Thursday Thoughts: Pen Names and Passion Projects

It's been almost three full years since I embarked on my self-publishing journey and embraced the Indie world. I've certainly had a lot of ups and downs, and wow have I learned a TON! Looking back, there are definitely things I'd do differently, but now I know and I can adjust moving forward. I have a huge list of things I've learned, but there are two that have really been resonating with me lately, and I want to share them in the hopes they might help another writer.

NEW PEN NAMES:

A lot of authors write using a pen name--this is nothing new. Some authors even have multiple pen names for various genres. I used to have two different pseudonyms. One for YA (Kara Leigh Miller) and one for adult (Lexi Lawton). But when I began to focus on self-publishing, I dropped the Lexi name. Mostly because I knew I just didn't have the time to build two separate names, and honestly, I can only write one book at a time, so I'm either writing YA or Adult, but never both at once. 

However, in my quest to learn the business side of publishing, I joined the Wide for the Win Facebook group. Seriously, if you're an author and don't belong to this group--and you're selling your books on places other than just Amazon--go fix that right now! The wealth of knowledge in that group is astounding and so, so helpful. 

One of the biggest takeaways I got from this group is how multiple pen names are often necessary. See, when you publish on vendor sites, after a certain amount of time, you'll begin to notice a section called "Also Bought." These are books that are, hopefully, similar to yours. It gives readers a chance to see what other customers have bought that are like the product you offer. 

So, using me as an example, if I write and publish YA paranormal romance with limited foul language and no graphic sexual situations AND I also write and publish steamier / erotic adult romance under the same name, my "Also Bought" section will get messed up, because in theory, I'd have a mix of books. And sure, a lot of readers buy and read across a variety of genres, age categories, and heat levels. But stop for a moment and think of what this does should a teen find my books. The "Also Bought" recommendations won't just list other YA books, it will include some very adult books. 

Before anyone comes at me with "yeah, but..." I do realize there are quite a few authors who write a variety of stories under one pen name. And huge kudos to them! I truly wish I could do that, too, but I know I'm not a big enough author to make that work for me. 

With all of this in mind, along with knowing that I'm not the type of writer who can only write one age category / genre all the time, I have decided to branch out into more than one pen name. Yes, I still have my adult pen name, Lexi Lawton, who writes steamy New Adult romances, and while I'm not actively writing or publishing anything under that name right this moment, she's still alive and kicking ;-)

I'm working very closely with an author friend of mine, and together, we're launching a new pen name -- one that we're not going to publicly name just yet -- and we'll be focusing on some darker, steamier romances. 

PASSION PROJECTS: 

When I first began writing Eternal Curse, it was what I called my passion project. It was a story I wanted to write for ME. I never had any intention of publishing it, but rather it was something I would work on when I was stuck on other things. It was my safe, fun space. I had no expectations, no rules, no pressure--and then that single book turned into a seven book series. The words poured out of me, and I rediscovered my love for the act of writing. 

But then I published this, and to be clear: I do not regret that decision in the slightest! I have actual readers now, people who loved my books and want more. That's a huge accomplishment that I'm very proud of. But with that comes pressure -- pressure to write more books faster, to write the books my readers want, etc. Suddenly, writing once again became a chore rather than a joy, and I found myself struggling again. I didn't *want* to write, and well, that made me grumpy. lol. 

So, my second most important lesson learned is to ALWAYS have a passion project handy. I realize not every author can jump from one project to another, and I'm extremely lucky that I can. I've also realized that I simply cannot write without a passion project which, oddly enough, is what pushed me to finally embrace my second pen name. This has also led me to the co-authored venture I mentioned above. Once again, I'm feeling excited about writing and publishing, and I hope 2024 will yield a lot more book releases. 

Are you a writer as well? 

Do you keep passion projects on the side?