A Tale of Two Names
Posted by Darcy on 25 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Chit Chat, Craft, Publishing, Writing Life, Books
Hi everyone! This is my first post in the HEA Cafe. I’m very excited to be here. I’m going to be talking about using two pen names.
The conventional wisdom is to pick a genre and a name and establish yourself there before branching out into other genres and using other names. So, did I follow conventional wisdom? Nope. Some imp of perversity pinched me and I now have two pen names in two genres. Actually, since the two books I sold were so different I didn’t want any of my readers to get content shock.
As Darcy McKenna, I write romantic suspense. My debut novel is out currently in e-book format and will be out in print October 19th from The Wild Rose Press. The premise of FATED LOVE is soul mates. And what happens if someone who isn’t your soul mate believes he is.
As Renee Russell, I write historical fiction with a literary slant. My debut novel as Renee came out this past January. KATE’S PRIDE is a cross between Gone With The Wind and To Kill A Mockingbird.
So, now I’m out there in the real world and the internet world trying to build a base for two different names at the same time. That can be a little confusing for me. I have to make sure I write down which name I’m promoting at a given time. Am I Darcy for this promotion or am I Renee? Or am I both? Gah!!!
I actually had two separate websites for a brief period, but that became a problem because there’s not enough time in the day to work my day job, write more novels, promote the two that are out there and try to keep up with two websites. So I contacted my web host company and asked them to walk me through the process to fix it so that no matter which name or website is entered into the search the person will end up at one website. That’s worked out much much better.
So, what do y’all think? Have I made my life that much harder by using two pen names at the beginning of my career? I know there are others out there who have done this too. How is it working out for you?
Darcy
aka Renee
I find it hard enough to remember who Kate Pearce is sometimes, and I only changed half my name
I’m sticking with the one name for a while.
September 25th, 2007 at 1:32 pmIt will be interesting to see how you can blend and build the two names!
Wow, that has to be tough but given the fact you write in two so different genres, it’s a great idea. Good luck!
September 26th, 2007 at 4:12 amThanks ladies!
Darcy
September 26th, 2007 at 6:09 amI feel your pain.[g] I find it difficult enough reminding people who know me as “me” that I’m also Darlene Marshall.
Fortunately, all the local booksellers know me so when someone comes in and says “Do you have ______’s book? She writes under a pen name and I can’t remember it.”
But I think you’re right to keep the names separate for different genres. That’s why I’m Darlene Marshall in romance. If I ever write a SF novel, I’ll want to use my own name.
September 26th, 2007 at 8:31 amI think it is a good service to your readers to use different names when writing in two different genres. Makes things easier. For instance when you pick up an Amanda Quick you know what type book your getting vs. a Jayne Ann Krentz or Jayne Castle. I happen to love all three genres but there may be some who don’t care for the futuristic type under Jayne Castle.
Ree
September 26th, 2007 at 9:13 am