Ghostwriter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, or reports which are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written material. The ghostwriter is sometimes acknowledged by the author or publisher for their assistance.
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[edit] Role
In books or articles where ghostwriters are being used, the division of work between the ghostwriter and the credited author varies a great deal. In some cases, the ghostwriter is hired to polish and edit a rough draft or a mostly-completed manuscript. In this case, the outline, ideas and much of the language in the finished book or article are those of the credited author.
In other cases, a ghostwriter does most of the writing themselves, using concepts and stories provided by the credited author. In this case, a ghostwriter will do extensive research on the credited author or their subject area of expertise. It is rare for a ghostwriter to prepare a book or article with no input from the credited author; at a minimum, the credited author usually jots down a basic framework of ideas at the outset or provides comments on the ghostwriter's final draft.
For an autobiography, a ghostwriter will interview the credited author, their colleagues, and family members, and find interviews, articles, and video footage about the credited author or their work. For other types of non-fiction books or articles, a ghostwriter will interview the credited author and review previous speeches, articles, and interviews with the credited author, to assimilate their arguments and points of view.
Ghostwriters are hired for numerous reasons. In many cases, celebrities or public figures do not have the time, discipline, or writing skills to write and research a several-hundred page autobiography or "how-to" book. Even if a celebrity or public figure has the writing skills to pen a short article, they may not know how to structure and edit a several-hundred page book so that it is captivating and well-paced. In other cases, publishers use ghostwriters to increase the number of books that can be published each year under the name of well-known, highly marketable authors.
[edit] Remuneration and credit
Ghostwriters will often spend from several months to a full year researching, writing, and editing non-fiction works for a client, and they are paid either per page, with a flat fee, or a percentage of the royalties of the sales.
- Per page rates are often about US$30 per double-spaced page for rewrites or editing of an existing document, or US$50 per page for an original book or article[citation needed].
- The flat fee for hiring a professional ghostwriter to write a full-length book is roughly $10,000 to $25,000 USD. However, hiring a ghostwriter who has produced bestselling books for high-profile celebrities can cost several hundred thousand dollars[citation needed].
- In some cases, ghostwriters negotiate a fee based on a percentage of the royalties of the sales of a book[citation needed]. Ghostwriters usually only agree to a percentage remuneration when the credited author is a celebrity or major public figure, because if there are no book sales, the ghostwriter does not get paid under the percentage system.
Sometimes the ghostwriter will receive partial credit on a book, signified by the phrase "with..." or "as told to..." on the cover. Credit for the ghostwriter may also be provided as a "thanks" in a foreword or introduction. For non-fiction books, the ghostwriter may be credited as a "contributor" or a "research assistant". In other cases, the ghostwriter receives no official credit for writing a book or article; in cases where the credited author or the publisher or both wish to conceal the ghostwriter's role, the ghostwriter may be asked to sign a nondisclosure contract that forbids them from revealing their ghostwriting role.
[edit] Types
[edit] Nonfiction
Ghostwriters are widely used by celebrities and public figures who wish to publish their autobiographies or memoirs. While a film star, rock singer, or diplomat may have led a glamorous, flamboyant life, and while an arctic explorer or war hero may have led an adventurous life, they may not have the time or writing skills to structure and edit a book-length manuscript.
The degree of involvement of the ghostwriter in non-fiction writing projects ranges from minor to substantial. In some cases, a ghostwriter may be called just to clean up, edit, and polish a rough draft of an autobiography or a "how-to" book. In other cases, the ghostwriter will write an entire book or article based on information, stories, notes, and an outline, provided by the celebrity or public figure. The credited author also indicates to the ghostwriter what type of style, tone, or "voice" they want in the book (that is, colloquial, serious, sarcastic, etc.).
In some cases, such as with some "how-to" books, diet guides or cookbooks, a book will be entirely written by a ghostwriter, and the celebrity (e.g., a well-known musician or sports star) will be credited as author. Publishing companies use this strategy to increase the saleability of a book by associating it with a celebrity or well-known figure.
A consultant or career-switcher may pay to have a book ghostwritten on a topic in their professional area, to establish or enhance their credibility as an 'expert' in their field. For example, a successful salesperson hoping to become a motivational speaker on selling may pay a ghostwriter to write a book on sales techniques. Often this type of book is published in the vanity press, which means that the author is paying to have the book published. This type of book is typically given away to prospective clients as a promotional tool, rather than being sold in bookstores.
[edit] Fiction
Ghostwriters are employed by fiction publishers for several reasons. In some cases, publishers use ghostwriters to increase the number of books that can be published each year by a well-known, highly marketable author. Ghostwriters are mostly used to pen fiction works for well-known, "name" authors in genres such as detective fiction, mysteries, and teen fiction.
As well, publishers use ghostwriters to write new books for established series where the 'author' is a pseudonym. For example, the purported author of the Nancy Drew mystery series, "Carolyn Keene" is actually a pseudonym for a series of ghostwriters who write books in the same style using a template of basic information about the book's characters and their fictional universe (names, dates, speech patterns), and about the tone and style that are expected in the book (For more information, see the Related concepts; pseudonyms or pen names section, below). As well, ghostwriters are often given several copies of the previous books in the series, to help them match the style.
The estate of romance novelist Virginia C. Andrews hired a ghostwriter to continue writing novels after her death, under her name and in a similar style to her original works. Many of action writer Tom Clancy's books from the 2000s bear the names of two people on their covers, with Clancy's name in larger print and the other author's name in smaller print. Strictly speaking, if the less famous writer's role and name are clearly acknowledged in the work as published, this is not ghostwriting but collaboration.
[edit] Political
Public officials and politicians employ 'correspondence officers' to respond to the large volume of correspondence that they receive. The degree of involvement of the public official in the drafting of response letters varies, depending on the nature of the letter, its contents, and the importance of the official and the sender. At the highest level, public officials such as the a head of state or a regional governor typically have their officials approve the content of routine correspondence and autopen their signature with a signature machine.
However, if the response is being sent to a high-ranking official or member of society, a draft of the letter may be given to the head of state or their top advisers for approval—particularly if the letter deals with a politically sensitive issue. Public officials at lower levels, such as middle managers and department heads will often review, request changes in, and hand sign all outgoing correspondence, even though the initial drafts are composed by a correspondence officer or policy analyst.
Since members of the public are widely aware that politicians are not themselves writing routine response letters, it can be argued that these correspondence officers are not ghostwriters in the strictest sense of the term. Public officials may also have a speechwriter, who writes public remarks and speeches, or both jobs may be done by a single person.
[edit] Medical
With medical ghostwriting, pharmaceutical companies write papers in medical or scientific journals on the outcomes of new medications, and physicians or scientists from academia are paid to lend the use of their name to these papers to enhance the credibility of the study and give the appearance of an unbiased source. Although medical ghostwriting is condemned by a variety of professional organizations representing the drug industry, publishers, and medical societies, it is nevertheless a common practice. Most pharmaceutical companies have in-house ghostwriters who farm out the work of re-writing to "medical communications" firms that coordinate the publication of studies or review articles.
The objective is to blanket the literature with the pharmaceutical companies' promotional message, in order to drown out alternate points of view. As well, these ghostwritten articles prepare can be distributed in lieu of product brochures or other advertisements, thus skirting laws aimed at prohibiting off-label promotion of drugs for non-approved indications. Some pharmaceutical companies set up bogus 'continuing medical education courses' based on these dubious publications, where physicians and hospital administrators are invited, all-expenses paid, to 'learn' about the 'new findings' in the ghostwritten articles. The colluding academicians are known as "KOLs" (Key Opinion Leaders) or, ironically enough, "Thought Leaders".
[edit] Blog
One of the newer types of ghostwriters is the web log, or 'blog' ghostwriter. Blogs are websites where a person keeps a journal of thoughts and holds online discussions with other web users, typically on political, social, or cultural issues,
[edit] Academic
Some university and college students violate the academic codes of their institutions, not to mention the spirit of higher learning, by hiring ghostwriters to write entrance essays, term papers, and even theses and dissertations. Some ghostwriters work for 'essay mills', companies that hire writers and solicit business from students. The most basic 'essay mill' service is the sale of a previously-written essay. However, since submitting a previously-written essay exposes a student to the risk of submitting an essay that has previously been sold to a student in their program, a more sophisticated 'customized' service is also available for a much higher price.
Essay mills and ghostwriters providing customized essay-writing ask for the course outline, topic, number of sources, and the mark that the student hopes to get for the essay (e.g., and "A-", "C+", etc.). While some select a high grade on the ghostwritten paper to boost their average, other students with poor grades may choose to purchase a paper that deliberately contains errors, which will receive a grade of "C+", because this will reduce any suspicions that they have committed academic fraud. Interestingly, essay mill services, which are available online from a number of sources, do not violate the law by providing ghostwritten papers; the act of fraud and misrepresentation only occurs when the student submits the ghostwritten paper as their own work.
Universities have developed several strategies to combat this type of academic fraud. Some professors require students to submit electronic versions of their term papers, so that the text of the essay can be compared against databases of essays that are known to be plagiarized, 'essay mill' term papers. Other universities have enacted rules allowing professors to give students oral examinations on papers which a professor believes to be 'ghostwritten'; if the student is unfamiliar with the content of an essay that they have submitted, then the student can be charged with academic fraud.
