To Nym or Not to Nym
I've thought frequently about whether or not it would be right for me to publish something under a pseudonym, should I ever get to that point with my writing. Like anything else, there are pros and cons, so let's explore that, shall we?
I guess the real thing that attracts me to a pen name is the anonymity and the freedom anonymity grants. I feel like it would allow me to forget the worries of what people will think of me--they're probably baseless anyway, but try telling my brain that. Also, it might let me get some truly objective feedback from my friends and relatives that might otherwise be less than honest in their opinion. Close friends and relatives would not be fooled, as they're an integral part of my writing process, but it's a neat tool to have.
Now, I rebel against the idea of hiding from my critics. If it's worthy of being published (and it's a novel--different story for magazine short stories and stuff) then it's probably not crap anyway. I'm proud of who I am and what I've accomplished so far, so why should I hide? The lack of objectivity on the part of acquaintances and such is a real issue, but I'm sure I could trust my close friends and family to be honest and unbiased, especially if I begged them for real criticism.
Maybe I can follow both paths. I doubt I'd publish a novel under another name, but there's a certain amount of fun I can have with a pseudonym that might make it worth using for short stories. Just something to think about some more I guess.
Update: As an afterthought, since I'm interested in exploring several different genres, it might be a good idea to separate them by the name I write under. There's something to be said for keeping your reputation as a writer under a particular name pure.
