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I've got a lot of history on the web under my screen name, including my writing blog and various pieces of other work scattered about. I'd love to associate it firmly with the self-published ebook series I'm working on so that people will think to plug that into google as well as my real name -- there's a better chance of finding me that way. I considered using it as a pen name, but "Yami Kuronue" (or "Yamiko Kuronue", which I've used sometimes when I wanted a more name-like screenname) a) is the wrong ethnicity and b) sounds a bit pretentious.

So how can I integrate my real name and my screen name? And is that even a good idea to begin with?

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If you are finding your pen name inconvenient for the reasons you mention (ethnicity, etc.) then perhaps the best option would be not to point people to your name.

You say that your items are on your writing blog and "scattered about" — so, save your readers the trouble of hunting. If you don't already have one, put together a page or sidebar on your blog linking to where your other writing is.

Then you can just give the link to your blog as the one-stop shop to find more of your writing.

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There are different options you can consider, but only you can decide which one you are most comfortable with. The first would be to include your screen name in the description of the book(s). For example, you could include a statement that some of the content was originally published on your blog or other sites using the screen name of Yamikuronue.

Another option would be to list the author's name as your own name, writing as Yamikuronue. For example, if your real name was Tom Jones, you would list the author as "Tom Jones, writing as Yamikuronue". Along the same vein, you could just use your screen name as a pen name, leaving it spelled exactly the same. (After all, people will be searching by that name, and not some variation of it.)

Assuming you are using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) to make your e-books available to the public, they have an author's interface that will allow you to list the author's name however you want it to appear on the book(s). If you choose to write some content under your own name and and other content under your screen/pen name, you can manage all from the same portal. (I'm sure other services provide the same capabilities, but KDP is the one with which I am more familiar.)

If there truly is a high probability that future readers will use your screen name when looking for information from/about you, then it would definitley behoove you to include it in same way when you get around to publishing your e-books.

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  • But won't I then run into the problem of Yamikuronue not sounding like a name? I'm writing fiction.
    – Yamikuronue
    Dec 5, 2011 at 17:35
  • If it truly bothers you, throw on a first initial, but any number of writers have gone by single-name monikers, particularly Asian names. I wouldn't sweat it. Use the name which fits you.
    – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
    Dec 5, 2011 at 17:58
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    Ever heard of an author named "Trevanian"? He wrote a number of books that were wildly successful, including at least one, The Eiger Sanction, that was made into a major motion picture. The author's real name is Dr. Rodney William Whitaker. Does Trevanian sound like a name? ;)
    – Steven Drennon
    Dec 5, 2011 at 18:35

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