Keep it Simple, Sort of

I have some further thoughts regarding the recent article on Ghostwriting.

When faced with any topic wherein one may find a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of debate or controversy, I always prefer to start with proposing a small principle regarding the problem at the core of things, allow that to define my stance on any concern related to the issue, and finally use some creative interpretation to decide how to deal with the aftermath of following that principle. As applied to ghostwriting, my first principle shall be, "Whosoever is responsible for the actual writing of the book ought to receive the credit for it as the author." Simple to understand and difficult to entirely disagree with.

Now, however, is where the various concerns related to ghostwriting pop up and must be answered. For example, suppose that the actual author merely recorded interviews with the "credited" author and composed a narrative from the recordings. Was that work really sufficient enough to garner credit for the ghostwriter? I'm inclined to think so, especially given the precedent of journalistic awards going to the journalists, and not to those interviewed and quoted for their articles. As another example, who would become responsible for possible negative consequences regarding the work? The short answer is the (now fully-credited) ghostwriter, with the explanation being that the same person ought to assume both the positive and negative effects of the work.

Finally, we deal with questions regarding the actual implementation of such a thing. "People aren't going to want to read books about a celebrity instead of by that celebrity," moan the publishers. If people are only interested in what the celebrity is thinking, perhaps the marketing should reflect that the book contains their thoughts and opinions, rather than outright lying and claiming that they wrote the book themselves? Another problem is that ghostwriting is already both prevalent and often even accepted. There is unfortunately no easy answer for that problem, as the law often finds itself with its hands tied in such situations. It is always hard to make illegal something that many are already doing, and then hope to prosecute each offense. If you don't believe me, I suggest reading up on something called "Prohibition."