[Drew68]

I think Stephen King pulled the same stunt with his low-selling Richard Bachman books. No one bought them for their ‘stand alone’ merits so they were linked to the big name to sell.

Steven King wrote as Richard Bachman due to contractual obligations. He was so prolific at the time, cranking out novels faster than the publishers could promote, market and release them so he started writing as Bachman as to not interfere with the sales of Steven King books.

[ArtDodger]

That may be the case but when they didn’t sell, they were quickly linked to the best selling author’s name to boost sales...