Hello everyone,
I hope you're all well.
I'm currently working on a book that tells a true and deeply personal story about domestic abuse. While I believe sharing it could help others, I’m am concerned about maintaining my anonymity for personal and emotional reasons.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience or advice on publishing under a pseudonym. Specifically:
What steps should I take to protect my identity during the publishing process?
Are there any potential legal or practical challenges I should be aware of?
Would traditional publishers be open to working with an author using a pseudonym, or is self-publishing a better route in this case?
Thank you so much in advance for your insights. I truly appreciate any guidance or tips you can offer!
Warm regards,
Rachael
Hi Rachael,
I think that you're absolutely doing the right thing by asking these questions and ensuring that you are protecting yourself during this process I commend you for sharing a story that will, no doubt, mean so much to many people.
As this is such a specialist subject, I would implore you to speak to a legal expert, one who is familiar with publishing.
I've pooled a few resources together below, which I hope will be of use:
- The Society of Authors - they are a trade union membership, so you do have to pay to be a member, however they are a fantastic resource, and have a whole host of advisors who can help: https://societyofauthors.org/advice/ask-an-advisor/
- An example of lawyers who deal with publishing queries and issues: https://www.harbottle.com/publishing-lawyers/
https://www.penningtonslaw.com/expertise/sectors/media-and-creative-ind…
I hope these help as initial pointers to get you started, but please do drop us a message on here if you have any further questions.
Clare
W&A