Pen Names

I guess a pen name is really something you shouldn't worry about until you actually have a book to put it on, but I want to be prepared so I've already been giving it a lot of thought. Plus, it's just fun to daydream about every aspect of my career.

The idea of a pen name is something that really requires some extra thought anyway. Like trying to figure out whether to even use one... That's a really big decision. There's a part of me that has always wanted to see my name on the cover of a book in a bookstore. My real name. And have people from various stages in my life say to themselves, "Wow, I used to know a girl by that name", then pick up the book and see that it's me. On the other hand, there's something to be said for anonymity.

I'm sure the craziest of fans will find an author no matter what. But I also imagine becoming a best-seller is a lot like winning the lottery - everyone wants a piece. People probably start coming out of the woodwork thinking that you have tons of money now and can help them out in some way, either by getting their book to your agent or giving them money outright. With a carefully guarded pen name, not even your neighbors know who you are. That could be a very good thing. Especially if I really do make it as big as I want to someday as a writer.

My closest friends and family will know anyway, but it's the mass of crazies out there who won't know my real name, and there is some comfort in that. I think I even have a name picked out: Abigail Rice. (And don't worry, the crazies still won't know just because I posted it here years before I got famous... after all this blog doesn't say my real name either... er, I don't think anyway :P might have to work on the whole "guarding" the pen name thing, but oh well.)

Abigail for the fact that my parents came extremely close to naming me that in the first place. Rice because it is a family maiden name. I know there's already an Ann Rice and she's more famous than I could ever dream of being, but that doesn't mean that Abigail Rice is a bad pen name. Hopefully not anyway. I'm sure my editor will tell me if it is someday. I need to have another 2 or three I like as backup just in case I actually sell something and my editor wants me to pick a different name. Any suggestions?? Feel free to share :)