Thursday 15 March 2012

Thrusty Thursday - A Rose By Any Other Name


Hello readers. I hope you’re all doing great. Today I want to discuss something that’s been on my mind for a long time—names. Or more specifically author names.

It wasn’t until I started writing and did some research about choosing an author name that I came to realise that some authors use different names when they write in different genres.


At the time, I knew I was going to write stories with the focus mainly on romance so settling for a name was pretty easy. Kiru Taye is an abbreviation/play-on of my full name. I wanted a name that was African, easy to pronounce and easy to remember. And I think it works quite well.

But I’ve since discovered that some authors change their names even within categories of romance. One of my favourite contemporary romance authors Maureen Child writes paranormal romance under the name of Regan Hastings. And Emery Lee who writes sweet historical romance uses a different name Victoria Vane for her steamier historical romance stories. I remember the great Leslie Banks (may her soul rest in peace) wrote under several aliases too. 

This got me thinking. Why would an author who has invested so much time, money and energy in building up a brand name, dilute that brand by creating a different author name?

I think about one of my favourite brands in the world—Virgin. No matter the product or service—trains, airline, holidays, cable network, etc—the brand name remains the same. It is easily recognisable. Whenever I see that brand I, as a consumer, know to expect a great product or service.

www.mayabanks.com
Well, I think it’s the same thing with authors. Your name is part of your brand identity. When I see the name of a favourite author on a book, I know what to expect regardless of the genre of the book. Maya Banks is one such author. She has written contemporary romance, Scottish historical, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, erotic (multiple-partner) romance and yet she keeps the same name. As a reader, seeing her name on a book makes me want to buy it, because it is a brand I recognise and trust.

Another thing is the marketing effort required to maintain multiple author names. I think about the amount of energy it takes to maintain all my social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Blogger, Pinterest, email, etc. It is very time-consuming and I only have one name—Kiru Taye. Now multiply that by 2 or 3 for authors with multiple identities. When do they ever find the time to write?

www.reganhastings.com
I can understand that for authors like Maureen Child who has the backing of Harlequin as a publisher and is already established. She doesn’t have to go through the hassle of building a platform because her book marketing is partially done by her publisher.
But what about some of the new authors out there trying to make a name for themselves? How are they coping?

I’d really like to know because at some point I want to write Fantasy novels and I wonder if there’s any purchase in having a different author name for those books. I know some people argue that because it’s a different genre, you want to attract different readers. I would argue that as long as the books are categorised in the correct genre it should be enough to differentiate them from my other works. Readers of books in the new genre who are interested in new books/authors hopefully would want to read my book because it’s in a genre they like. And I could take some of my current readers across because they already like my books anyway and might want to try out a new genre. I think this strategy works very well for Maya Banks.

On the other hand, I don’t know how well Maureen Child is doing as Regan Hastings.

So please help me out here, people. What are your thoughts on this? As a reader what do you think about authors with multiple aliases? Are you an author who writes under multiple aliases? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Have a fabulous weekend.

29 comments:

  1. Multiple aliases? Never considered, no. What a novelty.

    I have written one book under what I term a pen name, but never multiple aliases. I plan to write using the alias for another 7 years till 2020!

    Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Thank you for your lovely comment. And best wishes with your books.

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  3. Well, I haven't even got a pen name and I write paranormal and contemporary erotic romance. The whole pen name thing seems such a hassle to maintain. I already had a well established on line presence before I decided to pursue publication, so my own name it was. Readers don't seem to have any problems differentiating between my genres.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Doris, I totally understand your perspective. Why change a name that's working so well for you?

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  4. I can understand both sides of the coin. Your name is your brand so why change it? On the other hand, if you're known for a particular genre and you want to branch out but don't want your fans to associate or even compare your new work with your established work, then an alias is the solution.

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    Replies
    1. I can see your point here. I guess if someone like Stephen King who is well known for writing horror started writing erotica, he might want to use an alias. :)

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    2. But even Stephen King wrote under two names: most readers know Stephen King, but he has an alias under which he writes in the same genre, Richard Bachman (the inside joke is that he did it as an experiment to see if readers liked his work or just bought because of his name and fame)

      Delete
    3. Hi Shakir, I didn't know that about Stephen King. I've learnt another new thing. Thank you. :)

      I've never heard of Richard Bachman and I'd be interested to know how well he did under that alias.

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  5. I've read where writers use alias because if the new genre isn't accepted, their fans will still buy under their original name. Authors don't want to take the chance and have a reader say: I didn't like their last book on ______. I was so disappointed. I'm not buying anymore of their books.

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  6. You're right. If an author is experimenting with a new genre, it might make sense to use a new name as her established fans may not like it.

    But wouldn't they just go back to reading the author's original genre anyway?

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  7. Hi Kiru!
    Since you mentioned me in the post, I thought I would provide some insight on why I write under two names. First off, you are 100% correct about author branding. It takes a heck of a lot to create name recognition to begin with, especially now that publishing is in the midst of this digital revolution. However, sometimes "rebranding " is not by author choice.
    It was last spring when my agent quit the business and my print publisher turned down not one, but three of my partial manuscripts, that I entered into a serious crisis of confidence as a writer. When talking with an author friend about my difficulties, she suggested I try writing something short that I could submit on my own. With this goal, my first novella, A BREACH OF PROMISE was born. Long story, short, I got an offer on this NON-EROTIC romance from a primarily erotic publisher. This caused my print publisher to go into a tailspin for fear that my name association with an erotic publisher would confuse readers and destroy my "author brand". In this situation, I saw little choice but to write under a second pen name. Once that decision was made, I decided to embrace the wild side and write erotic historical romance as Victoria Vane. - Emery Lee/Victoria Vane
    http://authoremerylee.com
    http://authorvictoriavane.com

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  8. Hi Emery,

    I guess when its forced on you like that you have no choice. I can also understand if there's been a big shift in writing styles then you may want to differentiate the two.

    But I thought your original publisher also publishes erotic romance?

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    1. Hi Kiru!
      My publisher as Emery Lee is Sourcebooks (TEH HIGHEST STAKES was released under their historical fiction imprint and the second, FORTUNE'S SON under their romance imprint.) These titles are both romantic historical fiction which is very light on sex. I think they may have some erotic authors in the mix but it's not what they are known for. My first erotic historical was A BREACH OF PROMISE with Ellora's Cave and now, as you know, I have four more erotic historicals coming from Breathless Press.

      Delete
    2. Thank for the clarification, Victoria. BTW, I think you're going to do great as Victoria Vane. :)

      Delete
  9. Hi Kiru. I loved Victoria's comment above. I write under two names for two different genres - one is a little more erotic than the other.

    That said, if I'd known then what I know now, how hard it is to maintain two online personalities, I might not have done it!

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    1. Hi Romy, I can just imagine the hassle and that's the nightmare I want to avoid.

      Would you consider merging the two--writing under one? Or is that now out of the question?

      Delete
  10. Hi, Kiru, I happened to stumble upon your blog from FB :)

    When I originally began writing, I, like you, wanted my pen name to reflect my love for African culture (in my instance, Egypt), which is how Shakir Rashaan was born (grateful prince in ancient Egyptian and Swahili)... Shakir deals in the erotic, and only the erotic, even with the crime fiction that I write, it has erotic elements to it... and that is how I've been able to build my brand

    About a year ago, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at something a little different, going into the romance category the first time around... that's how Curtis Alexander Hamilton was born

    With CAH, I can stretch a little bit and play around with different concepts and ideas, but when I get the "itch" to jump back into the erotic, I have Shakir to fall back on...

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    1. Hi Shakir,

      I guess that would work especially if there are overlaps with both names. I noticed you maintain one blog for the two aliases. So you're not doing 'double' work.

      I hope the new alias works well for you.

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  11. Sometimes it comes down to numbers, cruel numbers. See this NY Times article on the author of The Dressmaker.
    Robin Hobbs (fantasy author) faced the same problem and changed her penname as well.
    As far as branding goes, some would say that using the same name for a fantasy book would dilute a romance author's brand. I'm not sure if that's true, but I have wondered if Barbara Hamby would have done better overall using different names for her mystery and fantasy books. And as Jayne Ann Krentz says right up front on her web page: Jayne Ann Krentz is Amanda Quick is Jayne Castle. She explains why here.
    This is a tough issue to resolve. May whatever decision you make bring success!

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    1. Hi Jean,

      Thank you for stopping by and sharing the NY Times article. It was really insightful and I can certainly understand why those author would use alternative names.

      Jayne Ann Krentz case is more baffling though because a label on the book tells me what genre it is not the author name. I guess if it works for her that's cool but I don't see the relevance as a reader.

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  12. I wanted to give you the example of Jayne Castle, but I see another commenter beat me to it. So many other authors have been very open recently about their aliases including Nora Roberts and Stephen King. I agree with you that it is easier to do when you have a big publisher promoting the names. I am definitely considering a different name if I write in another genre.

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    1. Thanks, Myne. By the looks of things this is quite common place and worth considering seriously. I'm still not sure it's worth the change for me though.

      Delete
  13. Hi Ms. Taye!

    This was great post and really made me think. As a reader with a memory like a steel trap some days, I don't really mind if an author has multiple aliases.

    Although I sometimes prefer it if they just have one for me to remember Sherrilyn Kenyon for example, I think she writes under another name for her Lords of Avalon series and even though I haven't read that series yet I still sometimes remember the other name.

    I'm usually happy with whatever name the author decides to go with be it the name he/she was born with or be it a name of his/her own creation.

    Me myself personally if I ever get to the published stage I've contemplated using a different last name if I ever become an author just something that rolls of the literary tongue a little better.

    You never know though, and if using another name makes the author happy and makes things easier for him or her then that's fine with me too!


    Great post Ms. Kiru!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Gabby,

      I certainly agree that it can be confusing sometimes dealing with multiple names especially with favourite authors.
      I really would rather vote for better labelling and categorisation on books so readers know what to expect rather than having to change your name each time you write a different genre. I'm sure the author get muddled up sometimes about which persona they are at each given point.

      I certainly agree about choosing a name that is easy to read and remember. Best wishes with your publishing endeavours.

      Delete
  14. I hope this helps:
    When the Datsun line of cars didn't do so well, Nissan cut that branch off with little impact to the Nissan brand name.
    I love Robin Williams as an actor but I will need some serious convincing to watch him play a crime boss. That is because I have him boxed-up in the comedy section. I'd do the same with authors too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is certainly an interesting reader perspective and I'm glad you shared it. I wonder if other readers think the same.

      I love writing romance but I'm not sure I'd liked to be placed in just one box category as I like to think I'm a versatile writer. :)

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  15. I write under two names as well. There is no way I'll ever let them meet. Sometimes, the people that read one genre just do not want to know about other. In fact, they don't even want to know you are writing those genres. It could lose you more readers than you bargain for...so...different names.

    Other examples of SUCCESSFUL authors with more than one name: Johanna Trollope (3), Sophie Kinsella (2).

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    1. Lol @ pen names not meeting.

      I certainly understand the fear of losing readers. If using different names brings more new readers, then it makes sense.

      Delete
  16. Hi Kiru, this is something I've been debating on recently too, and I've opted to use a second pen name. I've posted about it on my blog http://susiemedwell.blogspot.co.uk/
    I haven't yet published anything as Susie Medwell, but am working towards publication of contemporary romance. However, I have just signed a contract for an erotic novel and my concern was that I may alienate readers if they buy a book expecting a low heat level and get explicit sex, and vice versa. Although it means maintaining two blogs etc. I felt it was best to use two separate names. I did deliberate over it long and hard though! It is interesting to read everyone else's take on this.

    ReplyDelete

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