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Ghostwriter: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Defining The Ghostwriter Role —
Ghostwriter.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, memoirs, magazine articles, or other written material. A ghostwriter is expected to closely replicate the writing style and voice of an author's previous works while still providing new literary content. Memoir ghostwriters in particular pride themselves on "disappearing" into the persona of the credited author as a mark of craftsmanship. In music, ghostwriters are often used to write songs, lyrics, and instrumental pieces. Screenplay authors can also use ghostwriters to either edit or rewrite their scripts to improve them. Usually, there is a confidentiality clause in the contract between the ghostwriter and the credited author (or publisher) that obligates the former to remain anonymous, or obligates the latter to not reveal the ghostwriter. Sometimes the ghostwriter is acknowledged by the author or publisher for their writing services, euphemistically called a "researcher" or "research assistant", but often the ghostwriter is not credited.
Historical And Modern Examples
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is an example of a well-known composer who was paid to ghostwrite music for wealthy patrons. H. P. Lovecraft ghostwrote "Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" for Harry Houdini in Weird Tales in the 1920s. One of John F. Kennedy's books (Profiles in Courage) is almost entirely credited to ghostwriters. Donald Trump's autobiography Trump: The Art of the Deal was produced by a ghostwriter. Several of Hillary Clinton's books were produced by ghostwriters. Nelson Mandela's autobiography (Long Walk to Freedom) was also produced by a ghostwriter. The estate of gothic novelist V. C. Andrews hired ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman 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. Various books bearing Clancy's name were written by different authors under the same pseudonym. The first two books in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell franchise were written by Raymond Benson under the pseudonym David Michaels.
Financial Structures And Remuneration
Ghostwriters will often spend from several months to a full year researching, writing, and editing non-fiction and fiction works for a client, and they are paid based on a price per hour, per word, or per page, with a flat fee, a percentage of the royalties of the sales, or some combination thereof. In 2013, literary agent Madeleine Morel stated that the average ghostwriter's advance for work for major book publishers was "between $40,000 and $70,000". These benchmark prices are mirrored approximately in the film industry by the Writers Guild, where a Minimum Basic Agreement gives a starting price for the screenplay writer of $37,073 (non-original screenplay, no treatment). In 2001, The New York Times stated that the fee that the ghostwriter for Hillary Clinton's memoirs would receive was probably about $500,000 of her book's $8 million advance, which "is near the top of flat fees paid to collaborators". Manhattan Literary, a ghostwriting company, states that "book projects on the shorter side, tailored to new markets like the Kindle Singles imprint and others (30,000, 42,000 words) start at a cost of $15,000". As a consequence, the shorter format makes a project potentially more affordable for the client/author.
Ghostwriting Across Creative Fields
In the film industry, a music ghostwriter is a "person who composes music for another composer but is not credited on the cue sheet or in the final product in any way." David Raksin worked as music ghostwriter and orchestrator for Charlie Chaplin; even though Chaplin was credited as the score writer, he was considered to be a "hummer". A 1998 investigation by The Hollywood Reporter revealed that it was especially prevalent among animation companies such as Saban Entertainment, DiC, Ruby-Spears Productions and Hanna-Barbera, which often listed company executives as musicians for the purpose of royalties. In 1987, Darryl Neudorf was asked to work on a project for Nettwerk Productions involving newly signed artist Sarah McLachlan. This recording, the album Touch, resulted in garnering the interest of Arista Records. She signed a multi-album contract with them and two of the songs that Neudorf worked on with her became commercial hits in Canada. In 1993, he filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch.
Ethics In Academia And Medicine
Ghostwriting is considered to be academic dishonesty and can lead to repercussions if detected by universities, although it is not illegal in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. There are ghostwriting companies and freelancers that sell entrance essays, term papers, theses and dissertations to students. Such services are commonly known as "essay mills." With medical ghostwriting, pharmaceutical companies pay professional writers to produce papers and then pay other scientists or physicians to attach their names to these papers before they are published in medical or scientific journals. Medical ghostwriting has been criticized by a variety of professional organizations representing the drug industry, publishers, and medical societies, and it may violate American laws prohibiting off-label promotion by drug manufacturers as well as anti-kickback provisions within the statutes governing Medicare. Recently, it has attracted scrutiny from the lay press and from lawmakers, as well. The European Medical Writers Association have published guidelines which aim to ensure professional medical writers carry out this role in an ethical and responsible manner.
Legal Disputes And Blacklisting
Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson for Bridge on the River Kwai (credited to Pierre Boulle, who wrote the novel). Dalton Trumbo for Roman Holiday (credited to Ian McLellan Hunter). In countries where freedom of speech is not upheld and authors that have somehow displeased the ruling regime are "blacklisted" (i.e. forbidden from having their works published), the blacklisted authors or composers may ghostwrite material for other authors or composers who are in the good graces of the regime. A 1998 investigation by The Hollywood Reporter revealed that it was especially prevalent among animation companies such as Saban Entertainment, DiC, Ruby-Spears Productions and Hanna-Barbera, which often listed company executives as musicians for the purpose of royalties. In the late 1990s, several composers threatened a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Saban Entertainment president Haim Saban, for allegedly taking ownership and credit for their musical compositions. In 1993, Neudorf filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch, and alleging that he was not paid properly for work done on Solace.
A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, memoirs, magazine articles, or other written material.
Who were famous people who used ghostwriters for their books?
John F. Kennedy had his book Profiles in Courage almost entirely credited to ghostwriters. Donald Trump's autobiography Trump: The Art of the Deal was produced by a ghostwriter. Nelson Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom was also produced by a ghostwriter. Several of Hillary Clinton's books were produced by ghostwriters.
How much do ghostwriters get paid for writing books?
In 2013, literary agent Madeleine Morel stated that the average ghostwriter's advance for work for major book publishers was between $40,000 and $70,000. Manhattan Literary states that shorter book projects tailored to new markets start at a cost of $15,000. In 2001, The New York Times stated that the fee for the ghostwriter for Hillary Clinton's memoirs would probably be about $500,000 of her book's $8 million advance.
What is music ghostwriting and how does it work?
A music ghostwriter is a person who composes music for another composer but is not credited on the cue sheet or in the final product in any way. David Raksin worked as music ghostwriter and orchestrator for Charlie Chaplin while Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was paid to ghostwrite music for wealthy patrons. Darryl Neudorf filed a lawsuit against Sarah McLachlan in 1993 alleging he made an uncredited contribution to songwriting on Touch.
Is ghostwriting illegal in the United States and other countries?
Ghostwriting is not illegal in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany although it is considered academic dishonesty if detected by universities. Medical ghostwriting may violate American laws prohibiting off-label promotion by drug manufacturers as well as anti-kickback provisions within the statutes governing Medicare. The European Medical Writers Association have published guidelines which aim to ensure professional medical writers carry out this role in an ethical and responsible manner.