Informative Essay About Pen Names

Have you ever heard about pen names? A pen name is a fake name that authors use to hide their identity when writing books. Authors use pen names to get published, to sten bias, and to produce more work.Authors use pen names for a variety of reasons, it helps them to produce more work and publish without discrimination.

To begin with, a pen name offers writers the opportunity to hide their identities in order to publish books without bias. According to the text, “What’s in a Name?”, “For many writers, turning to a pen name is the only way to get published.” Students in my school work together to create a school newspaper and they will sometimes use a fake name to publish their articles. This is to help them write without fear of being judged for voicing an opinion that might not be favored. The text also states, “Even today some authors adopt a pen name in order to stem biases and preconceived notions.” Stereotyping of people and the type of written content that is normal for a gender can lead to an author having his or her work rejected by a publisher. When this happens it is very disappointing.                 

To continue, authors can write their stories and create interesting characters and not be afraid to get their books judged by their content or face backlash. In the text, “Introducing Jane Eyre: An Unlikely Victorian Heroine”, the text states, “And then, along came the character Jane Eyre: physically uninteresting yet passionate and intense in her desire to express her emotions and thoughts.” This is a perfect example of how the author used a pen name to write as a man and the ideas expressed in the book was a published work of art and not rejected once it was revealed to have been written by a woman. The text continues to state, “her raw narrative voice never fails to expose her Romantic sensibilities, psychological depth, and her adamant desire to stay true to herself.” Charlotte Bronte wrote her book when it was unpopular for a woman to have ambitions and dreams of success on her own. In the Victorian era women were to remain at home and cook, clean and take care of the family. However she continued to work on her art work on creating new types of characters women could be inspired by.

Furthermore, In order to measure their popularity and track their success an author can publish more books when they use a pen name. According to the text, “Who is Richard Bachman?” It states, “When King started writing, it was common practice for publishers to release only one book per year. Writing as both King and Bachman, he could produce twice as much work.” Since pen names cover people's true identity they get to share their own alter ego. Pen names made people work extra for double the money. The text also states, “King also embraced the Bachman pseudonym because it allowed him to analyze his own success in his writing career.” When Thinner was first published under the pen name Bachman it only sold about twenty-eight thousand copies, but when he republished it under Stephen King it sold more than ten times that amount. This helped identify which pen name was more successful and favored by his readers.