If Only I Could Remember My Name

When I write factual pieces – magazine articles, web pages and the like – I invariably use the name Shaun Finnie. It’s convenient, and it’s mine.

Fiction writing is a different matter though. I’ve published stories (and let’s be honest, that’s what a fiction writer does all day: tells lies) under several different noms de plume, depending on the tale and its market.  For example a rough and ready ‘lads mag’ story might be sent to the magazine under the name of Lee Barker. If the market I’m writing for is aimed more at the upper class Englishman then I’d probably submit work as Simon Harper; it just seems more suitable for that field. Simon’s sister Gemma Harper has made several appearances when I’ve been writing for the women’s magazine market where it’s more difficult to be accepted as a male writer, or occasionally I’ve used the more ambiguous name of Chris Daniels for them too.

My point is that, just as I tailor my work to my market, so do I adapt the author’s name. It really doesn’t matter to me; the cheque gets made out to S P Finnie whatever.

When preparing a piece recently for an Irish magazine I decided to make my name sound even more Irish than it already does. I’m always getting mail addressed to ‘Sean Finney’ so I thought I’d try that pseudonym to see if it fit the piece better. If I’m using a pen name I always do a quick check to see that there isn’t already a working writer using that name. I wouldn’t want to tread on anybody’s toes, or for them to get my payment by mistake! 

All of the names I’ve used above are all mine, I don’t know of anyone else that writes under those. But a slightly altered version of my own name, the one I’ve had to live with for over forty years since my parents decided against calling me ‘Carl’ at the last minute? Yes, there’s an American poet doing very nicely publishing as Sean Finney.

So here’s today’s question: Should I (or any other writer for that matter) have to change my name to fit my writing style and the demands of the market? Or should I stick proudly to my birthright even though it would probably lose me some commissions?

What would you do?

© Shaun Finnie 2011