Homme de Plume: What I Learned Sending My Novel Out Under a Male Name

[CrispyQ]

Homme de Plume: What I Learned Sending My Novel Out Under a Male Name

http://jezebel.com/homme-de-plume-what-i-learned-sending-my-novel-out-und-1720637627

snip...

I sent the six queries I had planned to send that day. Within 24 hours George had five responses—three manuscript requests and two warm rejections praising his exciting project. For contrast, under my own name, the same letter and pages sent 50 times had netted me a total of two manuscript requests. The responses gave me a little frisson of delight at being called “Mr.” and then I got mad. Three manuscript requests on a Saturday, not even during business hours! The judgments about my work that had seemed as solid as the walls of my house had turned out to be meaningless. My novel wasn’t the problem, it was me—Catherine.

I wanted to know more of how the Georges of the world live, so I sent more. Total data: George sent out 50 queries, and had his manuscript requested 17 times. He is eight and a half times better than me at writing the same book. Fully a third of the agents who saw his query wanted to see more, where my numbers never did shift from one in 25.

I know it's just one person's story, but it doesn't surprise me at all.

Another discussion about it on DU, here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027059404

[Brainstormy]

1. I always wondered

but I couldn't make myself do it for my novels. Do you think it has to do with genre? I mean, would chick lit or romance be taken seriously if a man was the presumptive author while literary fiction needs to be written by a male?

[CrispyQ]

2. In the other thread, someone mentioned that J K Rowling

was told to use initials because it was thought that young boys would likely not read a story written by a woman. ??? After the Potter series, she wrote a couple of mysteries under the name of Robert Galbraith. I understand using a pen name for a different genre, but why not go with Roberta Galbraith?

[valerief]

3. Fascinating. Sad but fascinating. nt