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Linda J. Daly
orogeny
15 January 2008 @ 07:09 am
 
I've been thinking about starting to submit under a pseudonym (for a variety of reasons). Over the last year or so (really, the last two or three) I've agonized over "ohmygod, the name has to be PERFECT, has to be the exact, most meaningfully perfect name ever, has to represent my whole entire soul!" That kind of thing. I've been flummoxed. Then, up at BCU last week, one of the faculty told me to just use my porn name from that old meme thingie: Name of first pet plus Street you grew up on, if I recall correctly.

That would make me... let's see... Charlie Queen. I don't know. I'm not jazzed. Plus, it's already in use, which is one of the major issues with using my real name.

If I add a 'street', I get... let's see. Charlie Queenstreet. That actually sounds more interesting to me, and doesn't google up anything. The question is, does that name sound stupid? If anybody uses a pseudonym, I'd be curious to know how you picked it. I'd also be interested to hear people's reasoning process -- and any problems you've run into (aside from the usual issues with banking, etc), and whether anybody regrets it. And also, if people are using their birthnames to submit, and if they ever seriously considered using a pseudonym, why they've opted so far not to.

 
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Tony Pi[info]wistling on January 15th, 2008 12:34 pm (UTC)
People who live in cities with Queen Streets might find it a bit odd - I do because I'm in Toronto. But maybe you want people to remember it because it's odd.

I have thought about a pseudonym before because my last name isn't very common. I have a few (not necessarily good ones) picked out - one's a play on words, another is a result of an exercise with another writer (we gave each other pseudonyms). I won't use one until I have to, though (I might if I write in a completely different genre, for instance).
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 12:42 pm (UTC)
You have such a great name for a spec fic writer. I'm jealous! I'd use your name for a pseudonym, except it's already yours! :)

If I had a name that wasn't very common, I'd probably stick with it. I still might, just because I'm proud of what I write. On the other hand... it's not only very common, but my day job is kind of staid. A separation might be sensible.

I'm on the fence.
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Erin Underwood[info]e_underwood on January 15th, 2008 12:52 pm (UTC)
I think a pseudonym is a great idea, especially if your real name Google's up a bunch of other people.

Unfortunately, I have no idea about what name you should choose. I'm not keen on Charlie Queenstreet. Do you have any other street names to choose from?
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 01:05 pm (UTC)
Nope!

Edited to clarify: I was born on Indian Queen Lane, spent years 3 to 15 on New Queen Street, then moved to Birch Street at 16, but I wouldn't want to commemorate that address in a name.

Edited at 2008-01-15 01:08 pm (UTC)
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Jennifer Pelland[info]jenwrites on January 15th, 2008 01:12 pm (UTC)
Gah! I wrote up a long reply, and LJ ate it.

Charlie Queenstreet isn't working for me. It sounds deliberately coy. Why not try just changing your last name so you don't have to learn to answer to an entirely new first name? That's what David Tennant did. His real name is David John McDonald, and he changed his last name to that of one of the Pet Shop Boys. Hell, go ahead and steal a last name from some obscure band you loved in high school! If you can find a last name that makes your full pen name something that isn't at all currently popular on Google, that would be ideal. Visibility is key.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 01:23 pm (UTC)
I really hate 'Linda'. I always have, all my life.

I'd been thinking about using Luca as a first name, but I haven't come up with a good complementary last name, since Luca Bloom is taken. Luca Moon tastes good to me, but 'Moon' is obviously taken.

I liked Meatloaf in high school. Luca Loaf! =D

I do enjoy the wordplay and experimentation. (I know -- what about Raccoona?)
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Jennifer Pelland[info]jenwrites on January 15th, 2008 02:24 pm (UTC)
Could you go by your middle name? L. Xerxes Moon? ;)

Seriously, I wish you luck with this. Whatever you choose, remember, if you are successful, you will have to answer to this name for the rest of your life.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:16 pm (UTC)
That's actually one of the reasons I can't quite decide on a name. Or whether to stick with the birthname, even though it's common.

The middle name, alas, is Jane -- which I might like, were it not my name.
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avocadovpx[info]avocadovpx on January 15th, 2008 03:03 pm (UTC)
>> what about Raccoona?

Or take your name from a jam jar. Overheard, in the future:

Fan A: "Have you read the lastest book by Luca Smucker?"

Fan B: "Well, with a name like that, it's got to be good."
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:37 pm (UTC)
That's brilliant!
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Ellen Fremedon[info]ellen_fremedon on January 15th, 2008 04:31 pm (UTC)
Hee!
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kr[info]pxcampbell on January 15th, 2008 02:10 pm (UTC)
And Luca Brassi is also taken. ;)

Nope, I'm not keen on Charlie Queenstreet because it sounds old.

I think you want a name that's more contemporary.

I also write under two psuedonyms. One's a loose amalgam of parts of the names of writers I admire greatly -- I'm hoping for good karma from that. It's short and sweet and, so far works really well.

The other is two French words, one of which is an androgynous first name in English.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:17 pm (UTC)
Maybe I'll take your cue and muck around with other languages. Although if I go with Luca (Italian, /and/ a male name), I'd have to be careful.
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 02:11 pm (UTC)
Stay a woman. We have too few women writers in the genre, I'd hate to give up a truly stellar one. /g/ Besides, Charlie Queenstreet sounds like a mystery writer's name.

Do you have a middle name? Or what about simply Lyn (or a variation thereof)? Your birth name does have a certain ring to it, rolls easily off the brain, rhythmic enough to remember without searching for it. And D usually comes in a nice spot on bookstore shelves.

What was your mother's maiden name? Could that work for you? Your first name, her maiden name? Her maiden name as YOUR first name?

I'd be interested in hearing your decision, when you come to it, and how you came by it.
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avocadovpx[info]avocadovpx on January 15th, 2008 03:07 pm (UTC)
>> We have too few women writers in the genre

True, but I'll remind you of the strange case of Morgan J. Locke (Steve Gould's wife, if you don't remember) and the mid-career name switch. Androgyny might be better.
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 03:12 pm (UTC)
Ah, yes--androgyny has its points; one of the perks of my own name. Androgyny AND non-ethnicity is often the best way to go, which is why I may go with my former last name: Terri B O W ers if I ever do get published.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:22 pm (UTC)
You mean WHEN. =D
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 03:30 pm (UTC)
teehee--yes, WHEN.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:21 pm (UTC)
My family does call me Lin, but I hate 'Lin' worse even than 'Linda', if that's possible. For me, that is. I've known other people on whom the name seemed to fit beautifully.

I like androgynous names because that reflects how I feel better than a very feminine name. Why wasn't I a Terri?

My mother's maiden name was Naylor, which I don't like because it sounds old-fashioned to me, and it was hers, not mine. I even went back through the family tree. We had Uriahs and Tipladys and Rushworths and Ashworths and Taskers and Eastwoods, but all of those sound old to me -- and I have an overwhelming sense of those names being my parents, not /me/, if that makes sense.
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 03:29 pm (UTC)
Yes, that does make sense. Though those are some interesting names! I especially love Tiplady. That sounds like a Victorian writer's name though, huh.

How about Dale? That's androgynous and still retaining a piece of your birthname.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:35 pm (UTC)
'Dale' makes me think of Buck Rogers.

I'm not really attached to keeping my birthname, anyway (in fact, I'd really rather ditch it -- it's my parents', not mine). Got any wild and crazy directions to go in?

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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 04:08 pm (UTC)
Oh, honey--don't ask ME for wild and crazy directions unless you REALLY mean it!
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Ellen Fremedon[info]ellen_fremedon on January 15th, 2008 04:36 pm (UTC)
Tiplady is a marvelous name; I'd grab it if I were looking for a pseud.

But I'm not, and I don't think I will unless I have a very pressing career need for one. I use the Ellen Fremedon pseud for online and fan writing and quite a bit in RL; Ellen is my middle name, and I find it easy to answer to. But having had seven years and counting with a pseud that I can do that with, I think I'd find it awkward using a pseud that I wasn't so comfortable with in everyday settings-- and I can't see finding another one that fits so well.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 04:48 pm (UTC)
Feel free to use Tiplady in any context whatever. Tiplady is up for grabs! (I think my ancestor was Priscilla Tiplady; doesn't it make you just want to crochet a doily?)
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 03:03 pm (UTC)
Smitty Ridgewood? Sorry, it just doesn't work for me.

I may have already told you, I use J. because people ALWAYS misspell my first name. That also lends me a bit of distance in the Google area, as people who know me can put in my whole name, and not get much of my writing stuff. If they put in J., it's a different matter.
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 03:31 pm (UTC)
Smitty ROCKS!! Almost as good a pen name as Lemony. /g/
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 05:41 pm (UTC)
Hmmm...something to think about then.... ;o)

Actually, I lived on a street called Tautoga when a baby (so I don't remember it). How about Smitty Tautoga....sounds kind of exotic!
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 05:42 pm (UTC)
That sounds like a pirate hooker!
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 05:44 pm (UTC)
No, that would be Smutty Tautoga...
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 05:56 pm (UTC)
Tautoga! That's a fun name. When I read it first, I thought "Tartuga" (I'm sure I spelled it wrong) and thought about Pirates and Captain Jack Sparrow. Good association!
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 07:46 pm (UTC)
;o)
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 03:05 pm (UTC)
And Charlotte Queenstreet sounds better to me, but only if you're writing cosy mysteries. ;o)
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 03:22 pm (UTC)
You're so right. That's going to be my mystery writer name, when I get around to it!
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j_cheney[info]j_cheney on January 15th, 2008 03:29 pm (UTC)
Yay!
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bogwitch64[info]bogwitch64 on January 15th, 2008 04:21 pm (UTC)
try this:
http://generator.chucklehound.com/
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 04:27 pm (UTC)
Interesting!

Billy Standring -- sounds dirty
Billy Annarummo
Billy Burnes -- Smithers!
Cornelius Pfeuffer -- good name for a character ;D
Jasper Weigl
Elliot Dinning -- Elliot isn't a bad one
Darius Vergari -- obviously an alien
Milford Puertas
Lacy Lamphere -- porn!

I'm compulsively clicking. =D
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 04:29 pm (UTC)
Winford Waddoups
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Dave Thompson[info]krylyr on January 15th, 2008 05:08 pm (UTC)
LJ. You should totally go by LJ. Then people would think of you as the famous SF writer who created Livejournal.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 15th, 2008 05:19 pm (UTC)
That's one way to get reader mail! ;D
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avocadovpx[info]avocadovpx on January 15th, 2008 08:21 pm (UTC)
Your spam folder might also be a good source of names.

From my spam folder:

Delbert Glover
Ana Nix
Rachelle Landers
Arthur McKinney
Antonia Pollock
Ella Mooney
Troy Patterson
Diana Biggs
Frederick Hunter
Francis Porter
Wendell Huerta
Justine Spears
Maura Medrano
Inez Richter
Domingo Pittman
Hilda Hobbs
Hilda Weston
Serena Burroughs
Candace Esteban
Scottie Stein
Francesca Aragon
Boris Vaughan
August Morton
Lizzie Maddox
Absalom Bryant
Deon Stinson
Rosario Mackey
Monroe Aguilar
Corrine Clemons
Tricia Singer
Kerry Galindo
Tania Clifton
Monte Sexton
Sylvia Farris
Edmund Hubbard
Cecilia Hurst
Jared Harvey
Lana Ford
Fabian Merritt
Estella Mobley
Thurman Kendrick
Devon Cordova
Kathryn Poe
Lynnette Cannon
Autumn Lovett
Leah Tipton
Beau Coley
Angela Meeks
Marcie Kimble
Harrison Valentine
Cornelia Forrest
Aaron Bennett
Tracy Henley
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[info]prusik on January 16th, 2008 04:51 pm (UTC)
I've thought about using a pseudonym simply because my name (in certain quarters) is so common. Cory's first words to me were that he knew another (but non-genre) writer with my name when he lived in Toronto.

However, I haven't spend any effort to think of one.
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Linda J. Daly[info]orogeny on January 16th, 2008 04:59 pm (UTC)
I've been getting that sort of heavy feeling lately that tells me it's just about decision time.

Blah.
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