Why would an author use a fake name?

Lulie Roberts is a fake name. Technically, it’s called a pen name in publishing/authorland. Either way, it’s not a real person.

When I published my first fiction book, After the Fire, I made an announcement on Facebook and included a link to the book on Amazon. It confused a decent amount of people because I used my pen name: Lulie Roberts.

Several people reached out and asked why I used a ‘fake’ name. One or two people were so bold as to suggest that I would do such because I didn’t want people to know it was me if the book didn’t do well.

I don’t use a pen name because I’m scared of how the book will do and potentially ‘tarnish my name’ (if anything, this makes me wonder how insecure the people who asked the question are). I use a pen name because the book I wrote didn’t fit in with the brand I’ve already created with my real name.

Let me explain. In 2018, I published a non-fiction business/self-help book about personal branding and your appearance (check it out here). When I decided to write a fiction book in 2019 (yes, it took several years to write- which is a story for a different time) it wouldn’t make sense to publish it under the same name as my non-fiction book. They were two totally different brands. Hence, Lulie Roberts was born.

I plan on writing more non-fiction books and those will be published under my real name: Leslie Friedman. Until then, I plan on still producing fiction books under the Lulie Roberts name.

No matter if you are an author, a lawyer, or a teacher, branding is important! The brand attached to a specific name tells everyone all they need to know about you without them actually having to get to know you. Just think of anyone famous. Everyone can describe who Beyonce is even though they (most likely) have never met her. That’s branding. And it’s not just for celebrities.

When you find an author you like, you expect all of that author’s works to be similar. Right? So, if you have very different works (i.e., non-fiction vs. fiction), it’s best to use a pen name. The more consistent your works, the more trust you build with the reader. Using pen names wisely can help build that consistency and trust.

If you’re curious about the subject of branding (specifically personal branding) and want to chat about it, please reach out! I’m not selling anything; I just love the topic and I’m always happy to talk about it.

Cheers,

Lulie

hi@lulieroberts.com