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Female or Male Pen Name?
I am a novelist, and am getting ready to publish a book. I plan to use a pen name (not my real name) but I can't decide whether to use a male or female name.
The story is composed of diary entries written by a woman who finds herself in a war. She survives by hiding in plain sight; becoming the personal assistant of a ruthless dictator. No one thinks to look for her in the center of operations!
My thought was that readers (especially female) would be more accepting if they thought it was written by a woman. On the other hand, maybe it doesn't matter.
For the record, I'm using a pen name because I like my privacy.
3 Answers
- 9 years agoFavorite Answer
It would be powerful if your pen name was the name of your lead, in my opinion.
But I don't think the gender you choose would make a significant difference.
When in doubt, keep it unisex.
- 9 years ago
Definitely female. This is probably a placebo effect (as you are literally telling us right now that you might be lying), but I get upset when a male author writes women. Intellectually, I know that its totally possible for a guy to know how a girl thinks. But it puts a bias in my head before I begin... I think, there's no way this can possibly relate to me. He's not a girl. He doesn't know how I'd react.
Long story short... I am obnoxious, and you should opt for a female pen name. ;)
- angelikLv 79 years ago
Why don't you use a unisex name? Then the readers won't know if you're male or female.
