What’s up with pen names?.

Whether you're considering a pen name or you already have one, this blog will walk you through the most important steps to keep things organized.

Step 1: Create a Name

If you already have a pen name ready, move onto step 2, but if you need to come up with a pen name, take a look at these creative ideas.

Resources

Pen Name Generator
Name Generator
Fake Name Generator
Victorian Pen Name Generator

Step 3: File your FBN or DBA

You can use a pen name generator like this one, but you’ll want to make sure you file a Fictitious Business Name (FBN) or a Doing Business As (DBA).

Step 4: Register at the copyright office properly

The copyright office is no stranger to pseudonyms, and they recommend that you can leave your real name blank, enter your pseudonym on the copyright page, note it is such, and leave out your real name. They do suggest that you talk to an attorney about how this could influence any “business dealings” under that name.

Step 5: Set up your online presence

Grab a domain name, Instagram account, Twitter handle, FB page, and all the social accounts you want so you can actually interact with fans (yes, fans!!) once your book is live.

Step 6: Market under your pen name but register taxes under your legal name

Of course you’ll have to pay taxes, but since your pen name isn’t associated with a social security number, you’ll want to submit taxes under your legal name…and yeah…that includes any taxes required from your book sales.

Step 7: Submit properly

If you’re submitting your work to agents or editors, make sure you include both your real name and your pseudonym when you submit.

Step 8: Copyright considerations

When you’re registering for copyright, list your real name under Copyright Claimant and Pen Name under author!

 

Comments (0)