I Dub Thee...

Some of the world's most famous authors have written under a pseudonym, including JK Rowling, Stephen King, and Michael Crichton. Now, I don't plan on becoming a world-famous author, but I have been contemplating the benefits of publishing my work under another name.

All of my friends and I hold strong religious convictions, so we limit what we allow ourselves to enjoy as recreation. Of course, everyone's conscience is different. I really don't want to offend anyone. That's one of the major benefits of writing under an assumed name, I think. But am I worrying too much about that? My friends all understand that consciences vary. Besides that, while my book does have some less than pleasant things happen in it, I don't think it's particularly graphic. But that's just me. Hmm..

Another benefit of a pseudonym is the freedom to pick my own name. Haha. The possibilities are endless. I'm tempted to pick something really outrageous.

I found a fun pseudonym generator online (here is the link if you want to play with it). What do you think of the name Fey Jarret? Norby Gustafson? Chastity Von Hoffman? Then again, I am a writer. I should be able to come up with my own pen name, right?

Would you believe that wikihow has a guide on how to come up with a pseudonym? Apparently, for my genre, I should use initials. How does J.E. Nelson sound? Boring, I know. How about E.J. Nell? Too funny. How about H.L. Nelson? Happy because my first name is Joy, and Lizzy because my middle name is Elizabeth.

Or should I keep my own name? I mean, I've already told basically everyone I know that I plan on self-publishing my novel. Most of my friends aren't avid readers, anyway, so I should be too frantic about the effect the content might have. Plus, I rather like my name.

I have to decide soon. I have two and half more chapters to edit. Then I have my final read-through to weed out as many little typos as possible. And then...drumroll please...I am going to publish!