Tuesday Toolbox - Writing Under Your Real Name or a Pseudonym

I write under my real name, which (I think) simplifies my life. But there are a host of good reasons to take a pseudonym ... or two. Here's what Marci Clark has to say on the matter:

Me, Myself and I

By Marci Clark

One question I am asked quite frequently is why I use various names instead of just sticking with one. I think my reasoning reflects that of many author’s so I thought I’d share.

When my first book, The Rebound, was purchased, it was completely unexpected; it was awesome, but unexpected. I was a non-traditional student (that’s nice speak for old person in college) and working as a journalist/editor, yet I’d just sold an erotic novella. Did I really want my fellow students, most of whom were a dozen or more years my junior, reading a sex book with my name on it? If someone liked my article in the magazine I write for and decided to look me up to see my other work, did I really want them to immediately find The Rebound and forever associate my journalistic work with sex?

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t in the least bit embarrassed. In fact, I was and am very proud of my first release. The problem was what others would think about it and how it would impact my career, volunteer work, and the work my husband does.

So I thought long and hard as I stared at the pseudonym line on my contract. Before the papers were signed Emilia Mancini, my erotic writing sidekick, was born.

When Musa contracted Unforgettable You, a sweet romance, I again had to decide if the name I was making as a journalist was going to be tied to my fiction writing or if I was going to give Emilia credit for this one as well. I considered several pros and cons, including the fact that I’d already started building an identity for Emilia and that my lifelong dream was to see my name on the cover of the book. While Emilia was me, it just isn’t the same as seeing my name on there.

In the end I decided to use my maiden name, Marci Boudreaux, for romance.

This would serve several purposes; fulfilling that dream of seeing my name on a cover, letting people know it was not an erotic work like what Emilia would write, and keeping my day job separate from it all.

I put everything in its own little box on the professional shelf; erotica, romance, and day job. I have three names, three genres, three personas that have completely different reasons for existing.

I also have three work e-mails, Facebooks (plus two author pages), Twitters, websites, and three different sets of people I network with. It is confusing, insane, and sometimes overwhelming, but it helps me keep my head on what I’m doing without worrying who is going to see it.

My alter egos and I can all be tied together because, in the end, we are all public figures in different areas. We’re all proud of the other’s work and more than happy to tell anyone who will listen. We all help each other out when we can.

I cross promote my authors so if you see Marci you will probably find Emilia not far behind and vice versa, but you will know what you are getting into depending on the primary persona. The real me, however, is a bit more hidden in the shadows, never completely in the dark and always happy to take credit for the hard work of the other two.

To read an excerpt from Marci Boudreaux’s latest release Unforgettable You, please click HERE. Check out the trailer for Unforgettable You HERE. Learn more about Marci Boudreaux on her website. Stay connected on Facebook and Twitter.

Note from Sara: Marci has brand new release out today. Guess which of her names it's under, and check back here tomorrow to see if you're right!