Are You an Author If You Use a Ghostwriter?

Are You an Author If You Use a Ghostwriter?

To say that using a ghostwriter is a common practice is an understatement – many of the world’s most successful authors have used one to help them write their books.

Yet, the stereotype persists that you’re no author if you use a ghostwriter.

There’s more to a book than merely writing words for people to read.

Most people are misled to think that an author’s job is only to write the book and then hope readers fancy it.

It’s why when authors make it known to the public that they’ve worked with a ghostwriter to write their book, skeptics are quick to question their credibility as authors.

The truth is that writing a book takes more than just words – it’s also about knowing the craft of storytelling, having a story worth telling, researching for accuracy, marketing the book so readers will know it exists, and keeping up with the demands of the publishing industry.

What is A Ghostwriter?

Ghostwriting is a profession where a writer crafts content that is officially credited to another person.

The ghostwriter operates behind the scenes, spinning words into compelling narratives, instructive texts, or persuasive speeches, without claiming any public credit for their work.

Instead, the credit goes to the person who hired the ghostwriter – the named author.

These named authors can range from celebrities, business leaders, politicians to everyday individuals who need assistance in articulating their thoughts.

What Does a Ghostwriter Do?

A ghostwriter’s work extends beyond simply putting words on a page.

They engage in substantial research to accurately convey the message and style of the person they are writing for.

They conduct interviews, mine for anecdotes, or even immerse themselves in the client’s world to capture their unique voice and perspective.

In many cases, ghostwriters are essentially translators, transforming thoughts, ideas, and experiences into compelling prose.

Genres of Ghostwriting

Ghostwriters are versatile and can work across a wide range of genres and formats. Some of the most common include:

1. Books: This is perhaps the most well-known form of ghostwriting, where the writer contributes to or writes an entire book under someone else’s name. These can range from autobiographies of celebrities to novels and non-fiction works.
2. Articles and Blogs: Ghostwriters are often hired to write articles or blogs for individuals or businesses. The aim here can be to share knowledge, sell products, or build a personal brand.
3. Speeches: Politicians, business leaders, and public figures frequently use ghostwriters to help craft their speeches.
4. Social Media Content: In the era of digital branding, ghostwriters are increasingly in demand to create engaging social media content that can enhance an individual’s or company’s online presence.

What Is An Author?

At its most basic level, an author is a person who creates written work.

This written work can be fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry, long or short.

The key is that the author is the person responsible for the content, structure, and ideas within a piece of writing.

They craft narratives, shape arguments, and convey information in a way that engages, informs, or entertains their audience.

The Many Hats of an Author

An author is not just a writer, but often an ideator, researcher, editor, and sometimes even a marketer. The authorial role may involve:

1. Idea Generation: Authors are continually generating ideas for new pieces of writing. These ideas might be inspired by their personal experiences, current events, historical incidents, or pure imagination.
2. Research: Particularly for non-fiction works, but also for certain fiction projects, authors often need to conduct extensive research to ensure the accuracy and plausibility of their content.
3. Writing: The actual act of writing is, of course, central to the author’s role. This involves translating ideas and research into a structured, engaging narrative.
4. Editing: After the initial writing process, authors must revise and edit their work, refining the language, ensuring consistency, and correcting errors.
5. Marketing: In today’s publishing landscape, many authors are also involved in marketing their books. This might involve social media promotion, arranging book signings, giving interviews, and more.

Types of Authors

Authors can produce a wide variety of written works, leading to a number of different categorizations within the profession:

1. Fiction Authors: These authors craft narratives that are derived from their imagination. They create characters, settings, and plots that tell a story, whether it’s a short story, novella, or full-length novel.
2. Non-fiction Authors: These authors write about real people, events, and ideas. Their work is based on facts, which they present in an engaging way. Examples of non-fiction work include biographies, memoirs, historical accounts, self-help books, and academic articles.
3. Poets: Poets are authors who write in verse. They use rhythmic and aesthetic elements to convey emotion, tell a story, or present an idea.
4. Journalists: Journalists are authors who write news stories for print or digital media. They report on current events and aim to provide accurate, timely information.
5. Bloggers: Bloggers are authors who write content for blogs. They may write about a variety of topics, from personal experiences to specialized knowledge in a particular field.

Recognizing One’s Writing Limitations

Autobiographies are the most ghostwritten books, and for a good reason – authors usually have so much to say that they can’t fit all of it into one book. Some people with a life story worth telling don’t necessarily become prolific writers overnight, which means they need an experienced ghostwriter’s help to shape their ideas and find the right words to put into print.

Hiring a ghostwriter is a sign of humility and respect for the craft – it recognizes one’s limitations as an author while having the provision to realize that getting help from someone with more experience would benefit the project greatly.

Plenty of writers have valuable skills and knowledge that can be tapped into to make any book project better than what it could have been if the author had written it alone.

Let’s take, for example, Prince Harry’s bestselling memoir “Spare.” The incredible account of the British royal’s life wouldn’t have been possible if not for J.R. Moehringer.

The name may not ring a bell for most people, but he’s regarded as one of the best “ghosts” in the publishing world. He’s behind two bestselling memoirs: Phil Knight’s “Shoe Dog” and tennis legend Andre Agassi’s “Open.”

And when you get your hands on “Spare,” you’ll never see J.R. Moehringer’s name in it.

There’s not a single mention of him, and everything’s credited to Prince Harry (and rightfully so). The relationship between the author and the ghostwriter is symbiotic – the former gets credit for their ideas or life story, while the latter get paid for their writing service.

In a way, there’ll be nothing for a ghostwriter to write about if there’s no story to tell.

And when a story is told without a true-to-life perspective, it won’t be as impactful as when written by someone who has lived through the experiences.

As such, Prince Harry deserves to be called an author even if he did get help from a ghostwriter.

Meanwhile, a writer who writes a piece about Prince Harry’s life without his help or input is like a shark with no teeth.

Recognizing one’s limitations as a writer and making the smart move of hiring a ghostwriter is not just an admirable quality, but it also shows that you recognize the high standards of the craft and its value.

Your book’s chances of becoming successful increase when you bring in a ghostwriter to add depth and structure to your story.

Ghostwriting: A Product of Necessity?

To say that people who work with ghostwriters are pretenders is like saying singers who get help from a band aren’t real artists. Suppose a singer has an amazing voice and knows how to write powerful lyrics.

In that case, it’s common sense for them to get help from musicians who know their way around an instrument to provide the soundtrack to the singer’s words.

Hiring a ghostwriter is a product of necessity – no matter how talented you are, there are times when you need help putting ideas on your mind into writing. And that help should never be seen as cheating or invalidating one’s writing skills.

To demonstrate one’s worth as an author, you must show that you can create stories with soul and make readers relate to them. But the problem with putting ideas and words into writing is that they often don’t end up looking anything like what was in the author’s head.

That’s why it pays to get help from an experienced ghostwriter who can sculpt those words into something meaningful and powerful.

A ghostwriter’s job is to take the author’s vision and make it come alive on paper. As such, a book crafted with the help of a ghostwriter should still be credited to its true author – the one who had the original ideas and shared them with the world.

Is Ghostwriting Ethical?

Much has been said about the ethical conundrum surrounding ghostwriting, and the controversy isn’t likely to go away.

Ghostwriters are indeed paid for their services, and some people argue that it’s wrong for authors to take credit for their work when they’re not actually the ones who wrote it.

Suppose you’re a big fan of a recently released novel, and you later find out it was ghostwritten.

In that case, will you feel deceived or betrayed?

The answer to this question will vary depending on who you ask. The ethical issue is born out of the notion that authors should be honest about their role in writing books, regardless if they got help.

If you’re a fan of the author or book, do you think you deserve to know if someone else helped write it? The answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no.

The truth is that ghostwriters provide tremendous value to authors, especially when it comes to crafting stories with substance and connecting them with their readers. Ghostwriting isn’t plagiarism nor a sign of dishonesty – it’s an honourable profession that deserves respect from both authors and readers.

How The Partnership Works

Authors hire ghostwriters for one reason or another.

But whatever the motivation is, the clear-cut objective is to build a partnership that’s rightfully protected by discretion and privacy.

The discreet nature of this partnership has a valid reason: it’s about protecting the author and ghostwriter’s interests.

On one hand, authors don’t want to be seen as pretenders who can’t write themselves, while on the other, ghostwriters don’t want their names associated with works they didn’t personally craft.

The collaboration between these two parties is an acknowledgement of each other’s abilities: the author has an idea and knows how to tell a story, while the ghostwriter has the skills to put those ideas in black and white.

The collaboration between authors and ghostwriters should never be viewed as a sign of weakness.

If anything, it’s a sign that one understands their limitations as an author but has enough foresight to know that they need help from someone with greater experience in writing.

The relationship between an author and a ghostwriter is still about creativity and storytelling.

To make sure that it’s more of a partnership than anything else, authors need to be open in communicating their ideas with the ghostwriter as well as trust them to bring these stories to a certain level that merits success.

Authors who choose not to disclose the involvement of a ghostwriter in their work have the right to do so.

For one, the partnership is built that way from the get-go. It’s not like the ghostwriter is against it.

The arrangement is, for the lack of a better term, “financially based and mutually beneficial.” The ghostwriters are paid for their work; along that line, they acknowledge that no credit will be given to them. That’s how this works; authors have every right to keep their arrangement under wraps.

The work arrangement is complex, to say the least.

For instance, the author will provide the ghostwriter with guidelines on the kind of writing they want.

It’s not a matter of just dictating your ideas to the ghostwriter and expecting them to do all the work; you have to provide feedback throughout the entire process, so it’ll be easier for both of you to arrive at something that meets your standards as an author.

If only a critic of this partnership gets first-hand experience working with a ghostwriter, they’d understand that this collaboration is a lot more complex than it seems.

It’s not as easy as just handing over your ideas and expecting someone else to write them for you – there’s an entire process involved, and the partnership requires mutual commitment and trust from both parties.

You Hire a Ghostwriter If…

1 – You want to craft a story that requires complex literary techniques and narrative structures. The rationale here is simple; you have the concept but need someone to help you polish the writing. Being an author doesn’t mean you’re a genius in putting words together; it’s a long-standing stereotype you must break, if only to open yourself up for more opportunities.

2 – You don’t have enough time to write a book. Maybe you’re busy with your day job, or perhaps you just want to take a break and still produce something of quality that meets your standards as an author. In this regard, getting help from someone who can help you craft the story while you focus on other things is a perfect option. Many people lose the chance to tell the world their story simply due to time constraints, and that is robbing readers of great literature.

3 – You need someone who can provide helpful insights and feedback about your story. As mentioned before, the ghostwriter’s job isn’t just to write whatever you dictate – they are also responsible for providing valuable inputs that could take your story to a new level. The best showcase of this is when an athlete writes an autobiography. The absence of the athlete’s voice and words in the book is often compensated by the ghostwriter’s adeptness in literary devices.

4 – You don’t have the confidence or skill to write a book that meets your standards. Countless authors feel too intimidated to write a book, either because they lack confidence or simply don’t have the skill. If you collaborate with ghostwriters as partners, they can assist you in creating a story that resonates with your readers and yourself.

Dealing with Potential Pitfalls

Many authors who choose to work with ghostwriters worry about potential pitfalls. After all, if a book is successful, the author gets all the credit and praise.

On the flip side, should the reception be less than stellar, then it’ll be completely on them if there’s no disclosure of a ghostwriter involved.

Truth be told, this worry is rooted in the fear of being discovered as a fraud – something that, with proper collaboration between authors and ghostwriters, is completely avoidable.

The most critical takeaway from all of this is when you hire a ghostwriter, treating them like an equal partner is important. It means paying them for their work and listening to their ideas and suggestions on how to take your story to even greater heights.

Last Thoughts On Are You An Author If You Use A Ghostwriter?

Asking for help is not a sin from the perspective of creative writing; it’s a sign that you recognize your literary weaknesses and shouldn’t put a dent in your reputation.

That being said, don’t forget to assess the qualifications of the ghostwriter you’ll be collaborating with. This is your story, and only the best should get to write it down for you.

And to answer the lingering question, hiring a ghostwriter doesn’t make you less of an author.

If anything, it’s a testament to your great resolve to put an otherwise flawed and unsound manuscript into shape.

It’s an acknowledgement of your limitations as a writer but also a realization that you’re willing to take the necessary measures to make sure you get the best work out of yourself.