Juggling Two Author Platforms, Is it Worth it?

By Charity Bradford, @charitybradford

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: It’s hard enough managing one author career, but what happens when you have a pen name that needs equal treatment? Please help me welcome Charity Bradford to the lecture hall today, to share tips on juggling multiple author platforms.

Charity Bradford has been a voracious reader ever since her 5th grade teacher introduced her to the world of books with WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. She soon became kindred spirits with Anne Shirley and got lost in the worlds of Card, McCaffrey, Bradbury, and Nagata. By college, she was sewing her own Starfleet uniform and developing her alter-ego as a comic book sidekick. She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her hubby and four kids. Some of her guilty pleasures include binge watching Doctor Who and Ancient Aliens. Charity also writes clean contemporary romance under the name River Ford.

Website | Website (River Ford) Newsletter Sign-up | Charity on Facebook | River on Facebook |Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Take it away Charity…

Pseudonyms, Noms de Plume, Pen Names, or Not?

By Charity Bradford, @charitybradford

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: One choice writers have to make when they choose to publish is whether or not to use a pen name. There's no right or wrong answer, it's just what suits that writer best. Charity Bradford visits the lecture hall today to share some advice on deciding if you need a pen name or not.

Charity Bradford has been a voracious reader ever since her 5th-grade teacher introduced her to the world of books with Where the Red Fern Grows. She soon became kindred spirits with Anne Shirley and got lost in the worlds of Card, McCaffrey, Bradbury, and Nagata. By college, she was sewing her own Starfleet uniform and developing her alter-ego as a comic book sidekick.

She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her hubby and four kids. Some of her guilty pleasures include binge watching Doctor Who and Ancient Aliens. Charity also loves Hallmark movies which led to her writing clean romance under the name River Ford.

Website | Newsletter Sign-up | Charity on Facebook | River on Facebook |
Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Take it away Charity...

On Pen Names, Cover Art & Reader Betrayal

By Gail Carriger, @gailcarriger

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: With more and more writers writing in more and more genres and markets, how to distinguish which book is which is a growing problem. Please help me welcome back Gail Carriger to the lecture hall today, to share her thoughts and reasons behind why an author might choose to use a pen name to maintain brand and book integrity.

Gail Carriger writes comedies of manners mixed with paranormal romance (and the sexy San Andreas Shifter series as G.L. Carriger). Her steampunk books include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Supernatural Society, and Delightfully Deadly series for adults, and the Finishing School series for young adults. She is published in many languages and has over a dozen NYT bestsellers. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, octopuses, and tea.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr

Take it away Gail...

Hitting the Reboot Button: How to (Re)launch Your Career: Part One

By Jana Oliver, @crazyauthorgirl

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Please welcome our newest indie author contributor, Jana Oliver. She'll be here the third Thursday of every month starting in 2017.

Fifteen years ago I launched my career as an author. It proved to be a lengthy struggle to gain name recognition as I went from being an independently published author, to a small press, and finally onto one of the “Big Five” publishing houses. There I became an international bestselling author.

In 2016, I started over from scratch. Why? Because I wanted to write romantic suspense under a pseudonym, and I wanted to find out if it was “easier” to launch a new author in today's publishing environment. Back in 2001 there were limited ways to connect with potential readers via the internet. Now? We’re obsessed with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Has all that made a difference when you’re new or starting over?

Indie Choices: To Pen Name or Not to Pen Name

By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedy
 
Part of the Indie Author Series

In traditional publishing, many of the choices are taken out of our hands, including sometimes whether or not to use a pen name. As independent authors, this becomes another choice we’re able to make ourselves based on what we think is best for our situation and our business.

Authors use pen names in a few different ways, so this month I wanted to walk through some of our options and the pros and cons of each.

Putting on Your Clark Kent Glasses (or Aliases, Pseudonyms, and Secret Identities)

By James R. Tuck, @JamesTuckwriter

Part of the How They Do It Series

What name to write under is a question many authors face at various times in their careers. Sometimes it's their choice, other times not. James R. Tuck steps up to the podium today to share some insights on writing under a pseudonym.

James was born and raised in Georgia and grew up drawing and reading a steady helping of Robert E. Howard stories, Golden Age comics, and books he was far too young to be reading. Combined with a very Southern involvement in church and watching horror movies, this became the bedrock of his creativity. He became a tattoo artist, and now writes dark fantasy. He's the author of the Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series, a variety of short stories and novellas set in the same world (and some outside of it), and the editor of the Thunder on the Battlefield anthologies. His newest series (co-written with Debbie Viguie), Robin Hood: Demon's Bane, comes out in the fall.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Take it away James...