Hi, I recently have read a few stories about writers who have sent off their manuscripts and met rejections only to change their name, to a pen name of sorts, and been accepted. I was wondering if anyone else had encountered a similair story, and whether having a catchy name is very important in getting your manuscript even seen. I am aware that it is possible that a publisher/agent will change your name around a bit (JK Rowling) but I did not think about the effect your name could have in getting your manuscript read.
I would tend to echo the sentiments of Victoria Whithear.
Though in the case of JK Rowling. The decision was to go for JK as opposed to Jo to make sure that the book appealed to boys as well as girls.
I would hope that the agent/publisher would look at the material over the author name. But I suppose there are many prejudices, and that may well be one of them.
I would have thought a particularly catchy name would be an asset in the eyes of any agent or publisher, but a less exciting name would surely have to be very dull to have the opposite effect. I suppose it is quite hard to imagine a name like Paula White reaching the top of the bestseller list as readers romanticise authors and a name that easily plays the imagination is preferable. So is it readers that stop our hypothetical Paula White reaching the top, or is it the agents and publishers? I suspect it's a little of both, but I don't think you, Victoria, have too much to worry about. At least I hope not!