Like many, I write incessantly. Admittedly a lot of what I write goes straight in the trash, sits quietly in my drafts never to be finished / published, or is 'cooling' on a hard drive somewhere, very very long term.
Earlier in the year I followed through on a random thought and wrote a fictional manuscript, which I then put on hold for almost 9 months. I was distracted by other things and to a large degree, taking time out from work, writing, my online 'life' etc whilst I concentrated on overcoming the flooring that is chemo and radiotherapy, a veritable poison a la NHS in the UK. As necessary as this treatment was, it proved something of an inconvenience in terms of my plans! During the time of active treatment I lost all interest in writing, and so it was that said manuscript sat with other beginnings on a hard drive with it's trusty old timer friends.
From nowhere I've felt motivated to load it back up and work on it again. That is where my head is at right now, and it's working for me at the moment. I'm managing to get my words down and achieve a level of productivity I'm happy with. I've ran it by my editor who thinks I should aim to publish it, and there lies my stumbling block. I'm faced with many questions. Do I aim to send it out to a plethora of traditional publishers? Do I do what I know oh so well (because it's part of what I do for a job) and self-publish? Do I publish in my own name or a pseudonym? If I decided to ease myself back into blogging much as I am easing myself back into my everyday work life, do I blog about this ? If so does that blog need to be in my name / chosen pen name, or shall I step away from that and use a URL which relates to the text or title, or something else ?
My reason for considering a pen name is that it's a genre I don't usually work in. I want to maintain my business reputation and associations writing for writers and for business. I don't want to warp that focus. You know, I still need my day job :-) - thinking about it, that is my only reason for considering a pen name, but launching a blog with a URL which doesn't contain my name might just as well meet that criteria and help keep things separate to a degree ?
I hate having so many questions unanswered, it's just not like me to be without a veritable plan. So for this reason I thought I would put it out there and ask you all what you think ? Do you have experiences with this ? Even if you don't, what are your thoughts ? As readers we are often aware of authors who write under pseudonyms, do you think it affects your sense of authenticity when relating to that writer?
