-can assembly across his doorways. Cuz you’re clearly dangerous, yeah? *heehee*
~Tis
*makes a note of new security system*
I’m sweet and innocent I tellz ya!
He he, I love this article, I learned a lot from reading the comments too.
No, I don’t care if authors have pen names.
One thing I do care about is the author’s gender and I thought I didn’t care as long as I enjoyed their writing. I surprised myself there.
It must be that you want to connect a little with the author and at least you want to know who you are admiring so I always read authors bio.
After all, this the internet age and we want to get to know a little bit about the people we like. Sure, you can live as a hermit in the outskirts of civilisation but we want to know about it. 😀
That doesn’t mean I want to know everything about them. Gods, no. XD
Female authors that still pretend to be male in their bio is just weird. It doesn’t make me want to read their books.
The same goes with lying about their lives. Ew.
If publishers asks authors to do that they don’t know much about the internet and that things have changed forever.
If I found out one of my favourite author did it, it would kill my enjoyment. Sad but true.
“One thing I do care about is the author’s gender and I thought I didn’t care as long as I enjoyed their writing. I surprised myself there.”
Vivia, I’ve had a couple of people say offline that they were surprised how much this topic made them think about whether or not they cared.
I may be off base here but I think because of the very nature of m/m romance that the issue of an author’s gender comes into play. I think a reader may perceive a work differently if they are aware of the author’s gender and/or sexuality; not always and maybe not consciously, which is why when an author misrepresents themselves it can feel like a betrayal.
hmm.. I don’t expect any authors, in m/m f/f or whatever, to use his or her real name because people are CRAZY.
I do think gender was an issue at one time for some readers. Hansen once told an interviewer that he didn’t believe a straight man could write a homosexual character. He was all huffy because the interviewer was a-wonderin’ why Hansen was married. As were we all. Unless, of course we knew his wife who was also gay. But whatever… Since Hansen was sure a straight man couldn’t write a homosexual man, I wonder what he would have said about variously oriented women doing so?
Short answer. No, I don’t care who what or where as long as its well written.
“hmm.. I don’t expect any authors, in m/m f/f or whatever, to use his or her real name because people are CRAZY.”
Oh, yeah. To me, it would also be like painting a target on your head too to all the anti-gay people out there in the world. Scary stuff.
“I wonder what he would have said about variously oriented women doing so?”
Now THAT would have been a very interesting discussion. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall. 🙂