If you’re writing a novel under a pen name—and you’re querying a literary agent—there’s a right way and a wrong way to use your pen name in your query letter and on your manuscript pages. And if you’re writing poems, short stories, or essays under a pen name, there’s etiquette for submitting them under a nom de plume too. So here is Writer’s Relief’s best advice on how to use your pseudonym in your cover and query letters as you try to publish your book, poems, or short prose.
Should you include your real name in a query or cover letter?
Yes. Absolutely. Here’s the rule of thumb: Submit without hiding your real name. Publish under your pen name.
All dealings with agents, editors, publicists, and other industry professionals (like the staff at Writer’s Relief) should be conducted under your real name. Why? Because it’s good business. Think about it this way. “Pen name” is a nice way of saying “fake name.” And there are very few of us who use aliases in our everyday lives—at least, very few of us who are not violating parole.
You wouldn’t introduce yourself at a job interview using a fake name, and since a cover or query letter acts as an introduction, the same rules apply. Using your real name suggests that you’re honest and open—not trying to hide anything. Plus, if your editor or literary agent is going to draw up a contract or write a check for you, he or she would use your real name. So why introduce yourself with a fake name unless you were trying to be cagey? Honesty is always the best policy.
Click to learn more about how you get paid and how you interact with publishers when you write under a pen name.
Writing nonfiction? Learn the truth about using a pen name to protect your identity and prevent lawsuits.
Where in a query or cover letter should you mention a pen name?
One sentence somewhere in the body of a query or cover letter mentioning that you write under a specific pen name should be sufficient.
Where on a manuscript should you write a pen name?
On book manuscripts, one common practice is to list your real name with your contact information and your real name as your byline. Then, beneath your real name, you will include something along the lines of:
The Best Book Ever Written
by
Jane Doe
(writing as Arabella Von Pseudonym)
Sometimes “writing as” will be abbreviated as “w/a,” but in your query letter you should spell it out. If you don’t want to use the “writing as” approach, you can simply opt to write:
The Best Book Ever Written
by
Arabella Von Pseudonym
The important thing is to be forthcoming about your real name on your letter and with your contact information.
In your submissions to literary magazines (if you’re submitting poems, stories, and essays), you’ll want to include your real name with your contact information on the first page (typically upper left corner) of your manuscript. Then if you’re writing a story or essay, you can do something like:
The Best Story Ever Written
by
Arabella Von Pseudonym
There are no hard and fast rules about pen name format on manuscripts: The important thing is to be sure to distinguish your real name from your pen name—and to always associate with fellow professionals using your real name, but to publish under your pen name.
Confused? Writer’s Relief helps guide our clients through the etiquette of the publishing industry, including issues of pen names. Our submission strategists are here to help!