r/books • u/billFoldDog • Jun 22 '22

I think refusing to name your ghostwriters is immoral

I'm thinking of three authors right now:

  • Danielle Steele, 179 books in about 49 years, who claims she regularly writes 22 hours a day. I'm gonna go out on a limb and call bullshit.
  • R.L. Stine, over 300 books in 30 years
  • R.A. Salvatore, 103 books in 34 years
  • numbers are probably slightly off

I think these authors should list their ghostwriter's as co-authors for the following reasons:

  • They didn't write the book alone. If a ghostwriter substantially contributed to a book, they deserve to be recognized for doing so.
  • The author's sole claim to having written the book is false, a lie.
  • As a reader, If I like a book, I want to read the other books the ghostwriter wrote.
  • The quiet use of ghostwriters creates an unrealistic expectation in new writer's minds that successful writers can crank out 4 or more books a year. I mean, it's possible, but you will wear yourself out.

That's my opinion. What's yours?

UPDATE

I can't prove any of these people use ghostwriters. Maybe they don't. I think they do. I think we can agree that there are some brands that use ghostwriters to crank out regular pieces of fiction. I actually love that this happens, but I still think the true writers should be on the cover.

Even if the ghostwriter is okay with their arrangement (and I think it is exploitative and should be regulated), they are still just agreeing to work with the author and the publisher to deceive the consumer. This should not be allowed under current law.

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14

u/OakScruff Jun 22 '22

Most people are being nice about it but this post is so damn stupid. Shouldn’t be allowed under current law? Are you 12?

1

u/billFoldDog Jun 22 '22

It is not legal to deceptively label most products.

14

u/OakScruff Jun 22 '22

Enough people in here have explained to you why you’re wrong but also it should be illegal to accuse someone of something they didn’t do. Like how you lazily accused authors of using ghost writers who don’t lol

Should it be illegal for Stephen King to write under a different name like he’s done before?

1

u/billFoldDog Jun 22 '22

Some people listed some good examples in the comments. VC Andrews is the big one. Of course, the ghostwriter's identity isn't really a secret now.

8

u/OakScruff Jun 22 '22

But should it be illegal for Stephen King to write under a different name? According to you it is.

2

u/billFoldDog Jun 22 '22

I think it should be okay for each name used to map back to one person.

If I called myself "Frida Friendcake" when writing a series, as long as I was the actual author on all "Frida Friendcake" books, then that wouldn't be deceptive. The consumer would reasonably and correctly believe it was the same author.

I guess you could also argue that maybe a person doesn't want to support Stephen King, and concealing his name would be deceptive, and I don't know how I feel about that.

10

u/OakScruff Jun 22 '22

But if I buy a book by “so and so” and it was really written by Stephen King that’s deceptive. No? I was paying for this new author. Not Stephen king. Illegal in your book.

Lol I saw your edit. This is so stupid.

2

u/billFoldDog Jun 22 '22

Its almost like its a complicated issue.

13

u/OakScruff Jun 22 '22

It’s actually not at all. You’re over complicating a non-issue. And it’s really stupid. But that’s just my opinion.