Types of Ghost Writers
A ghost writer is someone who writes a book, article or other piece of material on behalf of someone else. The actual author will not receive credit as the official author of the piece, but rather someone else will. Someone else’s byline will appear on the written work done by the ghost writer.
A ghost may be hired to basically construct the actual piece of written work, to do the research, or perhaps to follow guidelines given to them by the “official” author or service they are writing for. Book ghost writers, for example, may be hired to complete books that are part of a series of a popular author. The ghost would then compose the book in the manner and style of the “official” author. Occasionally, the ghost is given some acknowledgement by the official author or publisher of the work, but ghost writing is basically a behind the scenes type of writing job.
Ghost writing is often performed by freelance writers, who receive a flat fee for their writing skills. Sometimes popular celebrities or political figures may use a ghost writer to help them create an autobiography. People of high profile know that their stories and works will sell well and receive a lot of publicity; however, they may lack the necessary skills required to compose a book themselves.
Companies may hire ghosts to write blogs, information on their websites, product reviews, or informative or promotional materials. Book ghost writers may receive a flat fee per book written, or they may receive a percentage of the book royalties. Popular writers of fiction novels may use ghosts to produce large bodies of work.
Some well-known authors have even had books written under their names after their deaths. In such cases, the book ghost writer is hired by the deceased author’s estate, in order to keep the name of the author in publication. The ghost writer or team of writers continue on in the fashion of the deceased writer, continuing to produce work and create sales by using a well-publicized, popular name.
College students may use a ghost to write term papers, essays or other needed homework assignments on their behalf. These are not purchased from actual freelance ghost writers, but rather from “essay mills” – which often sell the same paper over and over again. Thankfully, to avoid cases of academic fraud, most universities have caught on to this practice and have their own ways of figuring out which students truly did their own work.
Ghost writing can also be found in the music world. This has caused some unrest in the music community, with music artists claiming to have written their own lyrics and songs while someone else actually wrote them. Many more interesting facts about ghost writers and ghost writing can be found on Wikipedia.com.
