House Pseudonym: Difference between revisions

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A House Pseudonym is a pen name that can be used by any writer at a given publisher.

House Pseudonyms have been used to disguise that a long series has become a Franchise Zombie by allowing other authors to use the creator's name. They have been used to make a collaborative work look like it came from a single author, using a name that belongs to neither of the actual writers.

In the internet age, some websites use them as well. It may be a conscious decision, or it may be the byproduct of giving a standard moniker to posters who aren't signed into the site.

Has nothing to do with works written by House under another name.

Examples of House Pseudonym include:

Literature

This article on The Other Wiki will tell you some of them.
Carolyn Keene of the Nancy Drew novels.
Franklin W. Dixon of The Hardy Boys novels.
K. A. Applegate of Animorphs.
R. L. Stine of Goosebumps.
V. C. Andrews—enough that that "author" has been publishing long after Author Existence Failure.
Victor Appleton of the Tom Swift books.
- Victor Appleton II of the Tom Swift, Jr. books.
Maxwell Grant of the Shadow novels (usually Walter B. Gibson).
Kenneth Robeson of the Doc Savage novels (usually Lester Dent).
Inverted with Harry Potter. Due to the great complexity of the series, several readers thought Harry Potter was the work of multiple authors; however, J.K. Rowling rebuked those claims by stating seriously it's just me much to the awe of this disbelieving side of the fanbase.
Erin Hunter of Warrior Cats
James Axler of the Deathlands series and its spinoff, Outlanders

New Media

People who sign up for free webhosting services are a (virtual) example of this trope.
- Amazingly, few webhosts seem to check if signups really are this - this webhosting management discussion site is one such example. But, due to a bizarre Finagle's Law and legalities, amazingly, it's legal.
- Which leads to sign-ups with placeholder numbers, like (Manchester phonecode here) 0161 000 0000.
"Anonymous Coward" at Slashdot.
"Anonymous" at 4chan.
The authors of this roads and traffic blog. Perhaps because he doesn't wish to compromise his identity.
Anonymous, the well-known "hacking" group. The one with the question mark and suit logo.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{trope}}
-A [[House Pseudonym]] is a pen name that can be used by any writer at a given publisher.
+A '''House Pseudonym''' is a pen name that can be used by any writer at a given publisher.
 House Pseudonyms have been used to disguise that a long series has become a [[Franchise Zombie]] by allowing other authors to use the creator's name. They have been used to make a collaborative work look like it came from a single author, using a name that belongs to neither of the actual writers.
 In the internet age, some websites use them as well. It may be a conscious decision, or it may be the byproduct of giving a standard moniker to posters who aren't signed into the site.
-{{examples}}
+Has nothing to do with works written by [[House (TV series)|House]] under another name.
+{{examples}}
 == [[Literature]] ==
-*  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_name#Collective_names This article] on [[The Other Wiki]] will tell you some of them.
+*  [[wikipedia:Pen name#Collective names|This article]] on [[The Other Wiki]] will tell you some of them.
 *  Carolyn Keene of the Nancy Drew novels.
 *  Franklin W. Dixon of [[The Hardy Boys]] novels.
-*  K. A. Applegate of [[Animorphs (Literature)|Animorphs]].
+*  K. A. Applegate of [[Animorphs]].
 *  R. L. Stine of [[Goosebumps]].
-*  [[VC Andrews]] -- enough that that "author" has been publishing long after [[Author Existence Failure]].
+*  [[V. C. Andrews]]—enough that that "author" has been publishing long after [[Author Existence Failure]].
 * Victor Appleton of the [[Tom Swift]] books.
 ** Victor Appleton II of the Tom Swift, Jr. books.
@@ Line 19: / Line 21: @@
 * Kenneth Robeson of the [[Doc Savage]] novels (usually Lester Dent).
 * Inverted with [[Harry Potter]]. Due to the great complexity of the series, several readers thought Harry Potter was the work of multiple authors; however, J.K. Rowling rebuked those claims by stating ''seriously it's just me'' much to the awe of this disbelieving side of the fanbase.
-* Erin Hunter of ''[[Warrior Cats (Literature)|Warrior Cats]]''
+* Erin Hunter of ''[[Warrior Cats]]''
-* James Axler of the ''[[Deathlands (Literature)|Deathlands]]'' series and its spinoff, ''Outlanders''
+* James Axler of the ''[[Deathlands]]'' series and its spinoff, ''Outlanders''
 == New Media ==
 *  People who sign up for free webhosting services are a ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|virtual]]) example of this trope.
-**  Amazingly, few webhosts seem to check if signups really are this - [http://www.freewht.com this webhosting management discussion site is one such example]. But, due to a bizarre [[Finagle's Law]] and legalities, amazingly, it's legal.
+**  Amazingly, few webhosts seem to check if signups really are this - [https://web.archive.org/web/20091005055634/http://www.freewht.com/ this webhosting management discussion site is one such example]. But, due to a bizarre [[Finagle's Law]] and legalities, amazingly, it's legal.
 **  Which leads to sign-ups with placeholder numbers, like (Manchester phonecode here) 0161 000 0000.
 * "Anonymous Coward" at [[Slashdot]].
 * "Anonymous" at 4chan.
-* The authors of this [http://www.autoroutem60.co.cc/blog/ roads and traffic blog]. Perhaps because [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|he doesn't wish to compromise his identity]].
+* The authors of this [https://web.archive.org/web/20111125112340/http://autoroutem60.co.cc/blog/ roads and traffic blog]. Perhaps because [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment|he doesn't wish to compromise his identity]].
 * Anonymous, the well-known "hacking" group. The one with the question mark and suit logo.