We all know of 'she who must not be named' and her decision to go by initials instead of her actual name to sound more 'masculine' and thus attract more fantasy readers. (we may collectively point and accuse her of hypocrisy accordingly but I doubt she'll care)

Do we know why?

Fantasy is dominated by men. It doesn't matter how many women have written incredible, genre-defining, fantasy...it's a man's game. Because the men made it, you know. Tolkien is almost entirely responsible for making fantasy into a viable genre, urged on by his fantasy-writing male friends.

Would he say it is a man's game? No. I don't think so.

But enough readers do, and it's the same for most genres.

I'm going to make assumptions here again, about the initials so many older fantasy authors employed, and their reasons. Yes, gender is a big one. For the reason I'm going to get into but also because a man writing a male character is expected, but a man writing a female character is unusual and people like things to line up. So ambiguity is better when you are a) writing outside your gender or b) writing for children.

This is my observations on the matter, anyhow.

I think Tolkien simply didn't believe his whole ass name would fit in the book but wanted his whole name there.

It could also sound more 'distinguished'. Who knows. I've been looking into it and it seems the reasons are kind of everywhere.

HOWEVER, the reason a certain transphobic wizard writer altered her name is very obvious. It is so very obvious. Because it is so very common for women to do in this business.

Anything not defined by feelings is considered a man's genre, both for reading and writing. You're thinking, "but LotR is full of feelings!" And yes, yes it is, but those are brotherly feelings, camaraderie and adventure and death and pain and those do not count, my little fren, for those are manly fantasy feelings.

I mean, really, have you read any of the Conan books? Feelings all over the place but you don't see that name and thing feelings, do you?

Do we know that, despite a woman pioneering sci-fi (hello, madame Shelley, we adore you), it is considered a man's genre? That there are whole ass adults who refuse to read anything in it not written by a man because they think women are incapable of technical thoughts?

I bet if we introduced them to Star Trek novels they'd die.

It is the same for horror, in fact. Women can't be scary. Can't be funny either, so get out of the comedy too.

Your place, as a woman (or woman-presenting, actually, you get in here too it's a party), is in romance. (even our lovely Shelley is considered a romance author above any other sort)

The only fantasy, horror, sci-fi or comedy you're allowed to write must be presented as romance. Because that is the woman's genre (goodness, you'd think they'd never heard of Poe).

Don't tell these people men are writing erotica with female pseudonyms because women dominate the genre... their heads will explode.

You may be wondering where 'children's fiction' sits on this list and I regret to inform you that is also for men (lot of initials in that one too, wonder why). A feminine name in the YA spaces seems to be just fine though(say thank you to Suzanne Collins because K.A. Applegate had to lie not ten years earlier).

So, I guess there's that. Go nuts.

I am, of course, not suggesting there is anything wrong with romance, simply pointing out that it is the only genre women seem to be allowed to dominate. Except for Poe, of course, and the poetic epics by Homer...and anything by Shakespeare. These men got to write romance because they were poets. Everyone knows poets are inherently feminine, right?

Now, with the basics of what genres are 'male' (all of them, essentially), we can see why changing a name is a good marketing strategy for many female authors.

If you're a woman writing fantasy, sci-fi or horror, you may fair better with gender ambiguity in your name and distinct lack of photo in your book. A feminine name will put a lot of readers off because 'women don't write that'.

It's changing! I must end with that. It is changing.

There are big names in these genres now which are undoubtedly female, even with their pseudonyms! (thank you, Seanan Mcguire, for giving us Mira Grant and me the courage to use my real name for horror), and men are decidedly less shy about writing romance and erotica and letting people know about it (who doesn't know Chuck Tingle, I mean really, he's the sweetheart of the literary world single-handedly making everyone less weird about erotica).

As indie publishing becomes more prevalent, things have changed for the better here.

But if you are a feminine type person and you want your book on a shelf, in a store, chances are it'll still do better with a masculine name attached to it. Because otherwise people assume it is a romance and that's still, for some stupid fucking reason, seen as a soft genre. A lesser genre.

One of my favorite authors, Holly Lisle, is put in the romance section of every store. She wrote fantasy, sci-fi and even some kid-lit and all of it was put in the romance section. All of it. When I go looking for her books, I am asked, "oh, the romantasy author?"

No. Not the romantasy author. She did not write romantasy. She wrote hard sci-fi and high fantasy and emotionally devastating tales of adventure, magic, grief, loss and sometimes dragons. Is there romance in them? Sometimes. Sometimes there's sex too. But it is often short lived and not the point.

I'd argue there's more romance in Lord of the Rings than anything Holly Lisle has written.

I want to scream when I see where she's been put.

The covers for most of her work even look like your old high fantasy, oil painted, big adventure covers. But because female author writing female main characters, she is in the romance section.

She refused to change her name. It was suggested, and she regretted not doing it even, mostly because she wrote in so many genres and felt it the reason so few knew who she was. But I admire her for it. I've not read her sci-fi yet but I know I will love it because I love how she writes.

But...I bet she'd have been more well known if she went by initials. If people assumed she were male, despite writing exclusively female main characters, I think more would have read her.

Certainly wouldn't be in the romance section where no one looking for the gut-wrenching, often hilarious and beautifully suggestive way she presented the pain and grief and loneliness of adventure will find her.

I think we should use whatever names feel right for us, and for our work, but I wanted to explain--in my meandering way--why some would choose not to. And why, perhaps, we shouldn't judge them for it.