Bernard Bertram – On Writing Under a Pseudonym

#ArmedWithABingo check-ins are coming closer and now it is time to learn more about the amazing authors who have their book up for giveaways for this quarter. We will start with Bernard Bertram. Scribbler of dark, Epic Fantasy, Bernard Bertram pens the Orcblood Legacy series, following his beloved orc protagonist: Fangdarr. Bertram loves fantasy and through his writing an exploration, has learned that even fantasy worlds have much to fear and glory to obtain. His book, Orcblood Legacy: Honor is part of the #ArmedWithABingo Quarter 1 giveaway – be sure to check out this epic fantasy on Goodreads. But first: Did you know that Bernard Bertram is actually a pseudonym? When I learned that, I wanted to know all about it and share it with you on Creator’s Roulette! So here goes…

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My name is not Bernard Bertram. It’s a persona I’ve created and cultured for the purpose of my writing, something I consider a necessity for the average writer.

But first, let’s break ground on a very important question first:

What is a name?

This is something people often never consider or ask themselves. Why? It’s just a name, right? Well, you’re not wrong. But what exactly does a name do? It all comes down to one single word – identification.

Your name is you. You are recognized by that label that was given to you at birth (or later selected by yourself). Try this quick exercise: Think of the name John, what person’s face comes to mind? Then what? Their voice, their laugh, their personality?

You’ve just ‘pulled up the file’ so-to-speak on a specific person all because their name was said. Cool, right? Picking a pseudonym gives you the ability to re-define yourself as someone of your choosing, should you want to. That leads us into our first reason for utilizing a pseudonym.

Separation.

We, as people, all have our own lives, jobs, etc. While writing may be a large part of that, the two can clash heavily. We have enemies or those who would cherish the chance to see us fail. By releasing content under your real name, you’re linking your real life to your writing, much to the downfall of many aspiring writers.

That old acquaintance you accidentally insulted three years ago? Well, they held a grudge, and your book reviews are the perfect place for them to exact their long-brewing vengeance. Is that a bit paranoid? Sure, it is. But can it really be considered paranoia when it happens all the time?

When you’re an amateur writer, reviews and ratings can really be the life or death of your work. You rely on them to be positive, as even a single bad review can result in a prospective buyer walking away. This goes hand-in-hand with another key factor of separation, which is that your writer persona (whether your real name or a pseudonym) needs to walk on egg shells.

You MUST exhibit a sense of professionalism and patience as a writer. Your reviews are a huge target for retaliation. Separating your personal life from your writing life allows you to ‘be yourself’, while leaving a strictly professional demeanor in your writing persona.

Trust me, this is paramount as an amateur writer.

In addition to keeping distinct personas for work and play, choosing your own name can be beneficial. Author’s names, in addition to being used as a form of identification, are sometimes scrutinized by readers. This can be fairly rare, but I’ve met a few readers who have strict expectations of the writer’s name (or gender) based on the genre they write.

(Sarcasm incoming) Erotic romance writer isn’t named “Elusive Temptress”? Pfft, are they even qualified to write smut? Science Fiction author uses the name “John Brown”? Meh, he should’ve chosen “Professor Astronaut” to show he knows what he’s talking about!

Okay, okay, so those are obviously very extreme. Let’s get a little more realistic.

Did you know that J. K. Rowling – the first billionaire (female or male) author in the world chose to write under J. K. because she didn’t want people to know she was female? In 2020, that seems outrageous, but it’s not. There are still plenty of readers who think certain genders are not ‘allowed’ to write within genres – or at the very least will disregard any titles written by that gender.

Obviously, that’s something a lot of people will disagree with and don’t do. But it does happen. While it’s really a terrible thing to consider, that writers are choosing either pseudonyms or initialing their names in order to hide themselves from readers. For most, those sort of things don’t matter. Unfortunately, for others they do.

With that bit of daunting knowledge stocked, let’s move on to the last reason for choosing to use a pseudonym. It’s FUN!

Choosing the Pseudonym

I remember the day I chose Bernard Bertram. Apparently, I’m a sucker for the alliteration. But I pulled up a long list of male names and just started going through it, writing down any I thought had even the slightest ring to it on a white board. I started at A, then moved to B, documenting probably 5 – 7 names in total.

I had Bernard on my list already, then I hit Bertram on the list shortly after. I managed to make it a few more names (though never made it to the C’s) before I stopped dead in my tracks. All to consider:

BERNARD BERTRAM

I looked to my wife (who was thoroughly enjoying my monumental seriousness over picking the name I would pen for myself) and said, “Why don’t I hate that? I should hate it, but I don’t.”

She agreed with the exact same sentiment and laughed at me as I tried to force myself to look back to the giant list of names I still had to parse through. And when I started to erase every other name on my whiteboard, leaving nothing but Bernard and Bertram left, she laughed even louder.

Pick your poison, because you’re essentially rebranding yourself.

I still catch myself from saying my real name when people address me as Bernard, as signing books is certainly a chore, but I’ve grown accustomed to it enough that now I’ll respond when someone calls out Bernard. It’s not quite at the point where I feel equally comfortable as my real name, but it’s catching up quickly. And I love it.

All in all, it’s your choice to take the plunge and redefine yourself under a pseudonym or use your existing name. For those of you who have a bit of notoriety under your given name, it may be a much better idea to ride that wave to increase your book sales. That’s really the biggest downside to using a new name. You’re starting at 0. You’re completely anonymous with no reputation and have to put in the effort to build it.

But, when you do, you’ll be who you want.

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If you are a reader: does it ever surprise you when the name of an author ends up being a pseudonym?

If you are a writer: Do you currently write under one or multiple pseudonym(s)? How did you choose them?

Want to connect with Bernard? Find him on Twitter, Facebook and his website. His book, Orcblood Legacy: Honor is part of the #ArmedWithABingo Quarter 1 giveaway – be sure to check out this epic fantasy on Goodreads.

Cover  Photo of pen by Art Lasovsky on Unsplash