Comments on: Real Name or Pen Name – What’s Safer?

By: Damaria Senne

Damaria Senne — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:34:59 +0000

I write using my real name, and don’t worry about whether it could result in ID theft. But, I never mention my daughter’s name on my blogs /post her pictures/ or do anything that would help my readers identify her.

There are sick people out in the world and I worry that info that’s in the public domain could be used to put her off guard long enough to take her.

I’ve also had an irate reader send me threatening emails, which included the classic I know where you live and I’m tempted to come over there and teach you a lesson.

By: becky

becky — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:17:40 +0000

I don’t worry about it too much. I don’t post my address or anything like that, but I don’t hide, either.

I’ve been on message boards for years. If anyone wanted to find me, they probably could. Of course, it helps that my husband is a very big, very strong biker and I have posted his picture quite a few times. Heh.

I’ve met many great friends online and am fortunate that we haven’t really had any bad experiences. Some unpleasant ones (you know how it can be so high school sometimes), but nothing bad.

So yes, I write with my name most of the time. But there are a couple of things I could think of that would be better served under pen names.

By: Sonya

Sonya — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:23:34 +0000

Identity theft doesn’t worry me at all–like others have said, I’d be more concerned about stalkers. But I’m not even that concerned about *that*, and I use my real name on everything. Some weirdo on the internet could google me and find out where I live, or some weirdo on the bus could follow me home–you can’t live your life in a bubble under the guise of safety.

The only time I would use a pen name is if I wrote something I didn’t want my parents to read, like erotica.

By: Beth G

Beth G — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:10:14 +0000

I use my real name. If I’m worried about putting my name out there, I just use my first name, but never on anything professional. I’m not worried about identity theft on the web. As many who’ve posted before me have stated, there’s plenty of offline places that have my information, and if someone’s hell-bent on stealing someone else’s identity, they’ll find a way to do it, regardless.

I’ve toyed with the idea of using a pen name, but, like Deb, that ego thing creeps in.

I plan to use both my current name and my new married name when I get married in a couple of months. I’ll continue to use my current name for stuff I’m already committed to, but any new gigs will most likely be done under my married name.

By: Christy

Christy — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:05:29 +0000

Great discussion! I use my maiden name and keep my married name private. That way I get the personal satisfaction of attaching my name but good luck tracking me down! For some reason I’m more worried about Internet stalkers than I am identity theft – go figure.

By: Yin

Yin — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:24:35 +0000

I usually don’t use my real name because for most people is actually difficult to pronounce. My name is Yindra, and the pronounciation is in Spanish so “Y” sounds like “G” in this case and the Spanish “r” is very hard to pronounce for a lot of people. Most of my English speaking friends chose to call me Yin or Yini, so I thought it might actually be a better idea just to use my pen name. I’m not worried at all about
identity theft, I’ve never suffer it and if I think about how many times I give all my personal information here in China, even my passport copies at the bank everytime I change money, I wouldn’t sleep

By: Leilani Love

Leilani Love — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:32:40 +0000

Pseudonyms are a wonderful thing! As much as I’d like to see my “real” name in print, there are various reasons why it’s just not feasible– and, surprisingly, identity theft isn’t on the list.

For some, like myself, writing also serves as a catharsis. Occasionally, one writes a piece that is controversial or even offensive… (But it wasn’t on purpose, I swear!)

Anyhow, my pseudonym eventually became an alter ego of sorts, which has been fun. And for the sake of some of my friends and family, it’s been safer this way.

By: Sandra Mendoza-Daly

Sandra Mendoza-Daly — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:55:32 +0000

I’m with Richard. I think a pseudonym is ok if you want to keep your writing markets separate. All of the Manolo the Shoe Blogger’s bloggers do it, and they’ve still managed to get book deals through blogging.

By: Peggy

Peggy — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:49:58 +0000

I don’t mind using my real name, though I didn’t at first with my personal blog. If you’re sending potential employers to your blog as a reference then I think it looks better with your real name.

Still though, I don’t give out details about where I live.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:26:48 +0000

Believe it or not, fellow perusers of Jodee and Deb’s site, Richard Zowie IS my real name. My surname is an Americanization of my German-American grandfather’s surname Zahnweh (means toothache in German; don’t ask).

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:25:39 +0000

I use a pseudonym when writing satire, simply because I don’t want to confuse my satire with my journalistic/column/fiction writing.

By: Christie

Christie — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:35:41 +0000

I didn’t even think about identity theft. I did think about if I were writing something controversial. That would cause me to consider using another name – but initials, never.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:52:17 +0000

Somebody stole my identity once …
They gave it back

By: james koopmann

james koopmann — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:29:55 +0000

don’t think there is much of a worry. i actually had quite of few people think i lived in the UK for the longest time.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:40:10 +0000

I’m not worried about identity theft. I’m more worried about retaliation.

I often write controversial articles that expose some of the environmental Beef Manure that groups like the Sierra Club, PEER and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) regularly print in direct contradiction of the very data they claim to be using to make their points.

I’ve also taken pot shots at eco-terrorism groups like ELF. Those freaks are the ones I should really be worried about.

By: David Hamilton

David Hamilton — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:35:43 +0000

I would have to agree on this one. Using your real name doesn’t instantly make you an identity theft target. The only exception I can see is if you happened to be writing an article that revealed personal information that if connected you could be used for theft.

This might be in issue in your personal blog, but I doubt most writers will have need to mention personal specific in their professional works.

By: Dee

Dee — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:43:06 +0000

Identity theft isn’t always the primary concern. It’s that the world is filled with those unsuspecting types that become enthralled with a facial feature, a name, or a statement that stuck a hole in their life.

By: Maria E.

Maria E. — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:39:32 +0000

I’m with Deb on the ego thing. I wrote it and I want everyone to know I wrote it.

Fiona is right about the availability of personal information being a fact of life. You can try and take precautions, but ultimately you can’t protect yourself in every situation. I don’t think writers are any more at risk than any other professionals. The only way to completely avoid being a victim of identity theft is to live your entire life in a bell jar.

By: Fiona

Fiona — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:25:57 +0000

I tend to think that people are paranoid about identity theft over the internet yet will happily let a waiter walk off with their credit card in a restaurant or fill out a form with personal information and hand it to a receptionist. I can’t avoid my info being out there in some form or another.

Incidentally, the only time I do use a pen name is when I write short stories occasionally for erotica markets – that’s purely to keep my writing types separate, especially since I’ve also written for high school encyclopedias.