Writing/Publishing under a "Pen Name": FRiend Needs Advice

Brief Vanity | May 17, 2007 | Self

[Wings-n-Wind]

I promised I would ask of the wisdom well that abides on this FR forum...
(The Moderator's indulgence is begged... herewith for a brief vanity post!)

Is anyone on the forum aware of resources or possess the personal expertise that might help a newbie commentator/author jump through all the legal hoops for publishing & copyrighting (articles & short books) while using a pen name (Nom de Plume/Nom de Guerre)

The initial works are several articles that will knock the stuffings out of the premises of the left...
...AND...
...Awaken/enlighten right-thinking Americans and the community of faith, as this election cycle moves forward.

All aspects of this enterprise need to be completely legal...
...And completely protected:
...BY COPYRIGHT (for research and intellectual properties)

...AND completely protected:
...BY ANONYMITY (The budding author has young children to provide for... and to protect!)

Soooo..... is anyone able to point the way forward??

Thanks in advance...

[Red Badger]

Here’s some advice: Do not use Salmon Rushdie as your pen name.......

[Citizen Tom Paine]

I would check with a Patent/copyright attorney first. Then I would check with a local writer’s group for leads.

[Missus]

http://www.copyright.gov

[No Truce With Kings]

Are you self publishing or having someone else publish it?

[PAR35]

See post 4 by Missus.

Here’s an answer to one of your questions:

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl101.html
Pseudonyms

[Argus]

To protect your copyright, you need to do it under your own legal name, but can also add an AKA for your pen name or names on the manuscript you send the copyright office. It’s all on the government website, I believe.

[frankenMonkey]

Anything you create in fixed form is automatically covered by a copyright, you need not do anything further. You can use the standard copyright phrase “Copyright (c) 2007. All rights reserved.” The hard part is enforcing your copyright, meaning taking violators to court.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Anything you create in fixed form is automatically covered by a copyright, you need not do anything further. You can use the standard copyright phrase “Copyright (c) 2007. All rights reserved.” The hard part is enforcing your copyright, meaning taking violators to court.

---

This sounds right to me. I don’t advise on copyright very often, but I have never heard of a requirement that the author use the correct name. Since there is no requirement to apply a (c) notice, there is obviously no requirement to use your correct name. Just do something to show the date, and that you intend it to be protected. Using a pen name does not give an infringer defense.

Don’t worry.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Oh, and the hard part of publishing is to become so widely read that anyone will WANT to copy your work, and to become so successful that you can afford to be so disdainful of publicity that you wouldn’t be grateful for them to use your work (with attribution, of course.)

[GOP Poet]

What venue are you publishing? Book, Internet, magazines? I assume you have no agent, so you are self publishing?

You need to and can legally establish Nom de Plume I believe through the same city/state specific department where one does legal name changes. When I looked into this awhile back it was much harder work then I thought it would be. Mainly because the people in those offices (even in LA where it happens more frequently seemed confused about where this is done, as it doesn't happen that often overall.) The city/state workers in LA seemed very challenged when it comes to having to think for themselves and actually work outside of their robotic established processes.

Look in your local phone book for the governmental area for name change (you may also think too about instead starting a business with a fictitious name. This is in a way what you are doing on a smaller level and this is also why it confuses the government workers and they send you off chasing your tail) and start asking questions, which hopefully will lead you to the right paperwork and department. Once you do this of course you can write to your heart's content :-) and cash checks, open checking accounts etc in that name so it is well worth the effort, besides perceived anonymity.

However, I do caution. One critical factor in non fiction publishing (book) is platform (creating a presence in the public, where people are familiar with your work, responsive to it), or you have good credentials as an 'authority'. The standards are fairly high here. If what you have is earth shattering content, you will in order to be perceived as legitimate, have to show those credentials, and also draw attention to yourself and many times that means making appearances on T.V., radio etc. So unless you are willing to really hide out you and your family, in this day and age, you will eventually be found out. Are you going to wear a paper bag over your head at a radio interview? Although this might make a good gimmick on T.V. to draw attention to the oppression and Nazi types thinking of the left :-)

Fiction? That is a bit of a different story, but still people want to see the person to validate their existence, unless you make this part of your mystique from the beginning. Fiction is great because you can always hide behind the fiction :-)

Good Luck and also remember conservatives don't admire those without 'gonads' (harsh, but true) and being only willing in the U.S. to publish content against the wimpy left behind a shield creates a perception and accurately so that the person is scared and doesn't have the courage of their convictions, enough to stand up for them face to face. So in a way, you may be undermining yourself. Even if people can relate, it won't hinder their strong judgement, especially since there are so many out there that are taking those risks and hits everyday and people will have more admiration for those people and like to watch them stand up to the left in person. It is afterall in the end entertainment and we all like to see supermen and superwomen that can rolemodel where we may feel weak. Vicarious.

Publish small stuff here and there with a Nom De Plume, if you must. If you want to really have a presence, you may need to reexamine whether writing in that venue is worth the fear that you clearly have, you will be living two different lives and after awhile this screws with a person's head and what sort of message does this send your child(ren) about courage and standing up for what you believe in?

I have felt similar feelings to yours and this is why I am sharing the behind the scenes thoughts and opinions. My decision was to either own my strong non fiction voice and enjoy coming out strongly in favor of my convictions or do something else to move to effect change in another venue, not so public and exposing. You may want to think of other ways of effecting change and expressing with more of a veil then a Nom De Plume if it will make your (or your families) life worse by doing it. You can't hide out for long in the Internet world today. Michelle Malkin (spelling?) has family and they support her and she gets that support from others as well, and by using a Nom De Plume, you will additionally deny yourself that support, because no one will know who you are. If you just publish on the Internet and maybe magazines, it may be doable though.

I apologize for the length, but this is a big life changing decision in my opinion, but you can always shift with your new understandings as you go along, too. Maybe for a time you will use the NDP and then eventually feel confident enough about your safety to continue with the NDP but make appearances etc.

Just some stuff to consider. Good luck to you in your writing career and kick some lefty butt!! :-)

[GOP Poet]

By the way, all of what I speak about in the last post is based on your comment:

...AND completely protected: ...BY ANONYMITY (The budding author has young children to provide for... and to protect!)

I assume by this you mean, you will not want to be seen to be identified, as opposed to using a pen name, to draw attention to your new cool name for marketing purposes. It doesn't matter what your name, there is no complete anonymity with a Nom de Plume if you publish your face, make appearances, or others know on a public level who you really are. Just wanted to clarify and put my comments into context.

[Eroteme]

I'm going to take a little time here with my answer because I've seen versions of this question pop up from time to time and perhaps others can benefit from a little explanation.

First, some definitions are in order. Copyright literally means the right to copy. You don't have to do anything to set the right in place; it exists from the moment of the material's inception. It's automatic and belongs to you, the author, for your lifetime plus 70 years.

You may assign your copyright to whomever you wish, which is the case when a publisher "buys your book." In standard publishing contracts, they're not actually buying your book, they're buying the right to copy your writings and publish them. With legitimate, standard publishers, the copyright remains in the author's name. (Note: certain scam, faux publishing houses operate by convincing you otherwise.)

What you're talking about is registering your copyright. Registering the copyright affords no additional protection to that already afforded by your automatic copyright. What it does is make it easier to litigate if there is infringement. So yes, this is something you want to do. But it's not necessary, or even advisable, to do it in the early stages. (A copyright registration covers the work as it precisely exists at the time you file. Any changes to the manuscript create a new work, and will require new registration.)

Typically, a publisher will do all the registering paperwork for you anyway, when the book is in its final form. They'll register in your name.

I assume your question centers on concern that people will steal your idea. While you can protect a product design or invention through trademark and patents, ideas can not be "copyrighted." Copyright involves only the precise expression of an idea; the execution, the writing.

Though myths abound about the prevalence of people an author's writings, fact is that it's rare indeed. The scam artists have found much easier ways to fleece writers by capitalizing on their naivete on how book publishing really works. They use bogus agent scams and faux publishing companies, charging up front fees for everything from editing to printing to cover design--all things legit publishers never charge for. Legit publishers pay the authors, not the other way around. Why skulk around stealing things that you then have to sell to a publisher when you can just get naive writers to believe that they have to pay to get published?

The best way to guard against any bad scene is to be discriminating in who you give your material to. Diligently research potential agents and publishers, making sure you deal only with people with solid reputations for real sales with real books on the shelves in brick and mortar stores. A good site to go to for reserach is Preditors and Editors. (That's the correct spelling.) It's run by the Science Fiction Writers of America, but don't let that throw you off. Their research is extensive and their advice applies across the board. Good luck.

[AZLiberty]

Go to http://blogger.com, create an account, name your blog, choose a template, and post away.

Copyright is automatic. Enforcement is not.

[GOP Poet]

Thanks so much for posting this.

It is my understanding that establishing Nom de Plume and establishing copyright are two very different tasks, even though in the end the Nom de Plume is handled in the copyright paperwork. My understanding is just as a business, Nom de Plume is established locally and the copyright is overall federal, but again establishing one does not establish the other.

In addition to copyright links can anyone give specific information regarding the legal establishment of Nom de Plume? There has to be atleast one agent or agent's assitance on this site whose job it is to know exactly where to go or another writer who has successfully established Nom de Plume.

[knews_hound]

I am fairly well known and have always published under my own name.

I see no reason hide who I am and have had no problems at all.

Cheers,

knewshound

http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/

[BamaAndy]

Publishers will respect your desire to use a pen name—denie it clearly in your query or contract—they don’t care very much as long as its not something off-color.
Copyrights can be had for $30.00 from the library of congress—takes about six weeks or so.
I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t bother—and leave it to any prospective publisher. If I sell a book, I’ll but it.
Good luck and God speed in your endeavors. Its tough out there and often I think my political foundations have hurt me — but I don’t care.

[Yorlik803]

what about Cletus VanDamme????

[GOP Poet]

Its tough out there and often I think my political foundations have hurt me — but I don’t care.

Good for you! I must say, I have tried desperately to play both sides of the game in not expressing my views so as not to hurt a career I am building. The price though is too heavy in the physical sickness, anxiety, nervous skin disorders that manifested by stuffing so much of my natural self in society, while also listening to all the crap thrown at me about politics and opinions that I absolutely do not agree with. Ignoring it (or trying to ignore it) for too long creates sickness.

I now believe unless one really can not get work, as in the case of probably film and T.V. (but even then, how cool would be if they worked to create their own track by being honest!!) that one just has to take the hits and appreciate the support they do get by other moderates, and conservatives. Who knows they may even get to a few libbies. By the way this is also why I think as conservatives and moderates that we need to support artists or at least be open to reading work or attending readings and other art functions where conservatives are showcasing their work, even if it is not political.

But how will we know if that person isn't being honest about what they want to be honest about if it calls to them to express their political views? Not that all artists should, but if they want to and feel moved, why let libbies and their intolerance get to us. We can carve new pathways if we must. Yes we may take a career hit, but what are the rewards? No sickness created by stuffing one's soul.

In the end we have to live with ourselves. Cutting off critical parts of who we are makes us not only lopsided, but without feeling in major areas which may be a source of great fire and passion in our lives. In the end we are left with a deadness, a building sickness and no fire in our furnace or with it significantly dampened. The peope around us don't truly know us, so if we are liked or loved, we feel it is not honest (with the exception of family and friends that truly know our politics) then we truly feel an outcast, without the joy of true expression. Just my two cents . . .

[BamaAndy]

It’s obvious you’re a writer! Thank you for adding to the work out there and for the great repsonse.
Let us know when. Andy