It's officially the spooky season so it seems topical to talk about the people that haunt the pages of many top-selling books: ghostwriters. A ghostwriter is a professional who is paid to create content, whether that be a book or other media form, which is then credited to another person. The ghostwriter is like the producer or songwriter in music, you may have to dig a bit deeper to find where credit actually lies. To be clear, ghostwriting is a completely ethical and honorable profession. However, my problem lies with the marketing, specifically surrounding books “written” by celebrities.
When a memoir or novel comes out that is written by a celebrity, odds are they probably didn't write it. But when it's time for interviews and Instagram posts they will gush about their process and how difficult and rewarding it was to write said story. I believe this to be most problematic in celebrity fiction, where less people may be aware that a ghost is involved. Credit is less likely to be given where it is due and I think this exploits the ghostwriter's work.
I am going to use Milly Bobby Brown as an example because this was what first sparked my, I don't want to say hatred, but certainly irritation, surrounding the subject. In 2023, Brown's name appeared as the author on a debut fiction novel, Nineteen Steps. But here's the thing, it's not her debut novel because she didn't write it, a ghost did. It is as simple as that. So when Brown goes on to talk about this great accomplishment (at just 19 years old no less!) in interviews or posts on social media, it makes me upset. Talking about the novel this way makes it sound absolutely incredible, as if she really accomplished something unprecedented and hence must be oh-so-talented. Except these accomplishments are not hers, she is getting all of this praise for texting over a rough idea of a story to another writer. She is a talented actress, not a writer.
It is also important to consider that ghostwriting is a business. Hence ghostwriters will be making the most profitable decisions for themselves and partnering with a celebrity will certainly do the trick. However, I simply do not think these celebrities should be credited as the author when they hardly did any of the work. Of course, some are more involved with the research and ideas than others, but there are many who have zero writing background and barely contribute to the novel at all. As a writer myself, I know how much blood, sweat and tears go into creating a novel. It is no easy feat and I have immense respect for all the writers out there. That being said, famous non-writers slapping their name on a flashy cover and calling the book “their baby” is bound to irk some people. If you did not write the book, you should not market it as if you did and you should not get sole credit for its quality and potential success.
Additionally, I want to get into how this affects other writers. Books with celebrity names simply sell well. They are profitable for the publishing industry and the ghost writers too. But as a whole, this is not profitable for the industry of storytelling. There are so many talented debut and returning authors out there that may be silenced by the wave of publicity surrounding celebrity novels. Celebrity stories will clog the bestsellers list and readers will have more trouble finding the work of new, unknown authors. I believe that we should be rewarding the authors that actually toiled over plot, characters, arcs and storytelling –– the ones who were driven by the need to tell a story, not sell a story. We should be turning actual writers into celebrities, not the other way around.
Every celebrity ghostwritten book should come with an asterisk, a little nudge to remember where credit is due, who it was that actually created what you hold in your hands. It should frame how celebrities market their books as well. It is frustrating to see someone succeed in producing a novel simply because of their fame, not their hard work. It is perfectly fine to acknowledge the celebrity for their idea or their life story as it is represented in the novel, but I think it crosses a line to commend them on their journey to writing and finishing a novel.
The case of Millie Bobby Brown stood out to me because she is my age, we were born the same year in fact. And my life's dream is to one day be able to publish a novel and put a story out into the world. I want to be able to write something that may touch someone, something that just might make a reader feel seen, heard or safe. So to see someone put their name on a book they did not devout their soul to is disheartening and frustrating. Writing is an art and a gift, not a marketing strategy. It should be treated as such.
Ayla Kruse Lawson is a junior in the College of Human Ecology. She can be reached at akruselawson@cornellsun.com.
Hater Friday runs on Fridays and centers around critiquing media or culture.
