If you write under more than one name (different genres, different audiences, different creative identities), Sọna lets you run each as a completely separate author identity under one account. No separate logins, no separate emails.
What Is a Pen Name on Sọna?
A pen name on Sọna is an additional author identity attached to your account. Each pen name has its own:
- Name: the public name readers see on books and your profile
- Profile Photo: a separate image for this identity
- Bio: a short description of who this pen name is and what they write
- Genres: up to three from Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Drama & Plays
- Social Links: website, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, independent from your main profile
- Public URL: its own profile page, e.g.
readsona.com/author/anita-best
Your main author identity (set during signup) is always your primary profile. Pen names are additions to it.
How to Add a Pen Name
- Go to Publish Dashboard > Pen Names
- Click + Add Pen Name
- Enter the Pen Name
- Upload a profile photo (optional but recommended)
- Write a hort bio
- Select up to three genres
- Add any social links
- Click Save
The pen name is created immediately. Its public profile page goes live at once.
How to Use a Pen Name on a Book
When uploading a book, the Author Name field lets you select any of your pen names. Whatever you choose is what appears on the book page and in the catalogue. Readers see only that name, with no indication it is connected to your other identities.
Editing or Removing a Pen Name
Go to Publish Dashboard > Pen Names, find the pen name, and click the edit icon. All fields can be updated at any time. Removing a pen name does not affect books already published under it. Those books keep the credited name as-is.
Things to Know
Pen names are fully separate to readers. Each pen name has its own profile page. Nothing on the public site connects your pen names to your main profile unless you choose to mention it.
Earnings are filterable by pen name. All sales flow into the same Earnings dashboard under your account, but if you have more than one pen name, a dropdown appears on the Earnings page that lets you isolate sales and revenue for any individual pen name. Your dashboard home also shows a per-pen-name summary card for each identity, giving you a quick snapshot of earnings, sales, live titles, and titles under review at a glance.
Every pen name gets a unique URL. Sọna checks that the public URL for your new pen name is not already taken by any other author, pen name, or publisher imprint on the platform. If it is, you will be asked to adjust the name slightly.
If your pen name matches a book already on the platform, a book claim may be triggered, asking the publisher who uploaded that book to confirm you are the credited author. See: How Book Claims Work on Sọna.
Manage your pen names at Publish Dashboard > Pen Names.
Related Posts
- How Book Claims Work on Sọna: What happens when your pen name matches a book already in a publisher's catalogue
- Your Sọna Publish Dashboard: A Complete Guide: Overview of every section in the dashboard