“The Woman in the Window” by A. J. Finn (pseudonym for Daniel Mallory): Why, simultaneously, publish under pseudonym and publicize the author’s real name?

This new No. 1 bestseller is being publicized with articles that emphasize the author’s real name—for example: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/books/aj-finn-the-woman-in-the-window-daniel-mallory.html—and, yes, it is amusing to read how the author submitted his manuscript under a pseudonym to the publisher for whom he worked as an editor.

But since the author’s real name is being widely publicized, why is the book being published under the pseudonym? The book could have been published under the author’s real name, while publicity featured the same amusing story about how the manuscript had been submitted under a pseudonym.

My guess is that the book was mostly written by an alternate personality of Daniel Mallory, and that Daniel Mallory feels he would be lying to claim the credit.

Search “pseudonyms” for previous discussions of this recurring topic.