Nov 1, 2021
Did you write under a pseudonym? Why?
Long, long, ago, when I first starting writing, I didn’t like my given name. It was plain, boring, and easily
mispronounced. I needed a name that I could identify with. I experimented with a variety of potential pseudonyms, and finally settled on one. Thus, Bobbi Jo Aspen—B.J. Aspen—was born. The first few poems I had published were under that name.
Where did the name come from? Well, the Aspen part may be unexpected. Most folks assume it was a tribute to one of my favorite musicians, John Denver. Well, that’s wrong. Aspens are one of my best-loved kind of trees. (Don’t get me started in how beautiful they are in the fall when they turn gold on the side of a mountain.) The Bobbi Jo? That’s a sideways tribute to the song “Ode to Billy Joe.”
But the name didn’t stick as I got older. I wanted something a little more ‘mature.’ A weirdly addressed piece of junk mail gave me my inspiration, and I became ‘P.J. MacLayne.’
Why use a pseudonym besides finding a ‘better’ name? When I started writing, it was widely understood that men had a better chance of being published than women. By choosing the names I did, I sought to increase my chances of publication. Did it work? There’s no way to prove that.
The other part of using a writing name is security. These days, of course, if you are on the internet, security is almost nonexistent. But in the not-so-long-ago, using an alias made it harder to get personal information about a writer. These days, if you want to be a successful indie author, you have to be willing to exchange a bit of yourself to give your readers a sense of community. (I still struggle with the security vs accessibility part of being an indie author.)
I’ve been using the moniker ‘P.J. MacLayne’ long enough that it’s a part of me. If someone were to call out “Hey, P.J.,” in a public place, I’d look to see who it was.
Several of the authors on this loop use pseudonyms. (The internet told me so!) I wonder if they do it for the same reasons? You can follow the links below to find out.
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
Nov. 1, 2021
Did you write under a pseudonym? Why?
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Funnily enough, I know another female writer who uses the initials P.J. for the same reasons. Small world and sad that it has to be so.
I know several other authors going by P.J.! At least the last name is not as common.
I’m with you on given names. Mine is bloody awful!
My maiden name wasn’t terrible, but I was happy to exchange it for something else.
When you wrote Aspen – I thought of trees. I’m a bit of a tree hugger.
Tweeted.
Me, too. I need to make a trip up to Aspen, CO one of these days.