The Outsiders was released in 1967 by S. E. Hinton. She chose her initials, Susan Eloise, rather than her entire name, on the recommendation of her publisher, to avoid the inevitable criticism that female writers cannot write effectively from the perspective of males. However, this decision caused some confusion among readers who thought she was a male writer who used her initials. Hinton had no control over how her books were published at the time and didn't become aware of the problem until many years later when she received letters from women claiming that they would not read further books by a man who could not use his full name. From then on, Hinton decided to use her full name when publishing novels. In addition to being able to write more freely about female characters, Hinton also preferred using only her first name because it was simpler for fans to remember and talk about. Her friends and family members also used only her first name until much later in life. For example, Hinton's mother-in-law called her Susan until long after Hinton stopped using her last name. Hinton explained that she used her initials because her publishers wanted to make sure that her books were selling well. She said she didn't care what people thought as long as they kept reading her books. Her husband, Dave, doesn't think this was the reason she used her initials.