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 pseudonym is in fact the secondary name (pseudonym) and not the primary (canonical) name of the person in question. The name being made a pseudonym is shown in bold in the upper right of the screen.
- Enter the canonical name of which this name is to be a pseudonym in the box labeled "Parent Name". Be sure that the name is exactly correct, with spelling, capitalization, and spacing all matching the proper record. It is best to copy the name from the correct author bibliography (display page) and paste it here to avoid typos. The system won't let you create a pseudonym association for authors that do not exist, but if you mistype the name and it happens to exist, an incorrect association will be created.
- Alternatively, if you know the author record number for the canonical name, you may instead enter it into the box labeled "Parent Record #".
- Once you are sure that you have entered the correct information, click "Submit Data".
- The change must be approved by a moderator in the usual way.