Do you write under a pen name?

I right under my real name but my id is my aka - byfaithonly. I hope you get going on Helium faster than I did - a member over a year before I finally posted an article.

Yes, my pen name on Associated Content and Helium is Janet Jenson and on Triond it is drAnn. Feel free to add me as a friend on any of those.

I've been writing for more years than I'm willing to admit, and I've rarely used the same name twice. I wanted to remain anonymous. Recently, I was asked to write for a publication that I enjoy reading, and I sent in the article under my own name. I'm not sure if I'll ever do that again. I prefer not to hear from readers except through my agent, who just boils whatever comments there are down and gives me an overview. Back in the mid-1980s, I was on the Executive Board of the Society of Professional Journalists, and I wrote a column for 'Quill" magazine for many years. The columns must have seemed as if they were written by many people, because I kept changing pen names, but when it was an article about the profession, the Board decided I had to use my own name. I found that very uncomfortable, and I honestly squirmed in my crawly skin when people acknowledged or even complimented my work. It did allow me to become friends with a number of professionals whose work I admire, but I still hated it. Give me a pen name, amny time!

It is up to you if you want to use your real name or not, but if you choose a pen name, do make it a serious name. If you want to sell to publishers they will want to know you are a serious writer, so you should have a profile picture and a bio on your About Me page at Helium. I did this and I have sold six articles there in the past month. Once you decide on which name to use, your work can be found in search engines under that name, so it is better to have an unusual name, rather than a common one which will bring up results of everyone else with the same name.

I am also trying to write now, not in Helium, but in Shvoong and Triond. Because I think it is hard for me to write on Helium, which need more writing skills and knowledge. I like to use a pen name which I can make myself and have some meaning for me.

Hi again sweet. I write under a pen name. I joined a few writing sites so far and decided to use a pen name because the said it was a good idea. Since I don't know what I'm doing yet I picked a name, it's mystique10. That was the name (without10) of my first cat. I was hoping it would be lucky (although she wasn't). I figured I could always change it. I'm already using an alias here! I'm starting to forget my real name! I joined this site hoping that it would help my writers block. So far I don't think it's helping a whole lot! It is helping me write, just not with the discussion starting. So when it comes to picking topics to write on I'm pushing myself to do it. I figure it will get easier the more I keep at it and I am determined because I always loved to write. My Professor in English in College told me that I should become a writer so I'm taking her word for it 30+ years later. The say it's never too late!

I have not done enough there to get paid yet. I let it lapse for several months. I have ten, or twelve articles there. I think I am Heather E. Hartz. I will have to check sometime and see. I find it fun, and challenging to fit the titles. Some people do not like to rate, but I do not mind it. You have to rate as well as write to earn, I think.

I'm on Helium too. And I don't do pen names. I'd rather have my stuff be seen under my real name. And I don't really know why that is. I guess part of me would feel kind of weird being under a pen name. It's almost as if I don't exist. That sounds strange, but it's true. And I don't really know much about tips, but keep writing at your best.