Why would you use a nom de plume ?

Authors do it to remain anonymous in case their work flops

because a nom de chicken would just be weird.

Nom de what?

To seem more mysterious. Or to be the person you’ve always wanted to be.

For writing as an author yes- it's a nice tradition, so why not?

To maintain whatever privacy is possible.

Because I'm a poet.

And really know it.

I have heard that some famous people, like Stacy Abrams, use a nom de plume, (Selena Montgomery), to write trashy sexualized novels that they would normally be embarrassed to acknowledge.

Charles Leslie MacFarlane, for example, was one of the many ghost writers for the Nancy Drew series, writing under the name Carolyn Keene. He wrote many of the early Hardy Boys series.

"The prolific Dean Koontz has published over a hundred novels in a variety of genres. Early in his career, he was advised by his editors to use a different name for each genre he wrote in so as not to alienate established fans. Out of his ten known pseudonyms, two are female: Deanna Dwyer for gothic horror and Leigh Nichols—the most successful of all his guises—for romantic suspense."

https://blog.authorhouse.com/male-authors-who-wrote-under-female-pen-names/

anonymity. some would remain private for any number of reasons

I assume you might be ashamed of your name or you just don't won't to be I.D. 🤣 It could be for many of reasons. 🙂

Could be many reasons

salut parle anglais! 🤭

To avoid being persecuted for their scribblings.