We received this tricky question from one of our readers, and we thought it was a great one!

Hi, I have a question regarding pen names. Your articles are very informative and helped a lot, but there’s still one question I have left. I am beginning my first novel. I chose the pen name Hunter Field for two reasons: First, I’ve always wanted an alias; second, my real name is not easily spelled, pronounced, or remembered. I am about to introduce myself to a group of NaNoWriMo authors in my local area. All of my Internet personas are under Hunter Field (my blog, my forum accounts, my NaNoWriMo account), so I don’t want to confuse them by introducing myself by my real name and then writing, commenting, etc. as Hunter. What do you suggest?

Unfortunately, there is no one simple answer here, but there are options. When you’re building a Web presence, branding is important—so it’s right to stick to an easy-to-remember pen name across all websites and social networks. When it comes to mingling in real life, the situation can change.