Constant Content

Can I have more than one account?

I have several well-established pseudonyms on the internet. I want to post content from some of them as Usage only here, but that causes the whole plagiarism thing to kick in, as well as reveals that they all belong to the same person and I'd rather not do that.

I'm not trying to evade taxes or anything, just take advantage of my established brands.

That's a good question. I used my real name and a pen name when I signed up. It hasn't been a problem since both names are on my account. When I've submitted previously published articles with my real name, it was easy enough for CC to make the connection.

With multiple pen names, verification can be harder. CC will not accept previously published articles that are not clearly the intellectual property of the submitter. If the published article's byline is missing or does not match the name on your account, it won't be accepted. This can be irritating, but it also addresses those pesky plagiarism concerns. After all, if someone pretended to be me, I'd be happy that CC didn't fall for it. CC has checks in place to make sure that it is not selling content that the writers do not have the right to sell, including matching up bylines. It is a bit harder for those of us with pen names.

Since you have several established pen names, hopefully you can show CC that these names belong to you. I recognize your "TsuDhoNimh" (which I love by the way) name from AC, so you might contact CC support and see about cross-referencing your identity with AC. For example, if you could get an AC staff member to verify that "your real name" writes as "your pen name," then that would probably help. I believe that CC and AC are building a relationship, so this idea might be feasible - but who knows?

If your usage articles are not accepted due to pen name conflicts, try submitting a few original articles here. CC does okay with lower-priced usage articles, but it really shines with original, full rights articles (for a much higher price). Give these articles some time and if they don't sell, then submit them elsewhere.

Welcome to CC and I look forward to reading your usual wisdom here :)

Please stick to submitting under one account, and please submit content that can be verified as original to you. Celeste is right in that authors will see the most success from submitting content that is unique to CC.

Thanks,
Ed

Celeste,
You made me wonder about the names. When I signed up I used my real name, but when I put a byline on an article, I use a pen name (well, once I forgot and used my real name). It hadn't ever caused a problem, but that was in 2007. Is it ok to use a pen name rather than the name I signed up with? I don't have any content that I've sold other than through CC, so that wouldn't be a problem (plagiarism).

That's how I have my account set up. I believe that our accounts should have our real names for payment and contractual purposes. For example, my real name is not Celeste Stewart, but my user name and byline are. CC knows me as both my real name and as Celeste. It's not a problem to use a pen name when set up this way.