Would you use a pen name if you had a foreign name?

by Tijs
18 replies
Hi everyone,

I have a foreign first and last name which are both kind of hard to speak out for people that are not from my country.

You think I would do good to use a pen name or just go with my real name?

Cheers!
Tijs
#foreign #pen
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    • Profile picture of the author The PLR Guru
      It depends, but if you feel your name is hard to write and you want to change it, let me remind you that Schwarzenegger was not an easy name but Arnold kept it
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      • Profile picture of the author Tijs
        @Jreed: that's very true! Still, I know writers personally who have changed it for better positioning on the English market, their publishers suggested it, so I thought there might be something in it.

        @PLR: haha I thought of some name myself when I wrote this: Igor Ledochowski. I can actually write his name now without having to google it, so yeah it most work if your stuff is good.

        Interested if people have experience themselves with using there 'foreign to English' name.
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  • Profile picture of the author vgnair
    Better be frank, I would prefer to go with pen name or short name ; it saves others from big troubles of mispronouncing a name.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alastair Hayward
    If its going to help you in your business use a short pen name that people will remember.
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  • Profile picture of the author blogwithdavid
    Just because you have a foreign name doesn't mean you have to change it. Its really about whats easy to remember. Eban Pagan's pen name is David DeAngelo simply because the latter is easy remember.

    thats the key, everyone in marketing should have an easy to remember name. I use an alias called "The Personality Guy" I have another with I use for the forum called "Blog with David" My actual name has a surname that always gets people battling to remember.

    Just a thought...
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    I see no issue with using a pen name, as long as it is not deceptive.

    If your English was terrible (which it does not appear to be) then I wouldn't go with a name like John Smith, as it wouldn't pass the BS test for most people.

    However, simplifying it for your audience is a savvy move. You don't want them to focus on who you are, but what you can do for them. Removing complexity in the communication process will be helpful for them, and therefore easier for you.

    In the spirit of honesty, though, I would keep some of the original ethnic flavor.
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  • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
    Originally Posted by Tijs View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I have a foreign first and last name which are both kind of hard to speak out for people that are not from my country.

    You think I would do good to use a pen name or just go with my real name?

    Cheers!
    Tijs
    What type of service are you offering?

    If it's writing based services, then I suppose it couldn't hurt to use a pen name if you're from a non-native English speaking country. If it's another product, is it possible you could use a shortened form or nickname?
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  • Profile picture of the author KateD
    I suggest using pen names that are tailored to the readers and his/her expectations.


    In a perfect world, the author name should have very little relevance to its success. However, this is reality, and you should take advantage of every edge possible.

    Yes, we all love seeing our names. But if you are looking at this in a purely business sense, using a pen name may benefit you.

    So if I was writing an erotic story, my pen name could be "Savanna Rose."
    If I was writing about military tactics, I would use "Dirk Rogers."
    A cookbook on American dishes, I would use "Susan Robinson."
    A guide to computer programming, "Sergei Rasmonov."


    You get the idea.

    If you don't think that the author name matters, think about this: would you buy a cookbook from someone named "Dirk Rogers"?

    Yes, we are playing into stereotypes. And although I rather not worry about it, the reality is that the author name DOES matter in the minds of your readers (and potential readers).

    Best wishes,

    KateD
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  • Profile picture of the author Tijs
    Thanks everyone, these answers clarify a lot!

    I'm going into the self help business. I think I might come up with a pen name.

    Question: Can you use a pen name for google authorship? I have one with my real name right now. Anyone know how to work around that?


    Edit: I found you can use a pen name in Google Plus. That should work for authorship then.
    Anyone experience with this?

    Oh, and new perspectives on pen names are always welcome :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Originally Posted by Tijs View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I have a foreign first and last name which are both kind of hard to speak out for people that are not from my country.

    You think I would do good to use a pen name or just go with my real name?

    Cheers!
    Tijs
    Kate hit it out of the ball park! You're going into the self-help market. Which niche specifically? Look at Zig Ziglar, he did pretty well with his name.

    I think it all depends on many factors and one of those factors is personal choice. I believe that a lot of your success will come from how you brand yourself, how you position yourself, and how strong your network of your peergroup is going to be.

    If you're only going to crank out infoproducts to an English-speaking audience, then choosing a pen name might be a good idea. But if you plan on doing some coaching, public speaking, etc. then I honestly don't think your name will have that big of an impact because your success won't fall squarely on your name, it will fall on who you are, how congruent you are, and how you promote yourself.

    RoD
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    • Profile picture of the author Viktor Vedmak
      Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

      Look at Zig Ziglar, he did pretty well with his name.
      Technically he used pen name. His real name was Hilary Hinton Ziglar.

      Since people do judge, if you feel they would form negative opinion about you simply based on your name, pick Americanized version to use publicly online. If that is the only reason for using alias I would find it perfectly ethical.
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  • Profile picture of the author pdxkurt
    Depends on your market...

    I know when I call tech support for Dell or whoever, somebody from India answers the phone and says their name is Steve. This isn't to be misleading, it's because it's easier for Americans to remember. Before I worked in the IT field I had never heard names like Venkat, Shankar, Nitin, Ajeetha, etc.

    So I'd say, think about your market and if the name matters to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Statcode
    Use a pen name for different niches you're writing about, so that it doesn't conflict with one another.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim3
    Hi Tijs,
    If you are going to target the English-speaking countries, it is a very good idea to use a name that us folks in the West can get a handle on, it doesn't have to be an English name, just one we can pronounce and remember.

    For example if you are from Poland your name may look to English folks like an explosion in a Scrabble factory, not good because we haven't a hope of pronouncing it, let alone remembering it.

    No offence to any Poles on the forum.
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