Not unless you’re willing to create a whole identity for that name. If you are a prolific writer, you will need to have a website, email address, marketing copy, etc. for that identity. Everything that is tied to your actual person will need to be created for your made-up one. If you are worried about someone discovering that you write inflammatory political rhetoric or niche erotica, then try to find a way around using a pen name. Use only your initials; ensure your writing won’t ever come across in their sphere of influence (via social media or otherwise).

You want to be recognized for your work. Why let your fictitious name take the credit? You will never be able to brag about your accomplishments if you use a pseudonym. Say your erotica series takes off and you start earning big money. Do you think people will really care that you’re writing about scandalous rakes and Scottish lads in kilts? No! Take the money and be proud! Claim what is yours!

Using a pseudonym also opens you to legal issues regarding taxes. Of course, pen names are legal, but you’ll have to check with your state or country of origin to ensure you aren’t putting yourself in some sort of financial or legal jeopardy. You may need to register your pen name as a trademark.
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Remember, creating and using a pen name is like a lying. It’s okay initially, but it can snowball. The logistics of working with a pen name are rarely considered, so take the time to explore your options! 

You have chosen to self-publish which means that how successful you are is directly correlated to how active you are in marketing. You do not have an entire marketing team and publicist purchasing ad space in magazines/newspapers and setting up book signings. You have to make that happen. If you do nothing, your books will not sell. Thus, get creative!

Who is your audience? How can you sell to them?

If you’ve written a young adult book, get in contact with local schools and see if they would be willing to let you come do talks about your book. They probably won’t let you sell your book on school grounds, but if you generate enough interest—and provide marketing materials such as takeaways that route to a professional website—you could earn yourself new readers.

If you’ve written a nonfiction history book about a particular region, say, the American Southwest, get into contact with tourist centers in those key states. See if you can partner with them to present your findings.

If you’ve written a fiction book that takes place in the Catskill Mountains, look for venues, such as resorts, in that area and start reaching out.

Make friends and always be pleasant. You are no longer an author; you are a brand. Market yourself and your book.

Create takeaways, marketing materials that you can pass to someone. Ideally, we want someone to be enthralled with our books on the spot and to purchase a copy right there. But people are busy. They are running late to pick up their kids, or they don’t carry cash, or they hate chitchatting with strangers. Give them something they can take and review at home.

I recommend authors create glossy postcards as takeaways. Make sure to include social media and website information so readers can look you up. That’s why it’s so important to have a professional-looking website. If you send an excited reader to a website that appears immature, they will assume your book is not worth their time. Spend money on yourself and your work.
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Reputable websites to create marketing materials include:

VistaPrint
Canva
Shutterfly
UPrinting
The UPS Store
123Print
VerticalResponse
MailChimp

As technologically advanced and user-friendly as everything has become these days, it’s ironic that we still have to go about finding an agent or a publisher the “old-fashioned” and tedious way; that is, querying. Querying entails going through lists of agents/publishers, identifying who might best represent you and your book (usually by genre), and following their guidelines to submit your work. Often, this means going to a publisher or agent’s website and uploading your manuscript or work according to their very specific rules (e.g., “include the first 15,000 words of your book, a cover letter, a synopsis, an explanation of your qualifications, a small sacrificial goat, and a magical purple woodland flower that bears thorns…”). Each publishing house/agent has their own guidelines. So, make yourself some tea, get cozy, and set aside a few days to knock out submissions.

Go into the process with the expectation that you won’t hear back as many offices don’t reply to submissions (aside from automated messages). If you do receive a response, it will be some four to nine weeks later, depending on the publishing house or agent office.
Google is your best friend as it will give you lists of publishers open to submissions. You can also visit Reedsy.
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If you would prefer to go about querying with pen and paper, Writer’s Market is a good place to start. It lists all publishing houses and agents open to submissions for a given year. The book can be purchased online or at bookstores like Barnes & Noble. 

It depends. If your primary selling platform is Amazon KDP or IngramSpark or if you are going to direct people to purchase from such print-on-demand services, then no. You do not need to purchase a barcode as those platforms will place your ISBN on the back cover along with their own barcode. However, if you are going to submit to a printing press or upload to multiple digital platforms, then you need to purchase a barcode with your ISBN.
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If you purchase a barcode, ensure that you download all the files Bowker, or your respective ISBN office, provide. Often, this includes a PDF, PNG/JPG, and EPS. 

The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a system-catalogued records in the Library of Congress. Libraries use the designated number to locate specific Library of Congress catalogue records in the national database and for other administrative necessities.

Because of the number of books the Library of Congress must review each year (which is literally hundreds of thousands), it is highly unlikely that a self-published book will be chosen to be added. Some authors, however, like to include the LCCN because it adds credibility to their book.

The Library of Congress also utilizes two, mutually-exclusive systems called CIP Publishers and PCN Publishers. CIP Publishing is not available for self-published or print-on-demand books.
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Authors/self-publishers may, however, use the Prepub Book Link’s author/self-publisher portal to apply for the program and submit an application for an LCCN.

In my presentations to students and authors, I am repeatedly asked, “How do I make a character believable?” or “How do I develop a strong character identity?” It’s an interesting question because, initially, I didn’t have a consistent response. I hadn’t really considered what it was that enabled me as an author to write well-developed characters. I just listened to what they (the characters) said to me and wrote their words.

Nowadays, my answer to the complex question is quite simple, really. Motivation. The best way to write a compelling character is to analyze that character’s motivation. What do they want more than anything? What are they willing to do to achieve it? What are they willing to say to those who support and oppose them? How badly does that motivation propel them?

Consider the fictitious character Inigo Montoya of The Princess Bride. For those unfamiliar, Inigo Montoya—in the movie version—is portrayed as a Spaniard who excels at fencing. Although he initially acts as henchman to Sicilian criminal Vizzini, he eventually comes to respect the book/movie’s protagonist and joins his ranks. Despite his loyalties however, Inigo’s motivation, his purpose, remains consistent throughout his criminal pursuits and adventures: locate the six-fingered man who killed his father.

After witnessing his father’s murder, Inigo trains for years in fencing with the hope to avenge his father. This leads him to duels with strangers and general waywardness as he feverishly hunts the man. When he realizes it is unlikely that he will ever find his father’s murderer, he grows depressed and becomes an alcoholic. Only when the protagonist, the Man in Black (Wesley), sparks some life back into him via a rambunctious fencing duel does he regain the willpower to continue his search.

Inigo even goes so far as to tell Wesley what he will say the day he crosses paths with his father’s killer: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” If you’ve not heard this famous phrase, well, now you know where it comes from. SPOILER: Inigo eventually meets his father’s murderer, Count Rugen, and defeats him in decisive combat.

Inigo’s motivation directed the paths he took in life. His determination to avenge his father made him pursue study under some of the best fencing instructors of the time, earning him the title of “wizard,” an esteemed rank greater even than “master.”

When writing characters, it’s okay to simplify their motivation. After all, a complex array of reasons can create a purpose. So, keep it simple.

Naruto Uzumaki wants to become Hokage.
Jeff Winger wants to earn a degree to replace his fake bachelors and get out of Greendale.
Michael Scott wants to be the best boss ever.
Katniss Everdeen wants to save her sister from the Reaping.
Veralidaine Sarrasri wants to find a job to help her escape the backwoods where she grew up.

Create a motivation. What does your character want more than anything? Give your character direction and purpose. Once you have that, they’ll tell you what lengths they’re willing to go to pursue that goal. Their personality will take shape; how they talk and address others will follow.

​Give them a foundation. Everything else will take root soon after. 

Working on a military sci-fi thriller but never served in the military in any capacity? Or perhaps you’re writing a nonfiction book regarding WWII but have little to no idea how to address officers? You’re not alone!

Authors should approach military ranks (fictious or not) in the same way they do titles like president, director, chairman. When immediately preceding a personal name, titles are capitalized.

President Joe Biden
Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Emperor Naruhito

But if a title is not present before an individual’s name, it is never capitalized. Consider the examples below:

Joe Biden became president of the United States in 2021.
The longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch is Elizabeth Alexandra, queen of the United Kingdom.
Justin Trudeau is a Canadian political who was elected prime minister in 2015.
Naruhito is the 126th emperor of Japan.

The exact same rules apply to military ranks.

Captain John Smith
General Rob Stark
First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye

In formal prose and other generic text, titles are lowercased. Thus:
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The captain appeared gloomy, sullen.
Ashton looked at the general, his mouth agape at the man’s decision.
“Where are you going?” asked the first lieutenant.
 
See? Easy-peasy! 

You’re ready to have your manuscript edited so you visit a prospective editor who asks, “I can’t provide an estimate without knowing what service you’re looking for. What type of editing are you looking for?”

“Uh… the normal kind…” you reply, bewildered. Was there more than one kind?

“Well, do you need your book to just be proofread, or do you want it copyedited?”

You stare at your computer screen, sucking on your lip in thought. If only you knew what the difference was!

Let’s pretend your manuscript is a microscope slide. Holding it in your hands (or viewing it on your own) you find minor mistakes, but overall, it looks pretty straightforward. Concerned you’re missing something though, you hand it off to a scientist (an editor) who takes the slide and slips it under a microscope.

Without zooming in on it, the scientist sees it has some issues. It’s got some typos, tense mistakes, inconsistencies in names – you know, basic stuff. This is proofreading.

But you’re curious now because those are things that you missed. What else did your eyes skim over? You want the scientist to really examine it, to copyedit it. The scientist fine-tunes the microscope, setting the objective lens and adjusting the illuminator. Now they can discern the flaws of the manuscript. These include problems with syntax and semantics, illogical content, poorly formed paragraphs, and style. They can see all the typos and misspelled words too, but now that they’ve really zoomed in, they can gain a better understanding of what needs to be done. This is basic copyediting.

Deciding that perhaps you missed quite a few things, you decide to ask the scientist to go all out – examine the manuscript to learn all its dirty little secrets. The scientist agrees and moves your manuscript to a powerful electron microscope. They adjust it and then peer through the eye piece. Not only can they see – and subsequently address – all that they’ve found thus far, but they can now perceive discrepancies in plot and character development. They can now discern weak scenes, dialogue that sticks out or doesn’t make sense, and rearrange pieces of your book to streamline its flow. This is developmental copyediting.
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Now, go forth, Author, and find an editor! 

The International Standard Book Number, more commonly known as an ISBN, is a numeric commercial book identifier unique to each book. Originally ten numbers long (prior to 2007), ISBNs are now comprised of 13 numbers.

While paperback and hardback books require ISBNs, ebooks do not as the primary purpose of the number is to identify the book in a commercial system. Ebooks are not commercial or physical items and are not tracked in the same manner. Therefore, authors usually only need one ISBN for the purpose of self-publishing.

How you attain that ISBN is up to you.

Option #1: Amazon KDP

Amazon KDP offers free ISBNs to all authors, no matter the subject matter or genre. The advantage of this is that authors do not have to spend hundreds of dollars purchasing ISBNs, nor do they have to go through Bowker’s tedious registration process. It is quick and easy to use. If you are going to promote your book(s) by linking it to the Amazon page, then this is a wise choice. This selection does not alter your ability to sell your books at brick-and-mortar establishments as all of Amazon KDP is a print-on-demand platform.

Conversely, the use of an Amazon KDP ISBN ties your book to the digital platform. Therefore, if you were looking to publish on IngramSpark or Lulu as well, you would be unable to since the ISBN belongs to Amazon.

Option #2: Bowker
The United States ISBN Agency is called Bowker. An ISBN ensures your book’s information will be stored in the Books in Print database. Once you set up an account with Bowker, your ISBNs will be added to your account to recognize you as the publisher of the book titles.

As of June 2021, Bowker charges the following:
1 ISBN
$125
10 ISBNs
$295
100 ISBNs
$575
1,000 ISBNs
$1,500
 
ISBNs never expire. If at first you choose Amazon KDP’s free ISBN and then decide you wish to publish using a purchased ISBN, the correction can be made in your manuscript and on your author dashboard with Amazon KDP.
Barcodes

If you are looking to exclusively use Amazon KDP to sell your books, then you do not need to purchase BARCODES. Even if you purchase an ISBN from Bowker and publish using KDP, you do not need to purchase a barcode.

However, if you are taking your book to small printer or looking to submit it to another digital platform, then you will need both an ISBN and a BARCODE. As of June 2021, Bowker sells barcodes for $25. A barcode-ISBN combination is also being sold for $150.
Helpful Links

Amazon KDP ISBN        Bowker ISBN         Bowker Barcodes