I just read through the thread with the huge list of article sites to submit your content. I was wondering if anyone has used a fake name for the article author? The reason i ask is that i have a few articles that i'd like to submit, but due to my current employer, I don't want my real name associated with them. There is nothing inherently wrong with them, i.e. obscene, illegal, trade secrets, etc, i just don't want to draw any unneeded attention from certain people. So, has anyone submitted stuff with a fake name, and if so how does that affect the copyright of the material? Not sure if this is the proper place for this thread, but the closest i could find.
Thanks for the reply! I know there are writers that do, I was just wondering whether it's a common practice on the internet. It doesn't seem like there'd be any recourse if someone ripped the content off. Maybe i'm worrying too much about that. The articles I'd like to submit relate to a mildly popular niche, nothing mainstream. I'm probably over analyzing again.
It's very common practice for a number of reasons. To maintain privacy. You don't neccesarily want your employer or your competitors know what you are doing. For tracking. If I'm starting a new site I will try and find a pen-name that returns zero searches (in quotes). This way I can track the distribution of articles. I know that every mention of my new name will be my article. You will probably write articles in different niches. If one set of articles is about dog grooming (or whatever) you may want to be seen as an expert in that field. Writing a set of articles about SEO and another set about fishing will weaken your brand. As far as copyright goes, legally you still maintain this, as does every published author who has used a pen name. Realistically, once it's out on the internet, you can wave goodbye to your rights. It will be copied whether you like it or not.
I always do, exactly to keep my privacy intact. I dont want employers etc to look up my name and find the erotic stories I've written over time.. just kidding, but still
If you still want to get personal "credit," but don't want them to come up in searches, you could try a variation of your own name that someone wouldn't necessarily search for, but you could still link to the article as an example of your work when and if you wanted. For example, if your name is Thomas Deeblebaum, you could submit articles under T. Deeblebaum or T.J. Deeblebaum...you get the idea. If you don't care, pick whatever name you want. I suggest Thomas Deeblebaum.
I only ever use my real name on the internet with friends who I have actually met or when something is dealing with secure money. All sites, forms and submissions are under a pseudo name. Calling it a 'fake' name doesn't seem quite right to me either because it makes it sound wrong, but everyone does it. So much so that its at the point now that if someone's username on this forum was a plausible real life name you would suspect otherwise automatically because almost no one does it. If your good at online recon it can be scary just how much can be known about a username used regularly. Cheers
http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/ Great site, generates both credit card number, address, phone number and name, fully for free. Very, very useful.
You own copyright over articles under your pen name. Who says you don't? Pseudonyms are great for people who hate their real names. And someone has mentioned, pen name is also a tool for branding, just like actors and actresses do have screen names. For instance, your field is astrology, does the name James Rutgers sound like a person who knows that the Cancer sign is not a disease? Sir Thomas Devaugn -- more likely.
I've found from my experience with Content Caboodle that the majority of article writers seem to be using pseudonyms. I imagine it's most useful especially to those submitting articles for marketing purposes since Internet marketers are known to create different identities for each field they enter. Which makes sense since "Larry" probably won't get the same response with readers as "Heather" would if the topic is beauty cream. LOL