/lit/ - Literature

>>21957539
That is a very good question with an unclear answer.

Old heads argue no, and don’t see the reason as to why you would want to hide your name/face anyways. Plus book signings are a cornerstone of marketing. But this mostly is because they are out of touch boomers who lack the understanding of the horrors of the modern world. New heads argue the same thing just opposite direction, as social media presence, parasocial relationships and personal branding is practically a must in this day and age. Besides who wouldn’t want to be famous?

BUT

There are still authors with pen names, who do find success. But they often already have a strong network or good online presence. But more importantly avatar/virtual entertainment is rising and proving successful in other entertainment areas, and I think that success would be found here in the literature world too. You would still need a social media and a following. But its possible it can be done via an avatar or virtual character. How seriously you would be taken is unknown.

It has happened much yet, but I think it’s viable. If you want to be safe, go the pen name route with maybe an AI generated face. Which that btw a hasn’t even been discussed yet. But should work just fine. Avatar stuff is unknown so if you want to play it safe don’t use that yet.

I hope all that makes sense, I’m becoming less coherent