| A ghostwriter is defined as a writer who gives the | | | | and sacrifice of many creature comforts. After birth |
| credit of authorship to someone else (Princeton). Why | | | | they hand the baby to you, regardless the level of |
| do we live in a world where the talented and the | | | | remorse, and that baby is now transferred to their |
| creative sell their work without attribution, and | | | | new and rightful mother for the rest of time. So what's |
| celebrities sell themselves as "authors" when in fact | | | | the difference? Well, for one thing, a child is a living, |
| they have merely purchased the hard labor of another | | | | breathing organism, a human being. A book is sold for |
| and taken full credit for it. | | | | profit or purpose. Being an author clearly connotates |
| Merriam-Webster defines an "author" as the writer of | | | | having actually written a book. In my example, you |
| a book, article, or other text. I don't get it! The definition | | | | might be the most fantastic mother in the world, and |
| of an author is very clear...an author is the WRITER of | | | | will be forever be the mother of that child. However, |
| a book (except when they aren't but pretend to be). | | | | no matter what happens, you will never be able to |
| How do celebrities like politicians, movie stars, and | | | | claim that you gave birth to that child, for that credit is |
| sports athletes get away with pretending to author a | | | | due elsewhere. |
| body of text without actually penning it? Why don't we | | | | In the end, we are to blame. We are often so |
| hold them accountable for pretending to be author's | | | | obsessed with our celebrities that we are willing to turn |
| when in reality they clearly are not. Patterson writes | | | | a blind eye, overlooking the fact that they didn't even |
| fewer and fewer of his novels, with more complaints | | | | bother to write their own book - yes, the one they |
| about quality and consistency while only sometimes | | | | claim to be the author of. Maybe it doesn't matter, as |
| giving credit to his co-authors. | | | | long as the reading is good and it has the information |
| Is an author really an author if they don't actually write | | | | they want. |
| their own book? Think Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, | | | | Old Fashioned Typewriter |
| etc. Do we really believe that they write their own | | | | Old Fashioned Typewriter |
| books? Of course not... In fact, most books by famous | | | | To be clear - you cannot be an author of a book |
| personalities are written partially if not fully by | | | | without having written the book, just as you cannot be |
| Ghostwriters. For example: | | | | a "surgeon" without having performed surgery. Can |
| * Billy Graham - "The Approaching Hoofbeats" written | | | | you be a bus driver without driving a bus? Can you |
| by Mel White | | | | airline pilot without flying an airplane? Can you be a |
| * Pat Robertson -"America's Dates With Destiny" | | | | chef without stepping foot in the kitchen and actually |
| written by Mel White | | | | cooking? I don't think so. Can you imagine preparing |
| * Lee Iacocca, "Iacocca" written by William Novak | | | | your resume for a high-paying job when all of your |
| * Even Bill Gates book, "Road Ahead" had two | | | | work experience was actually outsourced to someone |
| collaborators | | | | else? Yes, that's called plagiarism -paying someone to |
| So, how can someone like Sarah Palin put her name | | | | do your work for you and putting your name on it as if |
| on a book and call herself the "author" when she didn't | | | | you wrote it yourself. |
| write it? Her book even says "Copyright 2009 by | | | | And the ultimate question; can you really be a human if |
| Sarah Palin." To their credit, ghostwriters are often | | | | you refuse to live? We cannot outsource our life...or |
| legally bound not to reveal that they've ghosted certain | | | | can we? We outsource so many things - even |
| books, but does that make it right? Now Sarah Palin | | | | University professors are outsourcing the grading of |
| has a new book coming out, America by Heart - who | | | | student papers to other countries: |
| do you think wrote that one? Probably not her. But can | | | | The Chronicle of Higher Education in April reported on |
| you blame these celebrities for wanting to be | | | | the University of Houston business school's contract to |
| recognized as bestselling authors? | | | | have student papers uploaded to "teaching assistants" |
| We ask for transparency in our food products, with a | | | | (mostly residing in India, Singapore, and Malaysia), who |
| label that clearly details what ingredients are present, | | | | read them, mark them up, and offer constructive |
| and where the food comes from - valuable | | | | advice. UH professor Lori Whisenant, who initiated the |
| information for a buyer. Don't readers want to know | | | | university's contract with the firm EduMetry, said she is |
| who actually writes the books they are reading? | | | | generally pleased with the results. [Chronicle of Higher |
| Maybe not; perhaps we as readers don't really care. | | | | Education, 4-4-10] |
| Maybe its similar to our fascination with sports | | | | Well, of course we can outsource various aspects of |
| personalities - they can do no wrong. We prefer to be | | | | our life, but we must look ourselves in the mirror when |
| enamored with our celebrities, as if they were more | | | | we get up in the morning, and when we go to bed, |
| than they really are. | | | | with conscious acceptance of our level of integrity. |
| George Bush Holds His Breath | | | | We need to give credit where credit is rightfully due. |
| George Bush Holds His Breath | | | | Yes, business is business as my friend Mark reminds |
| Let's relate this to something more tangible perhaps - | | | | me, but integrity and our soul are so much more. In the |
| giving birth through a surrogate. Maybe you are unable | | | | end, you cannot blame the ghostwriters as they are |
| or even perhaps unwilling to give birth to your own | | | | just doing the job they are paid for. We can only |
| child. So you hire a surrogate, pay them X thousands | | | | blame ourselves by buying books written by those we |
| of dollars and they do the work - morning sickness, | | | | admire even when we know they are pretending to |
| stretch marks, insatiable appetite for extraneous food | | | | be something they are not - authors. |
| items (think grapefruit, chocolate, or chicken perhaps), | | | | |