Pen name and book as a launching pad

[BigBrianC]

Hey all. I've got an idea for an eBook and I've started on it, but I've got a question. I want to use a pen name, but I'd also like to be able to use this book as a launchpad for a website, selling products, etc. Do I need to avoid a pen name in order to do that, or can I just use my pen name in association with the website? Or should I just use the pen name and avoid any mention to me personally on the website and just act as if the website is being written by the "company" so to speak? Anybody else do something similar?

 

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[EricZ]

You've touched on a very touchy subject indeed.
Managing pen names is a pain in the ***rse.
In amazon you can have as many pen names as you want, which is cool, then you can add only the books that you want to show in your Author profile manually, just go to Author Central. You do have an author profile in amazon right? e.g. amazon.com/author/ericz

As far as your blog/website go, you have to answer this question first(!):

Do you want to stay anonymous or not?

If NO; then you don't care about people finding out your real name.
Here are some good examples of authors with pen names and Websites as product sites:
John Locke www.donovancreed.com
Joe Konrath www.JAkonrath.com

If YES, you want to stay anonymous,
then yes, I recommend "the company" publishes your book and you keep it at that.
You will have to manage your anonymity right from the very beginning, i.e. when you register your domain name and website, because what most people -especially newbies- don't know is this tool called "whois" , reverse name look up for any website. You will see all YOUR contact details of who owns the site!
Additionally, most webproviders e.g. GoDaddy charge extra to NOT show the owner of the domain. Think about that...

check this out:
http://whois.domaintools.com/thefastlaneforum.com

Hope this helps
Eric
www.zbooks.co

 

[BigBrianC]

Thanks, very comprehensive answer! Def a must see reply to all newbie authors imo

 

[Jake]

It depends on how the book is tailored. You can have a general info book under a pen name. Recommend a product via the book. Own the company that owns the product..under your name or company name.

As long as the info is solid I don't see an issue.

Have affiliates push the info book for a large commission and reap the rewards on the trickle down to the product that you own and the brand that you're building. Or even let people give the book away for free.

 

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