Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

(I didn't search the threads to see if this has been suggested but shot down before.)

I'd like to suggest a policy change in the way author names and pseudonyms are dealt with.

Currently, the policy is to have the name a book was first published under as primary author on all editions. I think it would be a good idea if the new name was adopted as primary author instead. Only the old editions would then keep the earlier name as secondary author. (More or less analogous to series being renamed.)

I am sure it would make a lot of (Goodreads) authors very happy not to be constantly reminded of the old name on their new editions. F.e., in case of an unfortunately or rashly chosen pseudonym, or a divorce, or a real name when in hindsight a pseudonym would have been better, etc.

Also, the policy has not been used consistently with classic authors*. The Brontë sisters, f.e., had their works published under pseudonyms first, but they appear here under their own names. Public-domain editions have the pseudonyms as secondary authors: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

*or indeed with GR authors. I know of one case where the author names were switched temporarily to allow for a giveaway, but they were never switched back.

Of course there could be a good reason why the policy is the way it is, and I'm just not seeing it?

I liked the suggestion. The name used by now must be the name in the primary field, I think. It make more sense.

What I'd like to see change instead is how the author names are handled, so that older editions could keep the original name as primary, newer ones could have the new name, but they could still be combined without having to shift names around.

Scott wrote: "What I'd like to see change instead is how the author names are handled, so that older editions could keep the original name as primary, newer ones could have the new name, but they could still be ..."

Yes, but since that would involve programming to make the necessary changes to the database, that would be a request for the Feedback Group (and I don't think they would go for that). Mine is a policy change request.

My problem with this request is knowing when the exception would come into play and when it would not. Some authors intentionally use pseudonyms. Robert Galbraith and J.K. Rowling is the first example that comes to mind. Would librarians freely go about changing the primary author willy nilly? This could become worrisome.

I support if it is limited to books that have actually been published with both names on the covers. Which should eliminate things like the Rowling case.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Some authors intentionally use pseudonyms."

Krazykiwi wrote: "I support if it is limited to books that have actually been published with both names on the covers."

My request is strictly limited to the cases where the author republishes the same books under a new name. It is not intended for authors who use pseudonyms for different genres, etc.

ETA It's this part of the Librarians Manual I'm talking about:
"In some cases, a book may be originally published under a pen name, but then later reissued under the author's original name. When this happens, the author listed for any and all editions should be the author name the book was originally published under - so the reissued edition would need its primary author name changed to the originally published pen name, with the additional name added as secondary for all editions with it on the cover. Doing this will allow the various editions to be combined." (emphasis mine)

Instead of the reissued edition having its primary name changed I would like to see the original edition having its primary name changed.

I hope my suggestion is still being discussed instead of silently dismissed :)

Bump

Thanks for the suggestion, lethe, and apologies for not responding sooner.  We can understand the benefits of this, but we won't be changing our policy at this time. Doing so would require an enormous amount of librarian work - while there are some authors with just a few books whose book details would require minor changes, there are plenty of authors with dozens or sometimes hundreds of editions attributed to their various profiles. There are also authors who publish their books under a number of different pen names, which would require changing the primary author on their works repeatedly.

Meg wrote: "Thanks for the suggestion, lethe, and apologies for not responding sooner.  We can understand the benefits of this, but we won't be changing our policy at this time."

Thanks for your reply.

I can imagine it's a lot of work, but it wouldn't all have to be done in a day. If it were implemented, we could do the cases that come up now and gradually work on getting other profiles in order. (To me, "at this time" suggests that it might be changed later, but the longer the wait, the more work.)

And as I said, the policy is not consistent right now. If it were, the Brontës' books (f.e.) would be listed under primary authors Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, and the Goodreads author I referred to would have his book listed under the old name again.

Perhaps a modification could be noted with regards to classics, using the Bronte example above? In the way that "A Lady" will be given her actual name as per later publications.

I prefer a consistent policy; exceptions that allow for latitude allow librarians to interpret the policies however they please.

Emy wrote: "Perhaps a modification could be noted with regards to classics, using the Bronte example above? In the way that "A Lady" will be given her actual name as per later publications."

No, I prefer a consistent policy too. It is not fair to Goodreads authors, who would often like nothing more than to get rid of that old pen name and sometimes get into heated discussions over it, to make an exception for classic authors who are long dead and couldn't care less under which primary name their books are listed here.

lethe wrote: "No, I prefer a consistent policy too. It is not fair to Goodreads authors"

Yes, I can see your point. I suppose when they've been in continuous publication under their own name, rather than a pen name, for 150+ years, they could be changed.

When I faced books that were written under pen name or name that used special letters, which were replaced suitable ones I used both names. For example Stephen King used a pen name Richard Bachman and some of those Bachman books were not published under Bachman on some markets, but under King because he was famous. to combine them I created that translation with Bachman first, combined it with other editions and then changed it back to King which was only name in the cover and added that Bachman as a pen name. That was tiresome and it seems not accepted policy.

For example James Thompson https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... published his books under Jim Thompson name in Finland and they were added so here. I combined few of them and put both names for authors, because they searched Jim Thompson and didn't find that book and added it, even though it was under James Thompson name. But it seems that data has changed.

Arnaldur Indridason officially Arnaldur Indriðason and similar names were hard to find/combine because special letters (especially Russian, Arabic, Chinese authors) I added english name. if there was none. Now it is much easier, because you can add a new edition directly and there is much more translated versions added so book probably is already here.

So I would like that books have actual auctor name, possible pen name and possible western name, because this site is nowadays international and names might change between countries. Of course search engine works much better nowadays and you can find books whose author might have peculiar name.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... so this policy should be norm that both names are on the book. Preferably cover name corresponding edition first. This isn't norm https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8... here pseudonym and actual name are separate and it is explained in author info.

Because policy isn't consistent people add and remove pseudonyms/birth names as they like.

All editions of a work must have the same primary (first-listed) author. This is clearly stated in the Manual, and causes a number of issues when it is not correct.

And I found another example of an author not having their pseudonym as first listed, this time much more recent: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The Bell Jar was first published under the pseudonym of Victoria Lucas.

I'm not going to bother anymore explaining to authors why their earlier name should be the first on all editions when some animals are apparently more equal than others on Goodreads.