Every so often when I talk to people about my ghostwriting services, I get the question, “Is it ethical for you to write while someone else puts your name on the book cover as the author?”
My answer is: “It depends.” Then, to set a framework for the discussion, I ask a series of questions:
* Is it ethical for politicians to give speeches written by their speechwriters?
* Is it ethical for CEOs of corporations to sign shareholder letters written by their public relations people?
* Is it ethical for charitable organization leaders to sign fundraising appeals written by professional copywriters?
A surprising number of people respond: “Everyone knows that politicians don’t write their own speeches, and I don’t think that’s unethical. But I didn’t know that some authors don’t write their own books. If an author puts his name on a book Don’t people have a right to expect that he actually wrote the book?”
That line of reasoning seems to suggest that the problem is one of conscience rather than ethics. The implication is that if more people were aware of ghostwriting, it wouldn’t seem so “misleading”.
But that argument misses the point.
Ghostwriting does raise some ethical concerns. And like so many complex problems, the answers are not always clear.
At one end of the spectrum, most people would agree that it is unethical for an author to put only their name from a book that was substantially written by a ghostwriter. For example, it turns out that Bruce Wilkinson wasn’t the only author of the Christian blockbuster, The Prayer of Jabez. David Kopp, an executive with Multnomah Publishers, made very important contributions. Some might argue that Kopp actually wrote the book. But the signature “with David Kopp” was not added to the cover until nine million copies had been sold. I’m glad the oversight has been corrected.
On the other hand, when an author gives the ghostwriter most of the information and guidance for the book, I don’t think it’s unethical for them to keep the ghostwriter’s name in the background. The ghostwriter may deserve some credit on the acknowledgment page for professionally presenting the author’s thoughts, but it doesn’t necessarily deserve a signature on the cover.
Many nonfiction authors use their books to further their business careers. Some feel that giving your ghostwriter a “with” on the cover will diminish their credibility as authorities in their field. That, they fear, will reduce the effectiveness of their book as a marketing tool.
I empathize with this opinion, but I disagree. Surveys have shown that acknowledging the ghostwriter does not diminish the author’s credibility. People know that executives are busy and expect them to take advantage of their talents. Hiring a ghostwriter is a smart business decision, not an admission of failure.
Fiction is different, however. Whereas nonfiction authors present themselves primarily as experts in their field, fiction authors present themselves primarily as authors. I think it’s smart for fiction authors to use the services of publishers, but it’s not right for them to delegate the writing work to ghostwriters.
Is ghostwriting ethical? It depends.
