The image at the top of this post is a page from James Joyce’s Ulysses, which I finished reading this year. I used my not-so-fancy editing skills to circle the phrase, “Wicklow, rightly termed the garden of Ireland.” This is the phrase that first sparked the idea to use Wicklow as my pen name.
I’ve played around with various pen names for almost as long as I’ve been writing, trying them on like high heels or–as I once mentioned on a social media post–like an elegant coat in a style I could never pull off in real life. I would write different names in the margins of my notebooks the same way a young girl would practice the last name of the boy she wants to marry (at least I know I did this).
I thought I would share some of the considerations I’ve given to choosing a pen name, in case you’re facing this decision.
Why do you want a pen name?
I self-published my first book (no longer available) under my real name. Two problems arose from this. First, I realized I was uncomfortable with relatives and acquaintances reading my fiction. While the subject matter was generally mild, many of them had trouble separating me from my fictional characters. I did not like the idea that people I knew would think I was writing about myself, especially if I chose to write about darker, riskier topics.
Second, there was another author who published under the same first and last name. Neither of us used a middle initial. She had only one short story out on Amazon with no reviews, so it wasn’t as though I would be using the same name as a famous author who might accuse me of trying to build off her success. However, I did not want anyone to attribute her work to me or vice versa.
Choose a name you’re comfortable being known by
I signed up for my social media accounts with the author name under which I started publishing a contemporary fantasy series. As I slowly began to make friends on Twitter and Instagram, I became uncomfortable going by a name that wasn’t mine. Even though I wasn’t hiding the fact that I was using a pen name, I felt as though I was being dishonest. Within months I had changed my display name to reflect my real first name, but my username remained my pen name–potentially confusing to new followers.
Names and titles are the hardest part of any story for me. If I couldn’t decide on a name for a character I would only have to deal with over the course of a novel, how would I choose the name I would hopefully stick with for a whole career?
I knew I wanted to keep my real first name. While the situation is different, I kept thinking of a quote by Vivian Vance, who played Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy, when she lamented that people always called her Ethel, even years after the show had gone off the air.
While I didn’t want people I knew in real life to find my work, I wanted to feel like I was being myself in my online interactions. On the other hand, some people enjoy the freedom of creating a totally new identity. It’s a matter of what you feel comfortable with, especially if you’re using social media to form friendships with people.
Do your research
My online persona is the same as my persona in real life. In the spirit of staying true to my identity, the surname I first tried out began with the same letter as my real one. However, it was not long before I realized this name combination was too common. There were over 200 LinkedIn profiles with it. I first used this name in posting poetry, but a quick search on GoodReads revealed that someone else with this name had even published a poetry book. I soon realized I needed to find a new pseudonym.
I’ve been interested in Ireland and Irish literature since I was in high school. After a few failed attempts, I had started reading Ulysses last year on Bloomsday, June 16, the day the events of the novel take place. I had occasionally left it untouched for weeks at a time, but I decided I wanted to finish reading it before a year had gone by from the time I began. I read half the book in about three weeks.
During this time, I had my eye open for any name I could adopt for my pseudonym. Ireland’s landscape is beautiful (from what I’ve seen in pictures, since I’ve never been there). Since much of my poetry was set in nature rather than a city, the phrase “the garden of Ireland” stuck out to me. I also like geographical names used for people. Wicklow is easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and yet fairly uncommon. I thought it was perfect.
Choosing whether or not to use a pen name is a personal decision. I understand the allure of seeing your real name on the cover of a book you wrote, but I also appreciate the privacy that comes from using a pseudonym. By using my real first name but a chosen last name, I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
Michelle Wicklow 