How to set up an author’s page on Amazon when using a pencil name

If you are a self-published author, you are likely offering your books for sale on Amazon.com. Whether or not you have an account, there are a few things to know about how to navigate Amazon’s Kindle platform more effectively as a published author, particularly if you choose to use one or more pseudonyms.

However, before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s go over why and when you would want to use a pseudonym, how using one affects your posting accounts, how to approach social media, and other important considerations for using a pseudonym.

Why and when to use a pseudonym?

A “pseudonym”, or pseudonym, is an assumed name that many writers choose to use instead of their real name. But why would someone, especially you, want to do that?

There are a range of reasons that many authors give to explain why they use a pseudonym at some point in their career. However, some of the most common are:

• To safeguard your true identity.

• Not be restricted by the use of your real name.

• Distinguish between the different types of books they write.

All of these are excellent reasons to decide on a pseudonym and then use it to set up your author account.

How does using a pseudonym affect your publishing accounts?

Once you make the decision to use a pseudonym instead of your real name, there are some restrictions that you will have to deal with as a publisher on the Amazon platform.

• You cannot use your pseudonym to create verified reviews.

• You cannot comment on or use the discussion forums under the pseudonym.

• You are restricted to using a single name in Amazon discussion groups.

This is because Amazon has strict rules that only allow accounts with verified payment methods to complete certain actions. This leaves you very limited in certain respects if you use one or more pseudonyms.

How should you deal with social media when using a pseudonym?

It’s one thing to use your pseudonym to set up an author account and on your book cover, but how do you use it for other areas of book publishing and promotion, like social media?

• Facebook – You can only set up a Facebook main page with your real name. However, you can set up individual pages to promote your books using each of their pseudonyms.

• Twitter – It’s easy to set up multiple Twitter accounts for each of your pseudonyms so you can keep your book promotions separate.

• Goodreads – This platform only allows one main profile for each author, so if you want to promote using different pseudonyms, you will have to set up several individual accounts using different emails.

How to set your author page with a pencil name

Here are the steps you need to take to set up your Amazon author page with a pseudonym.

To set up your author page, you must already have a main Amazon account and at least one book already listed and available for purchase on Amazon.com.

If you don’t already have a primary Amazon account, select the “No, I’m a new customer” sign-in option and follow the instructions to set up a new account.

If you don’t already have a book on Amazon, use Kindle’s direct publishing page to upload your first book.

Once you have created your Amazon account and uploaded your book, follow the steps below to set up your account under your pseudonym.

1. Copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/

2. Click “Join Now”.

3. Enter your Amazon login email address and password and press Enter.

4. Read the Terms and Conditions in Author Central and click “Accept” to accept them and move on.

5. Once the author page opens, go to the “Books” tab and click the “Add more books” button.

6. Do a search for the name of the book you wrote using your pseudonym and add your selection. If you can’t find the book by title, try searching by ISBN number.

7. A pop-up box will appear stating “Not listed as author …”. An option at the bottom of the pop-up box will say “If you type with a different name, please let us know.” Click on that link.

8. An email confirmation will be sent to your associated Amazon account. Find the email and click the confirmation link to verify that you are the author of the book and that it is your pseudonym.

9. Once your identity is verified, that pseudonym will now be associated with your Author Central account.

10. Repeat steps six through nine for up to three (3) pseudonyms on a single account.

Switch between pen names in your Amazon author account

If you have more than one pseudonym associated with your Amazon author account, here’s how to switch between each one.

1. Navigate to your Author account page and click on the drop-down menu next to your name at the top of the page.

2. Select the name of the pen you want to use from the list.

It’s as simple as that! You can switch back and forth at any time, depending on how and when you want to use a particular pseudonym.

What do you do if you have more than three (3) pseudonyms?

If you’re writing a storm and you need more than 3 pseudonyms, there is an easy way to avoid the 3-name limitation in your Amazon author account.

You will need to open a second Amazon author account with a different email address and follow the steps outlined above to add up to three additional pen names to be associated with that account.

If necessary, you can repeat this process as many times as you like to set up more pseudonyms.

Note that although you can set up multiple author accounts and associated pseudonyms, you can only have one Kindle Direct Publishing account per person, no matter how many pseudonyms you choose to have.

Note: Always remember to log out of secondary, tertiary, etc. Create accounts and return to your main account before logging into your Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing account so that you can view all the books listed.

Important Considerations When Using Pencil Names on Amazon

If you plan to write and self-publish books internationally (that is, outside of Amazon.com’s main store), you will need to set up accounts on each international Amazon site where you want your books to be available.

While it sounds intimidating, the process is pretty simple.

1. Go to your browser and enter the URL associated with the Amazon Author hub for the country you are going to. For example, http://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk (UK)

2. When the page opens, create your author profile and add your books by following the same steps as you would on the main Amazon.com site.

Depending on the types of books you plan to write, using pseudonyms can be an important part of your book creation and branding strategy. Follow these easy steps to set up your Amazon Author Pages and Pseudonyms, and you’ll have all the flexibility and anonymity you need to self-publish with confidence.