Foreign Writers

[Darth Storm]

Hello!

This question has been bugging me for a while... I live in Portugal, and I have decided to try my luck in the English/American publishing business. But I've heard it said several times that agents and publishers may not welcome a "foreign name."

What is your experience with this? Do you think foreign writers should get an English pseudonym, or just use their own name?
I prefer the second option, but I would welcome some other opinions


Thanks!

[Nathan Bransford]

Hello!

This question has been bugging me for a while... I live in Portugal, and I have decided to try my luck in the English/American publishing business. But I've heard it said several times that agents and publishers may not welcome a "foreign name."

What is your experience with this? Do you think foreign writers should get an English pseudonym, or just use their own name?
I prefer the second option, but I would welcome some other opinions


Thanks!

If you'd prefer to use your own name use your own name. I don't think there's any such thing as an American name.

[Doug Pardee]

Speaking as a reader, not an agent or publisher, I think the main question would be whether your name appears to be pronounceable by your target audience. Secondarily, if you're prepared to accept mispronunciations — in particular, most Americans are mono-lingual and aren't too good at pronouncing names from countries with other phonetic systems. For a few authors, there's also the question of whether their names mean (or sound like) something unpleasant in English (or whatever the audience's language is).

[Nathan Bransford]

Speaking as a reader, not an agent or publisher, I think the main question would be whether your name appears to be pronounceable by your target audience. Secondarily, if you're prepared to accept mispronunciations — in particular, most Americans are mono-lingual and aren't too good at pronouncing names from countries with other phonetic systems. For a few authors, there's also the question of whether their names mean (or sound like) something unpleasant in English (or whatever the audience's language is).

True, though there are about 10 people in the US that can pronounce (American) Chuck Palahniuk's name and that hasn't stopped him one bit.

[Darth Storm]

I do prefer using my own name. It is not even that "foreign", and you can even find my surname in America and England (although it's very rare).

I found it very strange when I heard people say to be careful, because "there be dragons out there". I had never heard anything discouraging coming from the English/American publishing industry, and the first time I did was from the Portuguese one. But oh well, I have given up on Portuguese publishers for a reason, so...

Thank you for both your opinions!