What are your thoughts on Ghostwriters?

1. 77

   merej99posted 11 years ago

   What are your thoughts on Ghostwriters?
   
   I just started a portfolio for freelance writing and I've notice a lot of people asking for ghostwriters.  An actual writer gets to do all the work for small pay and then sign away the book to a person who can put a face or name to it (whether they have or have no writing talent).  It kind of sounds like cheating to me.  What are your thoughts on this?

   replyreport
2. 61

   Dennis AuBuchonposted 11 years ago

   ghostwriting is another avenue for getting our talents as a writer.  I do not feel it is like cheating.  We need to use all opportunities to get our talents recognized.

   replyreport
   1. 77

      merej99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting, Dennis - but if you are the writer and sell all rights so someone else can potentially profit exponentially - are you being recognized or used? (fyi - I'm not against ghostwriting I'm curious what everyone else thinks about it)

      replyreport
3. 60

   sunnynashposted 11 years ago

   Ghostwriting credits can be negotiated along with pay. I have ghostwritten several books and negotiated a byline for the ones I wanted to be placed on my vita. On some assignments, I gladly took the money and ran.

   replyreport
   1. 77

      merej99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      LOL sunnynash!  I guess there is something to say about being anonymous too.

      replyreport
4. 78

   alancaster149posted 11 years ago

   TV and showbiz stars - or personalities, although some are a bit lacking in that direction - hire ghost-writers to do their autobiographies.
   Remember the film 'PULP', where the Mafia character played by Mickey Rooney hires the ghost-writer, Michael Caine to do his auto-biography? The whole saga revolves around a hunting party when somebody gets bumped off.
   How many celebs do you know that could put two words together to make sense? They really need a 'ghost' to do it for them.

   replyreport
   1. 77

      merej99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Shia LaBeouf can!  No wait.  Ohhhh....  lol

      replyreport
5. 71

   Radical Rogposted 11 years ago

   I write an article, do all the research, get paid a small amount (not really that small), the magazine publishes, republishes, makes a profit. I write a book, get paid but the name on the cover is someone who's only claim to any talent is their silicon enhanced boobs, which means the book will sell more than if it had my name on the cover.
   I'm a writer. I enjoy writing. I get paid for doing something I enjoy and being paid means I can afford to spend time writing what I want to write. Cheating, or pragmatism in a world that is increasingly mercenary?

   replyreport
6. 85

   M. T. Dremerposted 11 years ago

   I don't necessarily have anything against the ghost writer, but I do feel a little irked towards the author whose name is on the book. Just last year I read a new book by a favorite author, but was shocked to find the writing style drastically different. I enjoyed his writing style for eleven books, so it was jarring to be thrown into this bizarro world for the characters. I felt a bit cheated and consider the series to be over at the moment he stopped writing it. I understand that writing isn't the most lucrative career and even they need to make money somehow, but don't they want to keep writing?

   replyreport
   1. 77

      merej99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I had that experience as well!  If you are going to hire a writer I would hope they had a similar voice.  I sometimes wonder about Stephen King's latter books.  Hmmm...

      replyreport
   2. 71

      Radical Rogposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is the one instance where I agree. You can't take over another author's novel style and get away with it, but in these instances its usually the publisher dictating terms in an attempt to wheedle more profit from and established name.

      replyreport
7. 59

   StaceyMleeposted 11 years ago

   I think that any kind of writing helps you develop your skills. If you ghostwrite you are able to write a variety of different things based on other people's ideas, which allows you to become more creative because you can think differently. A lot of it is either informative articles or taking someone else's ideas and expanding them into a fictional story or a narrative.
   I think that a good fiction ghostwriter should read a lot of the author's other works, though, to become familiar with the style--which would prevent what Dremer and some others were talking about when they could tell the difference between certain books.

   replyreport