Okay, this is really not being posted by Anonymous. It’s plain ole me.
Writers live in the same world as the rest of you, which means we have to live with the people who read our work.
Yesterday Hevria began to post a series entitled “Truth And Dare.” The first post was by the outstanding writer, Chaya Kurtz. Entitled, “Backlash,” Chaya described the artistic desire to bare her opinions for all the world to see, but how when she did this, she suffered from the subsequent reactions that readers had. Today, sometimes she censors herself.
Anyway, it’s a fabulous post, and I recommend you read it, as well as the other pieces in the series.
When I commented on her post, a topic came up in the conversation I had with Chaya that has been on my mind lately — that being, is it right to publish anonymously or under a pseudonym?
The reason I’ve been thinking about anonymity and pseudonyms lately is that I’m just beginning an odd publishing flurry of many pieces in a very short period of time (even though the pieces were written and submitted at very different times). Is just so happens that over half those pieces will not be published under my name.
Am I hiding my opinions under a pseudonym?
Honestly, I wish I could write everything I do under my own name. It makes it easier to attract readers, and one of the pieces I’m most proud of was written under a pseudonym. And I have no problem telling people my opinions or embarrassing myself. I’ve published many opinions that aren’t exactly popular, and I’ve let all sorts of interesting tidbits out of my closet. The entire world can now read all about my OCD, my parents’ ugly divorce, and how insecure I feel about my looks. Readers know I’m a reverse snob who drives a jalopy almost daily through Beverly Hills and that I live in a tiny apartment with largely second-hand or third-hand furniture. I’ve been trolled, gotten all sorts of funny, knowing looks, and I’ve had to defend myself against challengers, but that’s all okay by me.
However, I don’t write under another name for my own benefit. Sometimes, I think there are lessons to be learned from my observations of the people around me. I’ll write an essay or a true short story about those people.
In many cases, the story is unflattering, but I feel the story needs to be told because other people have the same struggles. Sometimes, the subjects of my stories tell me that they want me to tell their stories, but they don’t want the details of their lives to be common knowledge. Frankly, if I’m writing a piece, it’s my choice. Being featured in one of my stories is not a choice for all the people I write about.
By writing under a pseudonym, I’m simultaneously able to give voices to the unheard (largely, in my case, people with mental health issues or special needs of other sorts) and to protect them, because unfortunately society contains many people who do not yet accept their challenges as “normal.” In the Jewish world, even if I change a subject’s name in print, as soon as I am noticed as the author, people can often connect the dots well enough to trace a line back to the real name. It’s a very tightly knit community.
Being able to write these stories without damaging people is very important to me. In most secular media, you are not permitted to publish anything not under your name. And their reasons are good — if you are willing to put your name on something, you are taking responsibility for the facts and opinions published under it. And you are better able to attract readers through social media, which requires you to use your handle. However, I’m glad that most Hareidi magazines continue to allow writing posted without the author’s real-life name.
The Downside
The truth is that I really, really wish I could share those pieces with all of you. I love hearing back from my readers and engaging with them. I’m very proud of one of the pieces, in particular. I could tell you my pseudonyms so you could find my pieces (two essays, a reported essay, and a true short story), but then I wouldn’t achieve what I’m trying to do by adopting those pseudonyms in the first place.
In the meantime, I’ll have to comfort myself with the pieces I’m publishing under my actual name. Two very exciting short stories will be coming out for Pesach, G-d willing, one in The Jewish Press, and the other on JewishFiction.net. When they are released, I’ll tell you all about them.
So, that’s where I stand on the issue of anonymous and pseudonymous writing. What do you think? I’d love to hear in the comments. Please post one!
Rebecca Klempner 
I got a comment here from R., who wants to remain anonymous, but shared the following: “Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. I think you are doing the right thing by not always publishing under your real name. Somethings just have to be that way in order to preserve sanity, and in some cases safety. There are other things that are worse then hurting someones feelings. I am in that quandary now as well. A publisher is interested in a book i am doing, but it is not the material that is accepted in our circles. I wanted to publish under initials and my last name, but my kids insist people int he community will know me anyway. I told them they wouldn’t even look at this book, but they don’t think I am right. I may have to publish under a different name. In the end it is getting the piece out and not what name it is under, that is important.”
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I totally get why you opt to write under a pseudonym. Although I haven’t yet, I’m not ruling out doing so myself.
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It never occurred to me to write under a pseudonymn, actually. There are some topics I’ve wanted to discuss which I know people could relate to, but which would involve discussing other people, so I’ve always just ruled it out, precisely because the Jewish community is so small and I would certainly be overstepping and probably transgressing some law of speech. You’ve given me what to think about – thank you!
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Why would you need to write about other people in a blog? Being kind should be every writer’s mantra, opening minds and sharing insights, not demeaning others.
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I’m not talking about writing about other people in a blog (although there are plenty of people who do this). I’m talking about personal essays or true short stories which mention neighbors or relatives. If you reread the blog post, you will see that I am talking about writing things anonymously or pseudonymously specifically to open minds and share insights WITHOUT demeaning people, exposing them to public judgment, or invading their privacy.
This blog post, if you check the date, is from 7 years ago. I will tell you something I could not mention then: one of the pieces I’m most proud of writing was about dealing with a neighbor, who was also assigned a pseudonym in the story (locations were changed, etc., as well). That neighbor is no longer living. But at the time I wrote this true short story, he was. Why did I write the piece? Over time, I became aware that we — myself and neighbors shared by the subject of my piece — were calling things he did “bad” which were really because he had a neurological diagnosis we were unaware of. The true short story took us to task for our failure to sufficiently empathize with this plight and to take care of him as we should have. (Yes, in real life, I did act on these insights in the last years of his life.)
One of the unfortunate outcomes of social media and it’s influence is that authors are discouraged from writing under pseudonyms or anonymously because they cannot promote their work from social media accounts. While for practical reasons, I understand this, it also means that there are life lessons that we will not be able to read about because some authors do not want to harm the people they write about.
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Thanks for your comments, Helena and Rivki.
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Like Helene, it has not occurred to me either but I can imagine how freeing it would be and how it protect the other people in the story.
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The reality is that many magazines don’t allow you this option. I think there is a sentiment that you should only say things you can stand behind, and that anonymity can allow people to make statements that might be slanderous, for example, leaving the publication, not the author, at risk of lawsuit. I can understand where they’re coming from. But if you can find a venue that does allow you to publish under another name, it definitely allows you — I like the word you used! — freedom. And it doesn’t come at the expense of others.
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