Good morning,
I have been asked by a publisher to send a small draft (3 chapters) of my ongoing work along with a covering letter, a stamped addressed envelope, a synopsis, my experience and a Pseudonym should I require to use one.
This is all quite overwhelming if I am honest, I have no experience at all. I have never won any awards, not even so much as a competition.
My question is:
Should I really use a Pseudonym and how would I go about setting that up?
Thank you
Good morning Lorraine,
A fantastic answer and very good advice, thank you.
Hi, David,
The use of a pseudonym is, for instance, if you want to write in wildly different genres and don't want readers to be confused:
- you want to keep a distance between your writer's profile and your day-to-day life:
- you have a name that's already in use by someone else:
- you have a name that's too difficult for people to remember.
There are many reasons - but it's far from obligatory if you don't want to use one. I didn't, even though some people balk at pronouncing my surname. I couldn't think of anyone else I wanted to be.
You can't have experience until you've published something, or at least submitted something, even if it was rejected, or worked in publishing or journalism or something similar. Therefore don't worry about it - can't include what doesn't exist.
Before you go ahead, google the company concerned and make sure they are above board, and that they won't ask you for money to publish your book. If they do - and it could be hundreds if not thousands of pounds - think twice. They won't be worth the heartbreak. Don't judge them by their own website but by what other people write about their experiences with them.
Good luck!
Hope this helps,
Lorraine