Apparently, puppy is not amused: A Discussion on Brand Name Authors

[kalenodonnell]

Blame Courtney for the title.

Bitch.

Well, it's been a good while since you've all been treated to a nice, long, Kate-style rant.  Why, I believe there are some people now on my F-list who have never been treated to a Kate rant, and don't get the reference!  Don't worry.  You're not missing much.  Anyways, lo, I am annoyed.  BUT, I shall try and turn

Comments

[polarthestral]

Maybe it's the influence of fanfiction but I actually wish authors that write in multiple genres would just use their regular pen name. I mention fanfic because even fanfic authors do it when they write in different fandoms. Thus, if you really like their work it can be hard to find what other stuff they've written. Personally, I don't care about genres. I like authors, not genres, and I can read anything as long as I enjoy the writing. I'm not a sci-fi girl, I don't really have a favourite genre and for someone like me it is annoying when I don't know one of my favourite authors actually writes under another name in a different genre. I'd be missing out on reading all their other work.

I like that James Patterson started writing sci-fi teen novels without changing his pen name. I like that Markus Zusak also has different teen novels that he wrote long before branching out into "The Book Thief." You can even find a fantasy kids book by Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame and she didn't change her pen name either. I much prefer that. Maybe it is brave and it's more likely that critics will debate over which genre you're better suited to rather than how great it is you can write both.

I can see why a writer would be advised to hide their identity. People do like things to be simple, especially when it comes to marketing. Ambiguous figures either rise above the debate and are considered masters of different forms (rare) or a jack of all trades, master of none. If you dabble in everything, it can be seen by someone uncomfortable with that as a failing, like you have yet to discover your niche in the literary world. I suppose the idea is that you need two big identities that have good reputations in their respective genres, like in the case of Nora Roberts, is a best-selling reputation in romance what you want as a marketing line on the cover of your first crime novel? That's what the name Nora Roberts is.

Personally, it annoys me when authors change their names, especially when their usual pen name is still used to sell the author in their new genre. I don't see why they bother using Nora Roberts's pseudonym anymore. It bugs me. Because it actually says on the book: "Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb" so...what's the point? Honestly. It's not like it's a secret that she's writing in another genre, once you use the original writer's identity to sell the new identity, that new identity is swallowed by the old. They do this to boost sales in the same way that they don't sell Stephen King's novels by Richard Bachman without STEPHEN KING on the novel in big shiny letters. Because if people don't know who the hell Richard Bachman is, the book isn't going to sell with the same instantaneous street cred as Stephen King.

SO WHAT'S THE POINT?

This puzzles me.

TBC...