13 Responses

  1. Mainely Stories
    Mainely Stories at |

    I’ll admit that I can see this from both pov. As a reader, I would be extremely disturbed to find that there is “truth in Twitter” and some of my ‘authors’ are actually not, as I believe, the creator of their stories.

    At the same time, I’m a believer in collaboration and I don’t need to know the names of the collaborators. It is a brand that I expect. If I go to a salon, Ulta, we’ll say, I expect it to be much like every other Ulta. McDonalds in the US are all very similar.
    It does bother me when I start reading stories from a new author and like them and recognize that after the first 3 or 4 they are not the same, not the same writing style, voice or feel.

    I surely don’t know the answer but as a reader I do expect a story by one of my preferred authors to be written by the same person/s as the others. I don’t need to see them do the work but there is a level of creativity, talent and style that I do come to pay for the work that recognize, expect and appreciate.

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    1. Kaje
      Kaje at |

      This I think is where the main issue for readers comes – that using ghost writers hides the possibility of unpredictable product variability.

      Of course, there’s another side to it. What if that ghost writer you love is also writing for some other pen name (or names) – wouldn’t you like to be able to know that and put those on your auto-buy list too? Hiding creator information behind more than an individual pen name does take some decision-making ability away from the reader/consumer of the product.

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  2. Mirrigold
    Mirrigold at |

    As a reader I want to know that the name on the cover, irrespective of whether it’s a pen name, is the person sweating it out and putting their efforts, their heart and soul, on to a book if they’re expecting me to pay for it.
    I don’t care about knowing “who” they are so much as “what” – the one writing the words.

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  3. Helena Stone
    Helena Stone at |

    I’m not sure I have an answer for you. In fact, I have no idea how we would approach this as a collective of authors trying to decide on a code of practice. Don’t get me wrong, it would be nice if there was one, and not just about this subject, but I’m not sure how you’d reach such a thing without all clauses getting watered down so much you end up with basically what you had before you started.

    On a personal level, as a reader, I have to admit that I don’t really care. After a first book I read authors based on (what in my eyes is) quality. If subsequent books turned out to be of a lesser quality, I’d probably give up buying that author, regardless of the name on the cover.

    You mention James Patterson. I love what he does to spring board other authors. I have no doubt it makes a world of difference for those who get to cooperate with him. But, I don’t read the books anymore. It’s not the James Patterson I fell in love with years ago, so I stopped buying and not just his collaborations.

    What I wish for is less curiosity as well as less suspicion. Because, apart from those cases where authors are blatantly using and abusing their followers/readers, I honestly don’t care about the ‘real’ life behind the author I read/interact with on social media.

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  4. H.B.
    H.B. at |

    I personally don’t really care about this business with using ghostwriters. I think people have to do what they have do to survive (PLEASE don’t think I’m lumping plagiarism in here, no one has to do that to survive). If authors want to be truthful about using ghostwriters and the ghostwriters themselves don’t care to be credited or want to be credited that’s cool. It’s not up to us what others do, whether we accept it or not is up to us. We all have choices and those choices should be respected. I liken it to rating or JUDGING ones profession inferior to another (ex. sex workers being thought to be inferior and less profitable whereas modeling, showing off nude or almost nude photos, are more acceptable and profitable). Is there more stigma involved, why yes, but I think it’s because we’re taught to work hard for the things we want in life and we’re also taught some professions are less inferior than others. I think I can respect an author more if they admit or want to be truthful about using ghostwriters, it probably won’t be on par as an author who works hard as hell to write their own books but what matters to me is quality and consistency of the writing and as a reader I’m more than willing to sift through books for a fantastic read. I also want to ass that some or maybe all the time a reader can see an author has a tell/signature style with their writing (a good example is Mary Calmes or Cardeno C.).

    Now for plagiarism, it’s a horrible practice. Cheating and stealing is a horrible way to live life when there are so many other better options out there. No one becomes a great writer overnight, that’s why English classes are there and tutors if that’s the route you want to take. I’m not eloquent with words and I’m managing just fine banging out a reply to this post. Start small, go big and write your heart out and if you can’t make it flow hire a ghost writer, give them some pointers about how you would like your story to go. Don’t lift passages or paragraphs or half a book from other authors or ghostwriters just to make a buck. Plagiarist, in most if not all cases always get caught.

    I’ve also seen some things I don’t like associated with this whole snafu. Lynch mobs or individual people trying to discredit writers or trying to get to the heart of whether they have multiple pseudonyms or not, if they’re trans, bi, male, or female. Authors should be able to create online personas as long as it’s not for nefarious means (ex. Josh Lanyon) or to catfish someone (Santino tho I think there was another one a couple of years ago) for donations and sympathy. As a reader I use an alias online and I don’t always want to talk about myself in fear I pick up a stalker. I do give half truths or avoid giving out all the details if personal questions are asked (I never make up something, that’s too much work and I’m too damn lazy for it). I would think a author wouldn’t want a deranged person figuring out where they live or put themselves in a situation to endanger their families.

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  5. Josy
    Josy at |

    I have to admit that I have become way more suspicious since this was brought to my attention some time last year. Now, before buying a new-to-me author, I check how often they publish books and if they have new releases every (other) month, I most likely won’t buy it. I know I might hurt ‘real’ authors who really are capable of writing fast and releasing often and that’s why I also check for online presence (websites, Twitter, FB – and I absolutely don’t mean that the author has to have their real picture online or share things about their real life. I just mean that those ‘authors’ that are suspicious to me don’t have any online presence at all, although they have been releasing books for years, not even to promote their books). I also check if the book is categorized correctly at Amazon (I have heard that sometimes Amazon messes up the categories without the author’s intention but nobody can tell me that an author doesn’t check when their books go live on Amazon and if the book is still wrongly categorized after having been published for quite some time, I have to assume it was intentionally.) I definitely don’t use the 1-Click Button as fast as I have in the past.

    I don’t care about pen names or writing duos under one name or an author using different pen names for different genres/content but I want to support authors who actually put their time and hard work into the story I’m going to read.
    Of course, it’s not a guaranty for my liking each and every book because writing styles might change over time or the author might try out something new but I believe I have a better chance of not ending up disappointed when I know that the person(s) who wrote book #1 is/are the same person(s) who wrote book #5 (if we are talking about a series).

    Ghostwriting is a legitimate business but as a reader, I, personally, would like to know if the book was ghostwritten. I don’t necessarily need to know the name of the ghostwriter because I know there are many out there who don’t want to be credited. How about a short statement at the beginning of the book – something like “This book was created in collaboration with a ghostwriter.”? Why not be honest about it if there is no shadiness going on?

    I don’t think the question if a book was written by a ghostwriter or not would be such a huge deal right now if it weren’t tied directly into gaming the Amazon / KU system. And that’s something I absolutely don’t want to support. Those who are paying ghostwriters not enough money for their work and are trying to secure top spots in the Amazon rankings with releasing 12 or more books in a year (often while presumably also buying reviews, using click farms, and putting books in the wrong categories) just to make more profit aren’t ‘authors’ I want to give my money to.

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