# I need a Nom de Plume
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 20, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751 "2003-03-20T06:29:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/1 "2003-03-20T06:29:40Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/2 "2003-03-20T07:08:16Z")
1. Stan Cieni
2. Super Stan
3. I’ll chip in a buck.
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### Author:  [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/3 "2003-03-20T07:13:37Z")
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._ 😉
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### Author:  [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/4 "2003-03-20T07:42:01Z")
Pez D. Spencer
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/5 "2003-03-20T07:58:35Z")
Buck Naked. Oh, wait a minute …
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/6 "2003-03-20T13:12:45Z")
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)
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/7 "2003-03-20T13:20:26Z")
Surely you need a _Freedom Name_ these days 😃
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/8 "2003-03-20T13:58:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Encinitas \*
> **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?**
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.
> [@](#):
>
> Oh, and I need a publisher too. \*\*
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.
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### Author:  [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/9 "2003-03-20T18:44:39Z")
> [@](#):
>
> What you need is to actually write the novel. If you go to a publisher without one, you’ll look completely clueless.
D’oh! Now you tell me! 🙂
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/10 "2003-03-20T19:03:55Z")
Joan Wilder?
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-nom-de-plume/162751/11 "2003-03-20T19:10:20Z")
I’m partial to **Norm d’Plume**.