Ethics of Ghostwriting?

[HalcyonFlower]

Anyway... writing tech manuals or other assigned writing isn't what I'd call ghosting. I'd define "ghostwriting" as writing on behalf of another person who will use their own name on the text, as if they were the actual author. Which is another thing entirely.

Yes, I agree on that. If it's on behalf of a company then I wouldn't say it's ghostwriting. If it's for a sole entrepreneur that has branded a company with their name, than maybe that's something else altogether.

I see nothing wrong with ghostwriting, as long as both parties are in full agreement of the terms. I thought about using a ghostwriter once for my own books, but then decided that only by writing it myself could I convey my ideas AND my style of writing. In other words, I decided to not be lazy or not manage my time poorly and just start writing my way.

That makes sense to me. There are some that really want to enter the writing world but don't have that confidence for the first book. I've encountered this situation and for her I wrote the first and she took over after that. I'm sure the confidence aspect of this situation will garner a lot of opinions but in this case, it worked for her.

On the other hand, there's a trend that many people want to make a lot of money through romance novellas/noels priced relatively cheap. The idea is that if there's about 500 different stories, the chances of living on this as an income becomes better. Then these same individuals want to pay a freelance writer $30 for full length novels and this just blows my mind. Especially when the attitude is "You better not ask me for more and if you will, don't bother bidding." For those who are in developing nations and the USD is more, they're happy to take the job.

Personally, I'd never use a ghostwriter for my stories because I actually like writing and am my own toughest critic because I want my work to present political/philosophical points. That's the intention but whether or not it comes across text is something else. I feel a ghostwriter will never achieve that for me unless they basically the same person as me

[moderntimes]

Well, regarding a business named for the person, nobody assumes that the signatory person is sole creator and worker and pencil sharpener and whatever. If the company is named "Shell Oil" or "Jeb's Wildcatting" writing a tech manual for either isn't ghosting.

Ghostwriting is if the person assumes the name as author even though someone else wrote the material.

I have been asked to ghost and I simply refused. I'm happy writing my own things, thank you.

Were I to write on someone else's behalf and let them claim they'd been the author, I'd be prostituting myself. No way.

[psyche]

Plenty of ghostwriting is pretty transparent. Not even the average guy on the street this celebrities actually write their novels or even their memoirs. The writer gets a clear contract that they agree to in advance and a check with one or two extra zeros on it for giving up their copyright. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Of course I don't actually see anything wrong with being a sex worker either. It is no something I would ever do but other people do and it is legal in my country. I don't mistake what I like for some universal rule that applies to all people.

[moderntimes]

Well, you will usually see a writer's name along with the main "author" who runs the show but doesn't actually write the autobiography or whatever. For example, Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy" (and other books) show "with xxxx" who is the ghostwriter. But that person gets credit and you know they were the principal author. I'm not sure if that's true ghosting. For a true ghostwriter, I'm thinking that the ghost writer is never listed and the "author" claims credit.

A few celebs actually write their own stuff. Kirk Douglas wrote his autobio, "Ragman's Son" by himself with zero ghostwriting. It's also a superb book which I recommend.

[DarkestbeforeDawn]

I didn't know that ghostwriting was a thing. Personally, I don't like the way it sounds. When a book says that the author is Tom Bombadil then the author should be Tom Bombadil. Anything else I feel lied to and betrayed, especially if I like the book! Why does writing have to have these sort of facades? I understand pen names and the like, but the pen name has a persona.

[moderntimes]

The reason is generally that after an author becomes well known, he or she then may sometimes get lazy or sometimes becomes simply too old and perhaps physically ill.

Let's face it -- writing a novel is hard! And it takes time, usually about 7-8 months. So a famous writer may become happy with the good life that success brings, the travel and fun, and simply not want to spend the time.

As a published mystery novelist, I can tell you that most publishers / editors expect one novel per year, to be finished by late summer so that editing and setup can be done and the book be ready for spring publicity. Most successful genre novelists (and not so successful, me -- ha ha) turn out one novel in their series per year. That's about how I'm targeted. My new 3rd book is finished and published, and my contract is anticipating the 4th book next fall.

Mainstream novelists generally take longer, but genre novelists have an informal timetable of one per year. A good example is the superb mystery writer Robert Crais. His last book was "Suspect" which was about a Marine service dog, Maggie, whose owner was killed in Afghan, Maggie herself being wounded, and now suffering from PTSD -- yeah, dogs get it too. And she is being trained as a Los Angeles police K-9 dog by Scott, a police officer who's also suffering from PTSD and so they bond, as Scott searches for the killer of his partner. This is a terrific book by the way.

Anyway, Crais' next book, The Promise, takes Maggie and partner Maggie and teams them with Robert Crais' famous private eye Elvis Cole. So the book has a dual plot and is longer and more complex. And so Crais took extra long to get the book done. Rather than the typical fall release timetable, it took till this early spring 2016 for the book to be released. Fans were chomping at the bit.

Anyway, a famed NYT best selling mystery writer like Robert Crais was under pressure from fans. But he's a man of honor and a great guy, and despite his fame, he's true to himself. So rather than use a ghostwriter, he does it all himself. Every word is his. And so his recent book was a little late coming out.

Other writers who've made the grade however can get lazy. Whom among us wouldn't be tempted? Work your tail off for 5-6 years writing and suddenly you're a best seller and have maybe a quarter million bucks in the bank and more coming in. And that "more" depends on the next book, and the next, and the next. But you've just taken a 6 month luxury cruise and want to go skiing in Vale, and so on. And so you may be tempted to take on a ghostwriter to "help" in completion of the book.

James Patterson, for whatever reason, has now resorted to "helping writers" who are ghosting some or all of his new books. It's not technically ghosting because the secondary author appears on the book cover, "James Patterson with Joe Smith" (or whomever). As to how much of the book is Patterson and how much some other writer's effort is not known. Same for Patrica Cornwell.

Myself, I could never accept this. My publisher / editors provide suggestions and editorial advice on my novels, but all the writing is from me. But editing is not ghostwriting.

As I see it, if the ghostwriter's name appears on the book cover as "... with Janet Kirk" then Janet Kirk's real name or pen name is on the cover, that's ghostwriting without being deceitful. Whether it's unethical for the major author to use a ghoster is another matter.

What makes ghostwriting unacceptable is if it's done without anyone being told.

[CzechTigg]

I would consider it as something when other projects are struggling to get off the ground. Any practice is valuable and getting the chance to help someone important can't be dismissed.

But my very best efforts would still be reserved for my Stories and my big Message works. Would also only do poetry for myself.

[moderntimes]

Helping a friend is one thing. That's not really ghosting. You're lending a hand.

Actual ghosting, as I see it, is doing all the work and letting someone else claim to have been the author.