Question: I have a hyphenated surname, namely *Kinara-Williams.* I intend to be published in the future when I graduate and during/after my PhD.

But Kinara-Williams seems like a mouthful to cite. After reading other threads, it appears pseudonyms are frowned upon in the scientific/academic community; so what do people usually do?
Just go with the preferred one?

Answer: 
In Spain, Portugal and Iberoamerican countries this happens often, since two surnames are used (one for the father, one for the mother). A long name is not a problem. My reference manager is full of Sánchez-Martínez, Prats-Rodríguez, Jiménez-Muñoz, Gómez-Rodríguez and the like.

The main advice in this situation is **be consistent** in the usage of your name to avoid confusions and that your publications are considered as made by two different authors (e.g. Kinara and Kinara-Williams).

Then you have two options:

* Use your complete name. This decreases the probability of being confounded with another researcher.
* Use one of your names. In this case it may be preferable to use the less common, again to decrease the probability of confusion with another author.
Side comment:

If the hyphenated name is due to marriage, it is common to use the premarital name, especially if papers have been published before the name change. This has nothing to do with a name being too long, but rather to preserve an academic identity that has been established before the marriage. 

Assuming you don't have a pre-hyphen identity you wish to hang on to, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I also have a hyphenated name and as far as I can tell, the only difference it makes is that my name is more likely to be abbreviated on posters, slides or SO usernames.