Question

AngelPrincess09 · Post by **AngelPrincess09** » 14 Nov 2009, 18:28

Hey all ,

Say if you get your book published?? A load of copies of it. Ends up in millions of books stores everywhere??

And there's book signing. Do you have to show up for them. Or maybe just send signed books out??

AngelPrincess

The Mythwriter · Post by **The Mythwriter** » 16 Nov 2009, 20:45

If there's a book signing, I'm pretty sure you HAVE to show, otherwise you could have some very angry fans. I think if you just send out signed books, the store just sticks a "Signed copy" sticker on it and displays it a little more prominently.

Moore · Post by **Moore** » 17 Nov 2009, 09:26

Of course you should show your signing as you have some fans they'll really happy. And besides why not promote yourself in such a way?

annalaurabrown · Post by **annalaurabrown** » 17 Nov 2009, 09:43

why wouldn't you show up for a book signing? It can only be positive for you and your book.

AngelPrincess09 · Post by **AngelPrincess09** » 17 Nov 2009, 18:58

Say if you didn't want to go along. With the book signings and fame. That goes with it?

Is it still worth publishing your book??

Angel Princess Wants to know?!

The Mythwriter · Post by **The Mythwriter** » 22 Nov 2009, 00:31

AngelPrincess09 wrote:Say if you didn't want to go along. With the book signings and fame. That goes with it?

Is it still worth publishing your book??

Angel Princess Wants to know?!

So.. you're saying you don't want acknowledgment as the author? That's simple, just publish under a pen-name, that lets you control however much notoriety you want to have.

AngelPrincess09 · Post by **AngelPrincess09** » 24 Nov 2009, 19:57

So how would it work. This publishing under a different pen name?? And also what does notoriety mean?

AP

The Mythwriter · Post by **The Mythwriter** » 24 Nov 2009, 23:43

AngelPrincess09 wrote:So how would it work. This publishing under a different pen name?? And also what does notoriety mean?

AP

I can't tell you anything about the specific process, I've honestly never looked at it. But J.K. Rowling is not that author's real name, Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens, etc. If you don't want your real name known and connected with the book, you can do that. Or just change your name to sound cooler or fit the book's audience, which is what Rowling did. There are even ghostwriters who write material for other authors to publish but never get any credit for doing it, that's just their business.

Notoriety means being known for something (or notorious for it).

4jacquote · Post by **4jacquote** » 25 Nov 2009, 20:55

If an author wants to hide his/her true identity, isn't it self-defeating to use a pen name? After all, in the event that the work becomes a best-seller, wouldn't press scrutiny quickly reveal the author's true identity?

The Mythwriter · Post by **The Mythwriter** » 26 Nov 2009, 13:00

4jacquote wrote:If an author wants to hide his/her true identity, isn't it self-defeating to use a pen name? After all, in the event that the work becomes a best-seller, wouldn't press scrutiny quickly reveal the author's true identity?

I've been looking for the answer to that question, and honestly, I guess it depends on how much effort the author goes to. Sometimes they just change their name to fit their work, other times they go so far as to create a complete alter ego biography and bank accounts under the false name to deposit their payments to.

It's impossible to remain totally anonymous in this society, I think, due to copyrights and social security (if it comes into play with your publisher) but I would hazard the guess that in most cases, most people don't really want to know that much. Stephen King has written a lot of books outside the horror genre, and for those he uses pen names. Yes, we can find out later, hey, King wrote this, but really, we don't care all that much whether David B. Unknown wrote it or not.