Why I use a Pen Name

"That's so Fake."

"You'd be lying to your readers."

"How can we judge you if we don't know who you are?"

These are various, and rather valid reasons people have for hating pseudonyms. Some people won't even read a book unless they know some personal things about the Author. When getting intimate with someone the first thing you will want them to know is your real name. Even knowing all of this, and completely agreeing with the above mentioned criticism, why do I still use a fake name?

Well, it has less to do with my readers and everything to do with me. I have suffered social anxiety my entire life. It's not something I like and I have vigorously sought help for. Nonetheless I still have this infliction and probably will for the rest of my life. What does that have to do with writing?

Take J.K Rowling for example. She has reached celebrity status with having written the amazing Harry Potter series. Every bit of her life is picked apart and scrutinized by both fans and hates. Everything she says and does is picked apart with a fine-toothed comb. When she made some comments about the LGBT community, more specifically the transgender community, she was immediately crucified. As a result many people who were fans ended up burning their Harry Potter books and merch. Instead of judging the books on their merit, they suffered because of J.K Rowling as a celebrity figure instead.

Whether we choose to admit it or not, we all have our personal bias. I can't blame anyone for not wanting to support her work because of the terrible things that she has said, but also in my personal view, burning any book for any reason is the same as tyranny. We all judge people based on who they are rather than how good their work is. Plenty of terrible people have created works of art. Instead of appreciating their art based on it's merits, we revolt against it because of who the artist is. How is that fair to the works of art?

I am someone who highly values my privacy. I can't say I have any deep dark secrets that would affect how I work, but I don't need people picking into my life just because they like a piece of writing that I have done. Being in the spotlight is not something I crave, rather I would like my work to speak for itself. You don't need to know what someone likes to eat for breakfast in order to appreciate a masterpiece.

Some people may decide that they don't want to read the works of a unknown person, and that is wholly okay. I would never punish someone for their personal preferences as long as they are not harming another human being. The only thing I have ever wanted in my entire life is to create something amazing that my readers can fully enjoy. I don't want anything to do with being in the spotlight personally. I want readers to rave about my books, not what I said or didn't say on Twitter or Facebook.

This is something about me that is highly unlikely to ever change. I'm perfectly happy taking a backseat and letting my works glow under the lights. My dream is to make the New York Times Best Seller List. I believe in my heart of hearts that I can do that without people knowing exactly who I am. Maybe, one day, in the far future I will change my mind, but until then I am happy to remain as Kasey Lovesick.