To pen name or not to pen name

One reason I’ve been too busy to update my blog in the past six months is that I’m working on a kinda secret project. I’ve been writing in a category and genre completely different than I have for the past ten…um, twelve years.

It’s been fun to explore a new genre and to write for a new age category. Really fun. And I plan to work towards publication of this new project.

Hence the big question: to use a pen name or not?

Using my real name will make promotion so much easier. I can build on the base I’ve already created and I won’t have to fear someone finding out who I really am. I won’t have to duplicate social media efforts and have multiple web sites.

But, using a pen name means I can protect my real identity and my reputation as a children’s writer. And just because I’m experimenting with something new doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on my MG and YA projects, so I do need to protect my reputation. Someday, my novels for tweens and teens will be published and I wouldn’t want to confuse my readers.

If you’ve used a pen name, why? How have you handled the marketing and promotion piece? Would you do it differently if you could start over?

If you’ve chosen not to use a pen name, why not?

I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment with your answer to the above questions or just some support. I wouldn’t have survived this long on the journey without my friends, so thanks to all of you!

Meaningful Monday

Summer is slow in publishing. I’ve been taking advantage of the fact to keep a low profile online. This summer has not been slow for me. My kids are home, I’m still working part time and teaching, and I have freelance projects with looming deadlines. And yes, I am still finding time to work on my fiction. I’m currently revising a MG adventure.

So, as long as things are slow (in the rest of the world), I thought I’d share a few links that meant something to me.

First, here’s an awesome blog post from one of my favorite authors, Libba Bray. In this post, she shows all us writers who are struggling to produce publishable work, that she is one of us. That just because she has published multiple books doesn’t mean she doesn’t still struggle with each one. Reading her post helped me keep the faith.

(Speaking of keeping the faith, Keep the Faith is one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs and I will get to hear it LIVE tonight!)

This next one is meaningful in a lighter way. I only came across it late last week. Examples from Disney movies illustrate certain literary techniques. I don’t agree with all the examples chosen, so let me know your thoughts in the comments below. However, the post amused me and I appreciated someone going to the trouble to show, rather than tell, these techniques.

What is meaningful to you today?