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I just signed a contract for my book to be published. It is a book of poetry and due to its autobiographical nature I must publish it under my pen name. I am a survivor of child abuse and anorexia, my parents threatened a defamation law suit, and although this has no merit I am trying to avoid contact with them period. Does anyone have an marketing advice, or has anyone else published under a pen name? I am obviously very new to this and am unknowledable. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I don't know, but, I'm a survivor of child abuse, and wanted to send ya this

Thank you! And survivor is right! I have some friends who also endured child abuse. I find it important that we look at ourselves as survivors and not victims

Congratulations Julianna I wish you great luck with your book! It must be very difficult to open up and express such personal emotions and circumstances. I would think it takes a lot of bravery as well. I give you a lot of credit and I hope your book gives hope and strength to others who have walked in your shoes. Congratulations again.

Thank you very much! I always hoped my struggles could someday make a difference. That I could maybe help just one person. I view this as my chance.

I've heard positives and negatives of using a pen name. If you have a lot of acquaintances that know your real name, then they're less likely to pick up a book authored by your pen name. But I'd hope that I can sell to more people than just my acquaintances, so that's not an issue for me. A pen name gives you some level of privacy and may keep your professional life separate from your real life. But if you make it big, then people are probably going to know who you are anyway.

I chose a pen name mainly for a little privacy, but also because my real name is Randy. That's a common name in the U.S., but elsewhere, it has a different meaning. (You can look it up.) I met a guy from Australia once and said, "Hi, I'm Randy," and he looked at me very strangely. A book with the word "randy" on the cover might detract from my MG/YA audience.

My wife is Chinese and we speak Mandarin at home, so I chose a Chinese name a long time ago based on her surname and my given name. Many of my Chinese friends already know me by that name, so I transliterated that back into English to get my pen name of Lon Dee.

Thank you for the advice I really appreciate it. Everyone I'm friends with or know does know this is my pen name. Im doing it as an extra deterrent in case my parents try to cause a problem and since I never use their names they have no ground to stand on anyway. The name I chose is also in honor of my late grandmother who was the only member of my family who was kind and loving to me.
What topics do you write on? I find it beyond impressive you can speak mandarin!

My two YA books are both fantasy/mythology set in ancient China. I lived in east Asia for a few years and learned Mandarin just by talking with people and studying on my own. That sounds impressive, but spoken Mandarin is actually easier than spoken English, in my opinion. There are fewer sounds and the grammar is quite straightforward. Writing Chinese . . . that's a different story. I still struggle with the characters, even after many years.

I wish you luck with your book. It's impressive to be able to come out and tell a difficult personal story like you have.

Thank you. It is hard to tell the truth of your past when it's filled with such hurt, but I'm in a different place now. I'm happily married and have no contact with anyone who abused me , my parents and ex husband. The emotional torment I was forced to endure led me to try to commit suicide and I'm do lucky to be alive. I feel we all need to help each other to get through the hard times in our lives. It's embarrassing and I've been stigmatized for all I've done and been through but I am not alone. Someone needs to speak out to reach those who have been forced into silence like I was for so long. This is my attempt anyway