We all have our heroes. Some of them are bold, leaping over buildings in a single bound, while others are more subtle, working as mild-mannered reporters in their local newsroom. Superman, aka Clark Kent, is not the only superhero to have a secret identity.

Superheroes and Secret Identities

• Batman / Bruce Wayne
• Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff
• Catwoman / Selina Kyle
• Spiderman / Peter Parker
• Wonder Woman / Diana Prince

Having an alter ego allows these superheroes to go about and live regular lives. It protects their loved ones from retribution. Better yet, it keeps the element of surprise in play so that the bad guys don’t see them coming.

You don’t need superpowers or a cape to do good in the world, but like many of the superheroes out there, you may choose to have a secret identity, especially if you are a writer. After all, writing a book is a superpower too!

Famous Authors Who Started Out with Pen Names

Many writers out there publish under a nom de plume, aka a literary alter ego. There are many reasons for this. They may want to use a name that’s easier to pronounce or they may simply want to keep their writing persona private.

Imagine the double entendre if romance writer Angela Knight used her real name, Julie Woodcock. People could have thought that was a made-up name used to entice readers!

Real Name	Pen Name
Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum	Ayn Rand
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson	Lewis Caroll
Daniel Handler	Lemony Snicket
Eric Arthur Blair	George Orwell
Howard Allen Frances O’Brien (named after her dad)	Anne Rice, Anne Rampling, A. N. Roquelaure
Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski	Joseph Conrad
Marguerite Annie Johnson	Maya Angelou
Samuel Langhorne Clemens	Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass
Theodor Seuss Geisel	Dr. Seuss, L. Pasteur, L. Burbank, D. G. Rossetti
William Sydney Porter	O. Henry

Already Famous Writers Who Use Pen Names

Some authors are already successful in their own right but choose to write under a pen name too. Perhaps it is to show that their writing is good enough even when the publisher does not know who they are based on name alone.

That said, there may be reasons beyond the ego to use a pseudonym. An author may want to write in different genres or may want to avoid overexposure. After all, not everyone can write at breakneck speeds like some of these folks.

Real Name	Pen Name
Agatha Christie	Mary Westmacott
Stephen King	Richard Bachman
Dean Koontz	Aaron Wolfe, Anthony North, Brian Coffey, David Axton, Deanna Dwyer, John Hill, K. R. Dwyer, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige
Jayne Krentz	Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle
Madeleine Wickman	Sophie Kinsella
Nora Roberts	J. D. Robb, Jill March, Sarah Hardesty

Women Writers Who Use Male or Gender-Neutral Pen Names

Unfortunately, there is a gender gap in the publishing world just as there is in most other industries. Back in the day, women were not considered marketable. They are more accepted as writers these days but studies show they may not be paid as much as men.

With that in mind, some women writers took it upon themselves to use pen names that took their gender out of the equation. For example, when romance author Nora Roberts (born Eleanor Marie Robertson) started the futuristic In Death series, she decided to go with the gender-neutral name of J.D. Robb instead. Perhaps she thought that a male name would be more appealing to readers of sci-fi. Now that her cover is blown and she continues to sell millions of J. D. Robb books every year, she knows better!

Real Name	Pen Name
Louisa May Alcott	A. M. Barnard (most everything but Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys)
Anne Bronte	Acton Bell (Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
Charlotte Bronte	Currer Bell (Jane Eyre)
Emily Bronte	Ellis Bell (Wuthering Heights)
Mary Ann Evans	George Eliot (Middlemarch)
Erika Leonard	E. L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey series)
Joanna Rowling	J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter series) and Robert Galbraith (The Cuckoo’s Calling)
Pamela Lyndon Travers	P. L. Travers (Mary Poppins series)

What about you? Do you use a pen name and why?