Perhaps the most common question I receive from friends and aspiring authors is: how did you choose your pen name?

Many authors choose to write under a different name or, in some cases, multiple noms de plume. So, let’s start with why writers might do that. The most common reason is to protect their families in the event their work becomes popular, especially if anything could be considered controversial. And, in my humble opinion, all great writing has the potential to offend someone, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Another great reason to use a pen name is branding. Books are art… but also products, and each author is a brand. A pen name allows an author to create an image consistent with their work, which may differ from their personal image. It’s also common for an author to publish under multiple pen names when writing different genres (e.g., Nora Roberts for romance, and J. D. Robb for crime thrillers.) This helps set reader expectations.

When I chose S. J. Greene, my logic was pretty simple—S & J are the first and last initials of my real name. Greene was somewhat random, but 1) I liked the way it sounded, 2) I consider myself environmentally minded or “green,” and 3) I’m a huge FRIENDS fan and thought of Rachel Greene (she spells it with an “e” at the end, for the record, despite the mixed spellings online. I can do a separate blog post on how I know that later.)

As a new author, it’s also important to make sure the pen name you want to use isn’t already used by another author. There are several ways to check for this, with the most obvious being a Google search. Other great places include:

• Amazon and other book retailer sites
• Goodreads author search
• U.S. Copyrights search (Note: A pen name cannot be copyrighted, but this is one way to check if the name in question has works copyrighted under it already.)

My last bit of advice is to consider the naming convention typically used in your genre and what “brand” you want to create for yourself. In hindsight, part of me wishes I would’ve used my full first name + Greene, mostly because the initials end up entered with a bunch of variations: S. J. (with space = correct); S.J. (without space); S J (without periods); SJ (without periods or space.)

But the good news is you can always change it later or use multiple pen names. No decision is set in stone, so if you’re trying to choose your own nom de plume, don’t stress over it too much. The important part is that YOU like it.

I hope you found this insightful! Please feel free to drop any questions in the comments.

XOXO