Separating Freelance from Fiction

Posted on Mar 29, 2011 in Business Basics, The Write Stuff | 9 comments

I have a dirty little secret. Ready? Evelyn Lafont is not my real name.

 

Woah, okay, don’t panic—pick up your coffee cup from the floor, sit back down and listen to me for just a minute.

Like you, I am a Very. Serious. Writer. As such, I take my writing Very. Seriously. But I don’t just write fiction of the paranormal romance variety—I also write articles, press releases, web content and more for clients who might not get a real kick out of a writer trying to make her name from vampire romance novels.

Now not everyone needs to have a separate name for their fiction work and their freelance work, but some of us do. Here’s how to tell which camp you fall into.

 

4074562711 d2fb589061 Separating Freelance from Fiction

 

1. If it would embarrass you to read any of your fiction work out loud to a client, or to sit across from them as they read it, you might want to consider a pen name. 

2. If you must attempt completely different marketing efforts to attract fiction readers than freelance clients, you might want to separate your personas. For instance, if you need to joke around in an adult manner about cowboys, sex, and fetishes in order to attract readers for your fiction—but you attract freelance clients by talking about world politics, economics or education, then you might want a fiction pen name.

3. If you have clients who want you to use your name on your work because your professional experience and reputation in the industry lends credibility to their site, you might want to consider a pen name.

 

 

This list is not exhaustive, obviously, but it gives you an idea of the kinds of things you need to look out for. In reality, I think that any freelancer who has a more straight-laced focus for their business should have a pen name for their fiction because you never know who you may offend and lose as a potential client. And if you’re worried about them not seeing how creative you are if you hide your fiction work from them, why not try to work that creativity into your freelance work? I’m sure they’ll see it, and appreciate it.
Separating Freelance from Fiction

Evelyn Lafont

Evelyn Lafont is an indie author and freelance writer. Her debut novella, The Vampire Relationship Guide, Volume 1: Meeting and Mating will be available on Amazon and Smashwords March 31st. You can read the first chapter here and see the book description on Goodreads

More Posts - Website - Twitter

9 Comments

  1. Evelyn Lafont (@KeyboardHussy) (@KeyboardHussy) - March 29, 2011

    RT @iampsjones: New on Diary of a Mad Freelancer: Separating Fact from Fiction (a guest post from @KeyboardHussy ) http://bit.ly/fVNEEf

  2. Evelyn Lafont - March 29, 2011

    Thank you for having me PS :)

    • P.S. Jones - March 31, 2011

      Of course, Evelyn. You are always welcome, too. If any of your freelance clients actually DO read your book, I’d love to have you come back and talk about the experience.

  3. Claire Wagner (@wagnerwrites) (@wagnerwrites) - March 29, 2011

    When you might need a pseudonym: Separating Freelance from Fiction http://t.co/uBeM0zO via @iampsjones

  4. Zoe - March 29, 2011

    Hehehehe! I would LOVE to sit down with a client after they read my work. Why? Cause the last time that happened, the client was the editor of a trade magazine, and my “job interview” amounted to two hours of her gushing over my book. Did wonders for my ego, it did. (^_^)

    And yes, Zoe Whitten is my real name, BUT it is not my first name. My name was legally changed as part of my transition. Because I actually used to write some REALLY offensive and homophobic things online to hide my own trans condition, I would never share my old name or my old online handles with others. So, while I’m not ashamed of even my most controversial dark fiction, there are some non-fic things that I wouldn’t want associated to me now. My articles were way more offensive than my fiction. (*-_-)

    • Evelyn Lafont - March 29, 2011

      In my “normal” industry, none of this would play well. And since most of my clients are male, I would feel extremely awkward talking to them on the phone after then reading my sex scene.

      And because many use my real name and professional designations to build authority for their sites, it just wouldn’t be cool.

  5. Julie Nilson - March 29, 2011

    I do the same thing, “Evelyn”! I don’t think that any of my fiction would embarrass me with a client, but the people on that side of my writing career tend to be quite the stodgy bunch, so you never know. Plus, if any potential editor or agent decided to Google my name, I don’t want them turning up 20 years of that dull corporate stuff and making judgments based on that!
    Julie Nilson recently posted..Don’t Call Me Mommy Unless You’re Under 10

  6. Natalia Sylvester - March 30, 2011

    I’m probably in the minority, but I’ve been using my real name for both my fiction and work-related writing for several years now. I think it depends on the comfort of each writer and the topics, but I’d be fine with my clients reading my fiction, and I think it shows my flexibility as a writer. I do talk very openly about my creative writing background on my site, and offer manuscript editing as one of my services, so there is some overlap there. But the reasons you point out for using a different name are very good ones (and I’d be lying if I said I never considered going with a pen name before making my decision).

    Congrats on the novella, by the way! Looking forward to reading it.
    Natalia Sylvester recently posted..Why Copywriters Do More Than “String Words Together”

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. The Weeping Indie « Keyboardhussy.com - [...] on Book Trailer for The Vampire R…Rebecca on Book Trailer for The Vampire R…Separating Fact from… on The Vampire ...