Should I Use a Pen Name? When and How to Create A Good One

Before deciding whether to use your true identity or a pen name (also known as a nom de plume, alias, fake name, or pseudonym) for your low-content books you’ll want to consider several factors.

Choosing the right author name can help build a strong brand and help position your brand as the go-to source for books in your niche. The result? More sales! 

Conversely, choosing the wrong author name can make you look like an amateur, which can hurt your legitimacy and reduce your perceived value. The result? There’s a good chance your books will sit around on your Amazon bookshelf collecting virtual dust.

Even worse, picking the wrong name can result in your books being rejected by Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) altogether. 

In this article, you’ll learn:

• what to consider when trying to decide whether to publish under your real name or a pen name
• how to choose a compelling pen name that will help create a strong brand that will bring customers back again and again
• how to create a pen name that won’t get rejected by KDP

You can learn more by watching this video or reading below for a summary of everything I discuss. 

(This post contains affiliate links, which means—at zero cost to you—I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for your support!)

Should I Publish Under My Own Name or Use a Pen Name 

There are a variety of reasons why a writer or creator might choose to publish under a pseudonym rather than his/her true identity. Here are my recommendations for when you, as a writers or content creator, should use your real name:

• you are already well-known in your space and you have an audience of people who might actively seek out and purchase something because it’s associated with your name.
• you’ve achieved semi-celebrity status
• you’re a published author and you’ve created a companion piece to a novel or work of nonfiction writing such as a prompted journal, notebook, workbook, or planner
• you’re a famous author, artist, coach, or leader in your space

Some notable authors who publish low-content books under their own names include:

• Keri Smith, creator of the wildly popular prompted journal series, Wreck This Journal 
• Latoya Nicole, author, publisher, and entrepreneur who created Entrepreneurs Color Too 
• Meera Lee Patel, artists and author of the Start Where You Are Journal

Additionally, if your books fall more into the “medium-content” category and you’re trying to personally build some authority in your space, you may want to use your real identity. 

The main point is that if your name holds some sort of caché (or may in the future) you should use your true identity because it will serve to draw shoppers in. 

If none of these points sound like you, I recommend choosing a compelling pseudonym, or “brand” name, for your low-content books. 

The Do’s and Don’ts of Creating a Good Pen Name

If you’ve decided that you want to publish under a pen name, here are a few points to consider. 

Don’t Use Keywords in Your Pen Name

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) generally does not allow keywords in author names. In the early days of KDP, using keywords in a pen name or brand was a VERY effective way to get your books seen. I used keywords myself in two of my main brand names. Any time someone typed that keyword into the Amazon search bar, my author profile would come up as the first or second result. Clicking on my name would take searchers to my author page to browse all of my books.

Nowadays, KDP will often reject books with an author name that contains keywords. I’ve known more than one person who had published regularly under a brand name until suddenly KDP decided the name was not allowed because it contained keywords. Anytime a successful brand is stopped in its tracks it’s a tough pill to swallow.

My advice is to leave keywords out of your names altogether so you can save yourself a major headache down the road. 

Don’t Use Names That Are Personal to You but Meaningless to Your Audience

I’ve seen a number of author names that are clearly either the person’s business name (which may or may not have anything to do with the topics of their books) or makes some sort of reference to their master plan of making a ton of money on KDP.

Names such as “My Self-Publishing Empire Press” or “Millionaire by 30 Publications” aren’t going to do anything for your perceived legitimacy, so avoid them. 

Now that we’ve established what not to do, let’s move into our list of things you should do when choosing a pen name.

Do Think About Relevancy to Your Target Market

Your brand name should make sense to your target market and be related to your overall theme or niche. Sure, you can simply pick a pen name using a random name generator on the web, but why not choose something that resonates with your target audience?

For example, if you publish a lot of cat-themed books, you could call your brand Cat’s Pajamas Press. If you publish a lot of travel themed books, you could call your brand The Flying Suitcase, or something along those lines.

If you publish books with many different themes, think about whether there’s some sort of overarching trait that ties them all together. Consider any unique visual styles of your books. For example, if you like to work with abstract designs, perhaps your brand could be called “Creative Abstractions.” 

Or maybe your books feature vibrant colors so you call your brand “A Colorful Life Publications”. You get the idea! Whatever you choose should be relevant and give shoppers a general sense of the types of books they can expect from your brand. 

Some notable brands are:

• Modern Kid Press—This brand doesn’t tie the author down to one ultra-specific niche, but it lets you know that all of their books are geared toward kids. The use of the word modern makes the brand feel current.
• Crazy Tired Beetches—This brand doesn’t point out exactly the type of books it publishes, but it’s a name that speaks directly to its target market. The name will strongly attract its ideal customers while simultaneously pushing away anyone who’s not an ideal customer, which is exactly what you want to be doing. If you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll end up appealing to no one.

Do Trademark Research

Before selecting a pen name, always do a search on Amazon and on Google and do a trademark search using the USTPO database. Even just doing a basic search in Amazon’s search bar can help you determine if there is the potential for trademark infringement.  

You want something that’s truly unique and isn’t going to cause confusion for shoppers. Also, it’s extremely annoying when another publisher starts using your already established brand name. This happened to me a couple years ago when another publisher started publishing under my exact brand name. Suddenly, dozens of extremely poor quality books started showing up on my author page! 

To fix this I had to manually go through all of the books on Author Central and remove them. This was a waste of my valuable time. Unfortunately, it’s not against the rules to use the same author name as someone else. Additionally, since I hadn’t trademarked my name there wasn’t much else I could do. Fortunately that publisher didn’t last very long, probably due to the low quality of their books.  

A search on Google will help ensure that no one else is using your name in a similar industry. Similarly, search the USPTO database to verify that your name hasn’t been registered for a trademark.

Technically, it shouldn’t matter if someone has registered that trademark in an industry that has nothing to do with publishing, books, stationery, etc.; however, I would steer clear of those names anyway. If that company decides to expand its offerings later, there’s the potential for some legal issues. 

A Final Word on Pen Names

In this article you’ve learned some valid points to consider when deciding whether to use your real name or a pen name as your KDP author name. This choice is an important strategic marketing decision that will help attract your ideal customers. 

That said, it’s also important not to spend weeks deliberating a name. Just be thoughtful and make sure you’re considering how your customers will receive the name you choose. 

Remember, a compelling brand name will boost your marketing efforts by helping you build a strong business presence. This will keep your brand top of mind when customers are ready to buy.