Okay I am in the midst of starting some research for a topic I can see ruffling a few feathers. Now the thing is, I'd rather write it under a pen-name because my name [specifically my surname] is hardly common.
The thing is, is under my birth name I do have published works and in doing this research I don't want to come across as some quack just looking to stir up trouble.
The question is when inquiring of information from people should I include the fact that I have written works
Example of a sentence in the email
I do have published works under another name, however, due to the nature of this research I am publishing it under a pseudonym. The research itself is utterly anonymous and in no way will you or your facility be identified in the book itself. Instead the information you provide will simply be added to generalized stats under topics C, H, and X.
Any suggestions or throw out the previously published books and start "new".