I’ve always dreamed of writing the great American (Science Fiction) novel. Trouble is, I can’t seem to come up with a catchy Nom de Plume. You know, a pen name. Sammuel Clemmens was Mark Twain. Eric Blair was George Orwell. Encinitas is…well…any suggestions?
Also I might need a Nom de Guerre soon if you could help me out with that too.
Oh, and I need a publisher too.
Stan Cieni
Super Stan
I’ll chip in a buck.
What’s wrong with using Encinitas as your nom de plume? It sounds perfectly fine to me.
I’ve been using Freyr as my web alias for many years and on the fiction* that I’ve posted on the web. I think your SDMB handle is great, go and use it! 
*the fiction that I’ve published is for a very specific audience. If you’re still interested in reading it, go ahead and try to find it. Email me if you think you’ve found it and I’ll confirm or deny it. 
Pez D. Spencer
Buck Naked. Oh, wait a minute …
Well, if you really want a nom de plume, I would suggest something along the lines of
T.H.E. Quill
Wright Le Pen
Dexter Cursor
H.I.S. Nibs
(or, for a true plume)
Beau Panache (Or Belle Panache if you want to establish your authorial persona as female)
Surely you need a Freedom Name these days
Why?
Admittedly, there are a few SF writers whose editors suggested they use variations of their names – C.J. Cherryh, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Michael Kube-McDowell, S.P. Somtow, Eric G. Iverson (whose real name – Harry Turtledove* – was thought to be too odd for anyone to believe). Then there are cases like Robin Hobb, which is a pen name created by an established author to fool the bookstores’ computers.
I can also think of one case where an author used a pen name because the nature of his SF stories could have jeopardized his day job. Finally, in the early 80s, there was a new author trying to break in named Robert Heinlein, and whose editors strongly suggested he use a pen name (AFAIK, he was never published).
So unless your real name is Isaac Asimov, there’s no need for a pen name.
What you need is to actually write the novel. If you go to a publisher without one, you’ll look completely clueless. :rolleyes:
*Harry quickly changed his mind and proved them wrong.
D’oh! Now you tell me! 
Joan Wilder?
I’m partial to Norm d’Plume.