Pondering Pen Names

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It’s a bit spooky: over the past week or so I’ve been considering taking up a pen name for my identity as a writer. Then all of a sudden, there’s a flurry of articles about pen names:

• Rachelle Gardner
• Karen Woodward
• Dean Wesley Smith

I was originally going to publish using my real name, but because of a recent change in my personal circumstances, and the fact that it’s hard to spell, I am 99% sure I will create a pseudonym that will remain constant throughout my career. I will keep my first name.

The idea is actually somewhat exciting. It makes my status as a writer seem more official somehow. I am not in a hurry to adopt a name, even though one has popped into my head. I even googled it to make sure there are no potential competitors. I want to study up on potential cool names before I decide, and even then I don’t think I will both to adopt it until the day when I (hopefully!) get some interest from agents. It will take some effort to make the change - not only the blog, but things like my Twitter and even my email address.

For now I will only be writing in one genre, but I do have ideas for stories in other (albeit related) genres. Previous wisdom was to have different pseudonyms for each “brand”, but I agree with Rachelle’s article that this would get unwieldy. I think modern readers are smart enough to figure out when their favourite author is trying something new, don’t you?

Do you write with a pseudonym? Do you prefer authors to stick to their brand?