So the topic of ghostwriting comes up in our class. Where do people and publishers come in when it involves the ethics of writers and authors. Can authorship be bought? Who is in the wrong here?
As we all know the presidential speeches are written by ghostwriters. Even many of the autobiographies are written by ghostwriters. Are the candidates or officials wrong to hire someone to write their speeches?
I don't think so. So many are busy trying to run their own campaigns and schedule to makes it hard to actually sit down and write a speech. So many people are hired to help the candidates or elected officials. If writing a speech is part of the job description then its up to you to decide if you want this job or not.
Most of the things I've notice is that ghostwriters are hired to write for someone else. It is your duty to write a good book, article, etc. when you decided to take the job. I'm sure that the contract would state that you may not be able to publish your name onto the book. They may not even give you credit but its all part of the job. Don't like that concept then get out of the job. No one is making you choose to write a book for someone else, the decision to write it was yours (the ghostwriter).
We can talk about it in an economic sense. The piece can be earning a lot of money once it hits the stands but who's to know how well it might do? It may rise to be a best seller or tank and the publisher and author would loose money. If the ghostwriter really wanted to get in on the money then in the contract they should ask for a percent of the revenues made from the piece when it goes out to the public. Or they can ask for a bonus if the piece does well just make sure its in the contract.
Ghostwriting is a contractual job. Do I think its wrong not to give someone credit for the hard work they've done? Of course but you can also look at this like a company. Many of the CEOs and Presidents of the companies make the most money, but do they do a lot of the manufacturing or hand work that goes into the company? No, most of them are probably too busy putting out new market ideas or investing in other companies as well. How many of those company give their workers earn a raise if the product does well? Probably not a lot of them. How many workers get credit for making a product? Its all in the company name and not every individual is given the credit. Ghostwriting is similar because the real writer may not be credited but they are paid and its a job.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I never really thought of ghostwriting like a position in a big company, but it makes sense. A lot of times the hardest position in a company is the manual labor that goes into making the product. These people work long and hard hours and often do not get recognized for their effort. The ghostwriter knows that he/she will not be getting credit for the work, but still agrees to do the writing.
i guess it's very weird for me to think of writing as an economic "good" that can be traded off on. But then if you think about it, aren't we all "bought" and "sold" according to our skill? Writing in THEORY should be no different. However, theory and reality don't always coincide (as we've seen in communist countries, to name just one of many examples).
i think everyone has a price, one that they can't resist or turn down. you give someone enough and they will ghostwrite. not many are strongly against ghostwriting enough to fight the temptation.
Post a Comment