Help:Screen:MakeAlternateName

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When you're displaying an author, there is a link in the left navbar labelled "Make This Author a Pseudonym". Clicking on this link displays the "Make Pseudonym" screen, which allows you to specify that the author in question is a pseudonym of another author.

An author is a pseudonym of another author if they are in fact the same person. In the ISFDB, a pseudonym means that the author wrote a work under a name different than their canonical name. This leads to a few rules:

• An author can have more than one pseudonym.
• A pseudonym can represent a group of authors.
• A pseudonym can be used by more than one person. House names (like Alexander Blade) may be used by dozens of authors.
• An author who is widely known by a pseudonym (Mark Twain or Cordwainer Smith, as examples), will have a canonical ISFDB name which, in reality is a pseudonym. This can set up counter-intuitive situations where use of their real name is listed as a pseudonym. If you're a strict taxonimist, this situation will induce some cognitive dissonance - just go with it.

Marking an author record so that it's a pseudonym of another author

• Make sure that the author (name) about to be marked as a pesudonym is in fact the secondary name (pseudonym) and not the primary (cannonical) name of the person in question. The name being made a pesudonym is shown in bold in the upper right of the screen. There is no easy way to correct a backwards pseudonym relationship.
• Enter the cannonical name of which this name is to be a pesudonym in the box labeled "Parent Name". Be sure that the name is exactly corrct, with spelling, capitolization, and spacing all matching the proper record. It is best to copy the name from the correct author bibliograpy (display page) and paste it here, to avoid typos. Remember that there is no easy way to correct an error in tis name.
  • Or, if you know the author record number of the author record for the cannonical name, you may insted enter it into the box labeled "Parent Record #". Again, be sure you get the number correct.
• Once you are sure that you have the information correct, click "Submit Data".
• The change must be approved by a moderator in the usual way. After that it is in the database for good.

See also

• Help:How to record a pseudonym
• Help:How to record a variant title
• Help:How to separate two authors with the same name