It’s an interesting question.

Female writers of the past have used male or ambiguous pennames to disguise their gender. Women like Mary Ann Evans, who used the pen name <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eliot" target="_blank">George Elliot</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bront%C3%AB_family" target="_blank">Brontë Sisters</a>, who wrote as Acton, Currer and Ellis Bell.

These days, women choose gender-neutral pen names in the hopes of increasing book sales and gaining book reviews. Consider these two NYT best sellers:

~ Joanne "Jo" Rowling chose to use <a href="www.jkrowling.com" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling </a>for her Harry Potter series and wrote <em>The Cuckoo's Calling</em> as Robert Galbraith.

~<a href="www.noraroberts.com" target="_blank">Nora Roberts</a>, the remarkably prolific author who writes in two genres, selected the gender-neutral pen name J.D. Robb for her mystery novels.

Should women writers bother with pen names? Not according to a recent poll done by <a href="http://www.grammarly.com/grammarcheck" target="_blank">Grammarly</a>.

As the infographic below shows 59% of the 3,000 respondents believe women are superior writers.

The poll questions centered on perceived differences in writing technique and quality based on gender. Answers indicate readers believe:
<ol>
	<li>Male authors "get to the point," whereas female writers were more likely to focus on "character development."</li>
	<li>women write about people as opposed to things</li>
	<li>women use long, wordy sentences while men write short, concise sentences</li>
</ol>
<strong><em>Check out the full infographic below:</em></strong>

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/menvswomen_writers_infographic.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-5313 size-full" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/menvswomen_writers_infographic.jpg" alt="MenvsWomen_Writers_infographic" width="850" height="4840" /></a>

I agree with Grammarly's poll results. Probably because I'm a female author who writes <a href="http://www.judythemorgan.com" target="_blank">character-driven love stories</a>.

What about you? Do you believe women are better writers than men?