The Word Cloud

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on pseudonyms. I'm going down the self-publishing route - mainly because I'm tired of being rejected and want my book to be published. But I don't want to use my real name and am concerned about copyright, royalties, getting paid for my work, etc. Is there anything I should be doing prior to publishing under a pseudonym?

Google it and see what happens.

I'd suggest asking the Society of Authors.

I write under a pseudonym, in that I use my maiden name and I am paid in my married name. If you sign a contract for your book, you expain the situation and ask for it the contract to be made out in your 'official' name. I've been doing this for almost 25 years and have never had a problem with it.

The self-pub route may be subtly different to the trad pub route in that it's a lot simpler, because the publisher doesn't have much at stake and won't be organising any interviews for you on 'Newsnight Review'. Nor will they be commissioning any books nor paying advances.
The definitive answer can - and should - be cleared up by asking the self-pub company themselves as to how they pay income streams.
I recently toured a self-pub outfit to see how they worked, and it seems to me that the 'account holder' - i.e. the real you, and the 'author' - whatever random group of letters you chose to write on the spine - need not be one and the same. In fact, their relationship is irrelevant.
You - as the account holder - can put whatever you like on the cover of your self-pubbed book (provided it's not libellous and so on).
However, different self-pubbers may vary in the details, so they are the ones best placed to answer your question, I think.

You would need to make sure that the name which is listed for copyright is water-tight, though. With things like Google Books it becomes every more important to make sure your copyright work is traceable back to the real you.

IT really depends on your reasons for writing under a pseudonym, I'd suggest. If you really, really need to hide because of what you're writing about, it's a bit different from just using one name because it's more memorable, or different names to differentiate the different genres you write in.

Thank you for all your replies. I think that clears it up for me.

I have what might seem a rather unimportant question in relatiogn to these matters...

I wouldn't say it's a 'fake' signature, but it's the signature of the author whose name is on the cover. And so, yes, if that were me, I'd sign the book using the pseudonym. Otherwise, think how confusing it would be for the recipient! (Unless, of course, it's someone who knows who you really are, when they may prefer you to use your real name.)

A thought - perhaps the alternative term 'pen name' seems to sum up the situation? Pen names are traditional and I shall be using one. Keeping my first name, however.

Sorry, don't think that was particularly well phrased - tired!

On Smashwords and Amazon, you can self-publish under any damn name you like. They have your email address so they know who you really are (and you have a password known only to you and them, therefore making it impossible for somebody to 'pretend' to be you). Thus your copyright is as secure as your status as a customer.

i'm thinking of going down this route in the not too distant future. I'm starting to re-push my 2nd novel in the new year, didnt push it too hard in th. e autumn/winter, around 5 or 6 agents & then started messing with it. I've told myself I'll push for a good 6 months, maybe 9, then I'll consider putting it on Kindle myself. I have no interest in trad self publishing whatsoever, & have my doubts on Kindle as well as its not gone through a successful critique stage, but possibly in for a penny.....