ADOPTING A PEN NAME

How Sara Read is becoming Sarah Henrik

I figure I ought to write something about adopting a pen name now that my friends are starting to think that a) someone hacked my social media accounts, or b) I got divorced.

Neither of those things happened. I’ve simply taken my literary identity and changed its name. You can do that. It’s kind of amazing. And weird. And also—amazing. So let me tell you about how Sara Read, the author, is becoming Sarah Henrik.

Why a Pen Name?

It started as a decision based on giving my next book the best chance of success. And yes, changing my name can contribute to that. (Not at all required, though! If you’re changing genres or publishers or dealing with a less than stellar sales record, don’t freak out.) As far as I’ve gathered, it’s all about representing my work in a new light to the big book buyers (Barnes & Noble, et al.) That is, not directly tying me to the sales record of my first two books (which sold okay, but not great). It’s an open secret but it could put a little cushion of potential a…