In today's society ghost writing has become something of a common occurrence with some of the best selling fiction and non-fiction books of recent times all having been written by someone other than that stated on the cover. We could use any celebrity as an example but it's probable that over 40% of published authors do the same thing and I for one feel it's tantamount to plagiarism or to put it more eloquently, it's bullshit!
As a writer I am one of many people who spends hours alone, shunning friendships, letting love slip through my fingers whilst funding mega corporations due to all the paper & ink I have to buy. We are destined to miss out on certain aspects of life due to our inherent need to use the written word in some form, we are bound together in a wondrous whirlpool of creative outpouring of small black characters on a white page, we are all going to have really f**king bad arthritis in our 60's!
The least the publishing world can do for us is allow our names to be credited to the scripted triumphs we have conceived, right? It's like that advert on DVD's. 'You wouldn't steal a shoe, You wouldn't steal windscreen washer fluid, Stealing Words is a Crime!' So join James Patterson (actually it's still Meerkuts but James Patterson uses Ghost Writers so his name will go on it at the end) as he uncovers the seedy world of 'Lexicon Crime'.
The creative industries are fuelled by a need to present material to an audience. Sure we have a few folk singers who never aspire to fame and some artists like Royal Robertson or Peter Moog who seem to just create art rather than present it but for the most part artists want to reach people.
It's easy to forget the true meaning of creation especially in the 21st Century where it can sometimes feel like every chord progression has been used or every story has already been told. Creativity is still alive and very well, you only have to listen to The Mars Volta, Bjork or Caribou to know that songs which seem to sound like nothing else are still abundant today. You only have to see artists like BLU or Stanley Donwood to understand that putting brush to a canvas or wall is still very fresh or read Warren Ellis or Jeff Noon to know that the written word still has some tricks up it's sleeve.
The wonderful thing is that all those artists I've named above are known because their name is signed at the bottom of the book, canvas or album inlay. They are the originator of their work and history will know that. The Voyager probe sent in to space will always bear tribute to the fact that Blind Willy Nelson wrote the beautiful 'Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground' as is his right.
Artists should have the right in today's society to be known for the art they produce. Would it be fair that this article be assigned to Jeremy Clarkson just because he can pay me to write words for him? If Charles Dickens had been paid to write 'A Christmas Carol' for another writer, say Joseph Conrad, our entire history and the legacy of that story would be altered. Ok, 'Conradian' doesn't roll off the tongue in the same way 'Dickensian' does but the repercussions are much more significant. The originator of works should be recognised. In the news at the moment the film 'Anonymous' is attracting a lot of attention due to it's claims that Shakespeare did not pen any of his works.
If this was true then it would be a perfect example of the power of taking away true ownership from some of the finest works of art in existence. I have often thought that the sheer volume of creativity from one man is either an incredible feat of genius or perhaps was the work of many under a pseudonym. As I've grown older I do actually believe Shakespeare was one man and like Galileo in physics he was just an exceptional man whose legacy is rightly one of mankind’s greatest achievements.
In three hundred years time could we really be in a situation where ghost written books gained this kind of cultural significance and 'The Complete Works of A Footballer Wife Who Shall Not Be Named' are studied by children on hover-boards in floating schools? She hasn't written a single word of them and yet those future generations would be coveting the tales of 'Sapphire' in their jet-powered rucksacks under a misguided belief that she was a world-class wordsmith!
Obviously some celebrities aren't revered authors and hopefully never will be but I'm using her to make a point. The issue goes much deeper than this and we as readers would be surprised at the amount of books which are written by someone other than what is stated on the cover. Is this plagiarism or is it just assuming the works of another to be yours? In my opinion they are the same thing but the literary world still allows it to happen.
Plagiarism IS a part of art. We all feel we want to be wholly original but our inspiration and adoration will always shine through in whatever we do no matter how subtle. This isn't a problem, all art moves forward due to knowledge and respect of what has come before. Hip-Hop is only possible because of knowledge and sampling of past musical genres and then elevating that and pushing it forward. We can cover a song and produce it in an entirely different way as long as we respect the meaning of the original. When we don't then we detract from the creator's meaning and sully the essence of the song!
It's a thin line between respectfully drawing from works of art and outrightly degrading them and this ties into the ghost writing because there's a thin line between being commissioned to create a piece of art or write a song for someone else and using another’s words as your own. In music it's not uncommon for someone to write a song that is accredited to another person or group. These people are usually mentioned in some way by the artist or even just have their name next to the song, see Otis Redding during the Motown era.
I don't feel this has the same level of negativity that ghost writing someone else's words do. It's possible to right a piece of music for a certain instrument, like Mozart's clarinet concertos, so in the same way it's possible to write a music for a certain singer or group after all singers are instruments themselves. Music has more malleability. In my opinion there is a significance in the written word or the painted canvas that comes directly from a certain person. It's very difficult to write without allowing your voice to come out in the words, it's almost impossible to paint without seeing the difference in individual's brushstrokes. No artist in history will ever be able to paint the Mona Lisa in the same way as it was originally.
So in conclusion, it's very difficult to ascertain what the significance of ghost writing will be in the future. Is it an inherent part of the written word or the painted piece that will continue to rob unsung geniuses of their place in history or is it a great way for those of us who enjoy to write and paint to get paid and exercise our fingers?
I'm not sure whether plagiarism is the right way of describing ghost writing as it is usually done for a monetary exchange and not necessarily stealing material and accrediting it to yourself. However is it not just a way of plagiarising somebody's name? Many great artists and writers have created work under a pseudonym and this is a great way to enjoy anonymity or bypass ignorant views of your audience.
My issue is should someone who has no talent in a field be able to be revered in the annals of history through someone else's hand? Also why does it happen? Are we really so shallow as audiences that we won't read an interesting work of fiction by an unnamed author but we'll pay out in droves because they put a celebrity's name on the front?
Does the publishing world like to keep it a secret because it suits them to make more money out of good books they've received by tagging on some well known persons name to it? Is it fair that an author who could receive recognition for their talents has to make do with a quiet paycheque and a free bookmark?
Should we have to suffer future generations believing that certain Z-list celebrities were actually able to write a book? It's up to you but in my eyes we should know who created what we behold, and if we don't then just like battery farmed eggs, we shouldn't buy them!
