Great Discussion on the Pros and Cons of Ghostwriting
There is a very interesting and thought provoking conversation going on about the ethics of ghostwriting over at Laura’s blog, Writing Thoughts.
I have to agree with Michael about the use of the word ‘ethics’ when it comes to ghostwriting. You know what you are getting into and you aren’t stealing, lying, or cheating anyone when you ghostwrite. It’s been a common practice for hundreds of years, and many writers wouldn’t be able to make a living otherwise. It really comes down to talent. There are those who have talent and no money, and then there are those who have money, and…well, no talent. 
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
[...] Other writers have added to the conversation, and have some interesting things to say. These include Lillie Amman, Sally Goetsch, Denise Grier and Walter Burek. [...]
Hi Denise
I linked to your post on this from my own on the same topic, in response to Laura’s challenge. It’s certainly an interesting topic.
All the best
Yvonne
Grow Your Writing Business
I agree that in legitimate ghostwriting, no one is being cheated. However, there are a couple of situations that are beyond the moral line that I personally draw.
One is writing academic papers for students, though I am willing to do heavy editing on the writing if the student does the research and gains the knowledge. I don’t believe a student who turns in a paper researched and written by someone else has honestly earned the grade.
Another situation is where the finished product is presented as something other than what it is. I remember being on a teleseminar listening to a well-known Internet guru talking about how to make money with e-books. His advice to people who wanted to be experts in a field was this: go to elance or guru.com and hire a writer for $300 or $400. Then sell the e-book for $29.95 or $49.95 or more to consumers who think they are getting advice from the guru. You can become recognized as an expert without ever learning anything about the subject yourself. I don’t think that’s fair to the writer who was only paid a few hundred dollars that the guru earned in a dozen sales (though obviously a writer who accepts those kinds of jobs doesn’t agree) or to the consumers who thought they were getting advice from an expert in a particular topic (even though the writer might do an excellent job researching and writing the e-book).
Those situations to me are quite different from a ghostwriter working with a client who has the knowledge or ideas but not the writing ability.
Thanks for being part of the discussion. It’s really interesting to see what other writers say.