I have to choose a (new) pseudonym. It's tough. Advice?

[BlueIris]

For a while now, I've been working on a book which I intended to try to publish under a pseudonym I picked out more than one year ago. Yes, I must use a pseudonym for this project. Having just read through a discussion thread posted in this group on the importance of using one for work which is even remotely controversial has only validated my desire to use a pen name for the novel should it ever see the light of day.

The pseudonym I've been bonded to all this time was one I constructed from an anagram for...a very harsh criticism someone once inflicted on me (which was extremely rude). The name is gender neutral, (reasonably) easy to pronounce and I even like it, but--in addition to the fact that it's never felt completely "right" as "my" pen name, a writing coach I communicated with recently told me that using a pseudonym fashioned from an insult directed at me by a relative was probably helping me foster negative feelings about the manuscript and hurting my ability to complete it. I think she might have a point there.

So, I thought I'd ask for advice about how to think up a new one from the authors here. For those who use them, how did you choose yours? Did you just make it up or does it have a deeper significance (I definitely want mine to have significance)? Do you have any good stories about how friends of yours chose their pseudonyms?

[frogmarch]

1. I've never used a pseudonym

All my published stories carry my real name, but that's not to say I'm against ever using one. I've just never thought about doing it. Here's an editorial about the use of pen names. It was written by Dru Pagliassotti, editor of The Harrow ezine.

http://www.theharrow.com/journal/viewarticle.php?id=453&layout=html

Since you've already decided to use a pen name, you might wish instead to scroll to the bottom of the article and click on the "Pen Name" link.

[BlueIris]

2. Thanks!

That should help.

[Taxloss]

3. Lots of different ways to do it.

I've never attempted to think up a pseudonym, but I did have one foisted upon me once when I briefly worked for a deeply unethical telesales company (I lasted a week). They said my real name didn't "work" on the phone and I should change my surname to a strong monosyllable. My first name is William, so I picked King as a surname as a subtle joke against this awful firm (William King, Will King, Bill King, Bilking ... geddit?).

Anyway, that's irrelevant. When trying to get inspiration for characters in books I try to think whcih character in a film they most remind me of. Then I go to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and look up the full credits for the film. I pick through the more obscure and lowly off-screen names (wardrobe assistants, catering coordinators) and assemble a name that sounds right from those elements. That means that the name carries the right associations for me. Maybe that will help you a bit.

[Katherine Brengle]

4. I've considered using one as a social experiment---

I write a lot of political commentary, and as most of us know, this is an extremely male-dominant profession. I have considered submitting work for publication under a male-sounding pseudonym, and submitting at the same time (a different article, but on the same subject and of the same quality) under my real name, to see if there is a difference (obviously, a number of samples would be required) but eventually I just scrapped the whole idea and decided to be me, the world can take it or leave it.

If you are going to use one, pick one that you are comfortable with--you may end up wearing it for a very, very long time.

:)

[sybylla]

5. I went to wordsmith.org

and used their anagram server. I typed in my own name and looked for other names to appear in the list. I thought it was a way I could still have a sense of ownership of my work product even if it didn't have my name on it.