no, conan, the point i was trying to make was that if people were proud of their poetry they would publish and post under the same names. (i don't care in which name they claim their copyright) if Mark Twain (S. Clemens) were alive today i'd be wanting to see him publish and post under mark twain not posting under "wurdman".
it's just a peeve of mine. it IS interesting to me, though, how it bothers so many people for me to suggest they pull aside the mask.
did i spell peeve right? it looks odd to me?
anyway, i'm done in this thread. it's carried on long enough, don't you think?
take care...
John
I know a few authors who are household names both here and in the US. Some of them contribute to fiction sites anonymously using odd screen names for several reasons.
1. It could be damaging to some careers to be seen writing that kind of material, yet they want to try their hand.
2. It could compromise their publishing deal.
3. Given the current "celebrity culture", the work would be treated differently if their identity were known.
4. They get more honest feedback from everyone involved.
5. Freedom of speech - surely you can call yourself what you like?
6. They want to branch out and see if their efforts in a new genre are accepted without the gloss of celebrity.
All of these seem like good reasons to use pseudonyms.
John, you appear to talk up your own work here quite frequently, and write many poems about how bad others work is. Why not let the less able make a stab at marketing their stuff too, even if it is only through a naff name?
