“An assumed name used by a writer instead of their real name; a pen-name:” Oxford Dictionary
I will start this by saying I understand why some writers feel the need to use a pen name, maybe they are are writing in a genre they are not usually known for. Or they want to see how well their writing does in a different genre after being successful in a particular one.
J K Rowling did exactly this, to try her hand at Crime she used the pen name Robert Gilbraith ( I realize this is not new information but a bit of background before my point)
What I din’t understand is why she is continuing with this name, posters in my local Waterstones saying “buy the new Robert Gilbraith novel by JK Rowling”…… whats the point now. The original idea was to see how her new book in a different genre sold when it didn’t have her own name. It didn’t sell very well at all until it was “leaked” that it was Rowling who was the writer, then the sales came.
Don’t get me wrong I think JK Rowling is an amazing writer and I love the world she created, I just think the experiment is over so instead of still using the pen name and printing on the book and advertising that it was written by her, why not just put her own name on the book, we already know she can write.
