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Adventures in Pen Names etc. etc.
May. 20th, 2013 03:51 pmSo I promised I'd post about how the Smashwords problem turned out, and now that I'm back from Seattle, I'm here to do that.
They actually got back to me within 24 hours and pointed me to a section of the FAQ I had previously forgotten about (or perhaps skipped over, I'm not sure). To recap, what I had discovered was that Smashwords didn't allow me to change my author name, so I was unable to publish my erotic short story under the pen name I'd chosen, through Smashwords, though it was easy to do through Amazon and the Kobo store.
The solution was to upgrade my author account to a publisher account. Then, acting as a publisher, I created "ghost" accounts for the two author names, Jessica Steiner and Suzanne Fisher. Then I simply was able to migrate the existing books to whichever author I wanted.
I made up a fake publisher name "Noda Publishing", created a logo and a profile for the "independent publisher", then went in and uploaded new versions of both files, showing the correct author name and "published by Noda Publishing". With a bit of tweaking, making sure that each author had a profile, it was all done.
Though the whole thing was a bit of a pain I'm glad I didn't take the other option offered, which was to sign up for a fresh Smashwords account. That would create additional headaches, of needing to log in and out when I want to check my stats, and money accumulating in more places. It's bad enough now.
Though there's a chance that anonymity would be compromised, I feel safe enough with this solution. It'll also allow me to publish books under other names. For example, if my wife decides to publish one of her stories, we can simply use the same account.
If you're struggling with this and need tips, please feel free to email me. I'd be happy to walk you through it.
Also, just as a reminder, all of my stories, no matter which name it's published under, will be announced on my mailing list. If you're interested in the stories that aren't published under my real name, then your best bet is to sign up with the mailing list. I plan to release one every couple of months or so.
They actually got back to me within 24 hours and pointed me to a section of the FAQ I had previously forgotten about (or perhaps skipped over, I'm not sure). To recap, what I had discovered was that Smashwords didn't allow me to change my author name, so I was unable to publish my erotic short story under the pen name I'd chosen, through Smashwords, though it was easy to do through Amazon and the Kobo store.
The solution was to upgrade my author account to a publisher account. Then, acting as a publisher, I created "ghost" accounts for the two author names, Jessica Steiner and Suzanne Fisher. Then I simply was able to migrate the existing books to whichever author I wanted.
I made up a fake publisher name "Noda Publishing", created a logo and a profile for the "independent publisher", then went in and uploaded new versions of both files, showing the correct author name and "published by Noda Publishing". With a bit of tweaking, making sure that each author had a profile, it was all done.
Though the whole thing was a bit of a pain I'm glad I didn't take the other option offered, which was to sign up for a fresh Smashwords account. That would create additional headaches, of needing to log in and out when I want to check my stats, and money accumulating in more places. It's bad enough now.
Though there's a chance that anonymity would be compromised, I feel safe enough with this solution. It'll also allow me to publish books under other names. For example, if my wife decides to publish one of her stories, we can simply use the same account.
If you're struggling with this and need tips, please feel free to email me. I'd be happy to walk you through it.
Also, just as a reminder, all of my stories, no matter which name it's published under, will be announced on my mailing list. If you're interested in the stories that aren't published under my real name, then your best bet is to sign up with the mailing list. I plan to release one every couple of months or so.
