on Self Publishing:

Maybe you’ve just started your writing journey and you’re wondering whether you should have a pen name, or maybe you’re an established author wondering if it’s too late to switch it up. Either way, the question you’re asking is the same: is a pen name right for you?

People often assume that pen names are purely for the sake of anonymity, and while this is basically true, it’s more complicated than that. There are a ton of reasons why someone might want to use a pen name, some of which you might not have considered!

If you have considered it, you may have run into a separate issue: finding a pen name that works for you. I’ve had this issue before and I’ve burned countless pieces of paper trying to glue first and last names together into something respectable. It can feel impossible! It doesn’t have to.

In this article, we’ll talk about what pen names are, why they’re used, how to pick a pen name that works for you, and which pen name generators might be helpful to you.