In the Guardian, Jonathan Freedland, aka Sam Bourne, discusses why writers choose to publish under pen names.

Freedland’s is a special case, in some respects:

I confess it was not my idea. My agent came up with it when he sent out a proposal and a few sample chapters: he wanted publishers to react to the words on the page, rather than to any preconceptions they might have about me or the columns I write in the Guardian.

But he also notes an unanticipated benefit:

Even if the original motivation owes more to commerce than art, once chosen, a nom de plume can be liberating, taking a writer to places that might have remained unexplored.

It’s something I’ve considered, but have never quite brought myself to the point of committing to it.

How about you? Do you write under a pseudonym? Have you ever thought about it? Why (or why not) did you decide to do it?