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Jennifer talks pen names...
When I first started writing, I had grand ideas for what I
wanted my name to be. First, I wanted to use my first and middle names—Jennifer
Alison—for shelf placement.
But shelf placement isn’t as important as it once was.
Then I wanted to use a completely different name. Except,
when I told my mom, she thought I should use my real name—I think she might
have wanted some bragging rights. J
So then my decision was between my maiden name, Zander, and
my married name, Wilck. I thought about it for a while. Since shelf placement
isn’t as important with the proliferation of e-books, and honestly, even if it
was, the difference between “Z” and “W” is minimal, there wasn’t a compelling
reason to use, or not use, either name. It all came down to personal
preference.
When I was first married, I used my maiden name
professionally, as people knew me by Zander. And to transition, I used both for
a while. But I’ve been out of the traditional workplace for a while, and
everyone knows me as “Wilck” now. In fact, many people who know me and might be
inclined to buy my books wouldn’t know to look under “Zander.” So I decided to
go with “Jennifer Wilck.”
Do you use a pen name?
