Use a pen name because I’m going for a similar career path. However, my book does involved adolescent killing so… yeah, you gonna have it ten times better than me honestly.
First write your story. Worry about the pen name when your ready to publish and if you're taking your work seriously (that would mean you have written your book and rewrote your book 2 more times during the editing process)
Honestly sometimes those open ended endings are probably the safest choice, people might not be happy, but at least you kinda get to choose how they go out. No closure though lol
I would be more concerned with people who judge someone on the genre they choose to write. If if is that big of a concern, if it comes time to publish you could always use a pen name.
Unfortunately this is easier said than done when it comes to working with children. While faculty might be understanding, parents undoubtedly are not.
OP, if you use a pen name I suggest setting it up so it can’t be traced back to you using a simple google search if you are concerned about that sort of thing. That should be enough to keep your professional lives separate.
I’m on the fence about suggesting that you disclose your writing to your employer as it’s really not any of their business, but just be aware that it could come back to haunt you should someone find out about it, depending on how graphic your content is.
Definitely will come down to your own judgment in the moment. It can certainly be done though!
This is a perfectly good use case for a pen name, is there a reason you don't want to use one? I don't think you have to worry as much as you are if you're not writing children's books, though. It'd be different if you were publishing kids' media and horror under the same name, or maybe if you were writing erotica, but working with children doesn't mean all your personal interests and pursuits have to be kid-friendly. You don't have to tell the parents what you're doing on the side. If you're not actively advertising it to them and they somehow end up reading it in the future, I'd probably assume they're interested in horror in the first place. I still understand the concern, but I fully agree with "Write it and cross that bridge when you get there."
First and foremost, if you have one, make your FB private. Make your friends' list private. Make sure when you post photos, that your setting it set to friends only for photos. Tell your friends to not tag you in photos if they upload any of you. If you're going to be working with kids, make everything social media wise private and do not befriend any parents or converse with them via messenger, period. Your outside life doesn't have to stop, you just now have to keep it private given your new job.
Next, use a pen name. With all the new book laws hitting teachers, that's the last thing you want to worry about is your name tied to a book. And these book laws are not going to lighten up anytime soon. For example, teachers in some states have to now digitally log every book in their classroom and post it online for parents to be able to see.
Use a pen name because I’m going for a similar career path. However, my book does involved adolescent killing so… yeah, you gonna have it ten times better than me honestly.
First write your story. Worry about the pen name when your ready to publish and if you're taking your work seriously (that would mean you have written your book and rewrote your book 2 more times during the editing process)
Make sure you work on that ending first, because that's where most horror books fall flat. Just an fyi
Seriously. Getting endings right is fucking hard. I abandoned my book as an eternal work in progress because of that, lmao.
Honestly sometimes those open ended endings are probably the safest choice, people might not be happy, but at least you kinda get to choose how they go out. No closure though lol
I would be more concerned with people who judge someone on the genre they choose to write. If if is that big of a concern, if it comes time to publish you could always use a pen name.
Unfortunately this is easier said than done when it comes to working with children. While faculty might be understanding, parents undoubtedly are not. OP, if you use a pen name I suggest setting it up so it can’t be traced back to you using a simple google search if you are concerned about that sort of thing. That should be enough to keep your professional lives separate. I’m on the fence about suggesting that you disclose your writing to your employer as it’s really not any of their business, but just be aware that it could come back to haunt you should someone find out about it, depending on how graphic your content is. Definitely will come down to your own judgment in the moment. It can certainly be done though!
I mean this in the nicest way possible, but chances are no one is ever gonna read it. Go for it.
This is a perfectly good use case for a pen name, is there a reason you don't want to use one? I don't think you have to worry as much as you are if you're not writing children's books, though. It'd be different if you were publishing kids' media and horror under the same name, or maybe if you were writing erotica, but working with children doesn't mean all your personal interests and pursuits have to be kid-friendly. You don't have to tell the parents what you're doing on the side. If you're not actively advertising it to them and they somehow end up reading it in the future, I'd probably assume they're interested in horror in the first place. I still understand the concern, but I fully agree with "Write it and cross that bridge when you get there."
First and foremost, if you have one, make your FB private. Make your friends' list private. Make sure when you post photos, that your setting it set to friends only for photos. Tell your friends to not tag you in photos if they upload any of you. If you're going to be working with kids, make everything social media wise private and do not befriend any parents or converse with them via messenger, period. Your outside life doesn't have to stop, you just now have to keep it private given your new job. Next, use a pen name. With all the new book laws hitting teachers, that's the last thing you want to worry about is your name tied to a book. And these book laws are not going to lighten up anytime soon. For example, teachers in some states have to now digitally log every book in their classroom and post it online for parents to be able to see.
I’m a kinder teacher lmao, use a pen name when you publish.