Should You Use A Pen Name For Article Submissions?
Many writers prefer to submit articles under a pen name to protect their privacy. Is this a good practice? According to EzineArticles owner Chris Knight, articles written under pen names achieve less in the trust department. It’s easy to see why.
Here’s why Chris Knight says pen names are bad:
- The majority of thin & crappy article vomit submissions come from members who are clearly using a pen-name.
- Undesirable or high risk content topics (Casino/Poker/P Enlargement/Get Rich Quick/Name brand mentioners) are almost always under pen-names.
- There is a lack of accountability that comes from hiding behind a pen name.
- Often times pen names are rejected because they include related descriptors to the content topic that a person writes about. Ex: Star wars movie writer’s pen name “Jedi Walker.”
- Pen-name submitted content is often ghost written. Yes, it’s that easy to tell. Ghost written articles are almost always 2nd class vs. original content written by a true genuine expert author (our ideal member profile.)
Some of these points are hard to argue with. The first two points, for instance, are almost a given. We’ve all received enough spam from these people that to question whether or not Chris Knight is telling the truth is almost like questioning the weather as it is happening right now. That’s not to say that some gambling site owners do not write good articles or that articles written under pen names are always substandard. Generalities, however, are generally true.
As for accountability, writing under a pen name can offer some lack of accountability, but if you have an account under your real name and you write and submit articles under a pen name then the accountability is still there.
I understand the reason behind rejecting pen names that stand out as descriptive names rather than real human names. Who wants to read an article on the history of baseball by First Baseman? It’s not personal and everyone knows it’s not your real name. As a publisher, I’d wonder why you didn’t use your real name and I would likely not use your article even if it was well-written.
As for the final comment, that articles written under pen names are usually ghostwritten, all I can say is, OK, so what? Of course, I understand Chris Knight’s point in light of his first point: The majority of thin & crappy article vomit submissions come from members who are clearly using a pen-name.
It’s really sad that most ghostwritten articles are lousy articles. But not all of them are. The reason many of these ghostwritten articles are so under par is because website owners spend $1-$5 for the articles. If that is all you are paying for an article then you are overpaying. Yes, that’s right - overpaying. You are getting 0 quality articles for a cheap price, but that price is inflated for the quality that you get. It’s like buying gasoline for your automobile at 25 cents per gallon then wondering why your car’s engine blows up when you try to start it.
Ghostwritten articles are not inherently bad. Gad ghostwriters give good ghostwriters a bad name. Because of that, article directories like EzineArticles implement strict guidelines that shut us out. If your ghostwriter is any good at all then Chris Knight’s staff will not be able to tell your article is ghostwritten. If a pen name looks and sounds like a real name, such as Peter Spangler (doesn’t that sound like a real name?), and your article is as well written as the best articles written by real humans then EzineArticles, and every other article directory, will treat your article just like any other article. In that case, a pen name won’t hurt you. Still, I recommend using your real name unless you have a compelling reason not to.
are always accepted by article directories
