Is ghostwriting ethical is a question often asked and long debated. One side says that authors should receive credit for their hard work and that ghostwriting misleads the masses. The other side says, hey, some people need writing help and it’s a job. There are all sorts of arguments and points in between, too. I’m certainly not about to solve the debate here.
Nor is it going to be solved over at Ezine Articles. A recent blog post that really isn’t related to ghostwriting stirred up commentary involving the issue of authorship and credit. What interested me is how swiftly and firmly people chose sides. The debate roiled up like a tornado building speed.
Obviously, the ethics surrounding ghostwriting are ones people feel strongly about.
My personal take on ghostwriting is that it’s ethical. There really isn’t anything wrong with giving someone else a voice. The limelight that goes along with the label of “author” is really overrated, folks. What matters to me isn’t that I, the great James, wrote something and can brag about it. It’s that someone else could deliver a message clearly, effectively, and with good intention.
Alright, sure, okay, that sounds so pure, doesn’t it? Don’t worry; I’m an angel with tin wings. I don’t mind ghostwriting because it pays, quite simply. I also don’t mind ghostwriting because I don’t feel a personal connection to much of what I write. I love my job, yes. I do a good job, sure. I don’t feel the need to point to over a thousand articles and say, “Hey! There’s my name! Did you see? Look how popular I am!”
Now, there are pieces I care about. At times, I’ll write something so damned good that it’s painful to sell. So, quite simply, I do one of two things: I don’t sell it and keep it for myself, or I sell it and ask the client how he or she feels about allowing me credit or recognition for the piece.
The reality is that online entrepreneurs need to establish credibility with their audience. If a reader learns that someone else wrote the content, that reader subconsciously perceives less of the expert – regardless of how much of the content came from the expert’s concepts.
Let me put it to you this way. Let’s say that Barak Obama* made a speech. A great speech, a wonderful speech that stirs tears and emotions. Then he winds down by turning to some guy on his right and thanking him for writing the words he just spoke.
Oh yeah, that’s real effective, huh? Bet you lots of people would still feel the same about Barak after that.
I just had another thought that will make Harry sit up and cheer, “Yes!” Graphic designers are in the same boat as authors: They ghost-design. When you visit a website, how often do you see the designer’s logo hovering around or some disclaimer that the site was created by so-and-so? You don’t (or if you do, it’s written real, real small at the bottom of the page). Why is that? It’s as if the ethical question of ghost-designing doesn’t exist, and yet it’s the same situation as ghostwriting. In the world of graphic design, ghosting doesn’t matter as much.
It should. It matters to the graphic designers. But no one else seems to care. So why the big fluff and hoopla over authors getting their due? If you want an ethical question to solve, start picking on that one.
*Just for the record because I know some people are touchy about this stuff, I’m Canadian. I don’t vote in the
great post! i ghostwrite all the time, and don’t have a problem with it, simply because i am providing a much-needed service to someone and making money doing it. if i felt everything i wrote needed to have my name attached to it, i don’t think i could make a living as a freelance web content writer.
and good point about graphic designers. there are likely lots of different types of freelancers who don’t get “credit” for their work, besides the pay and a “thanks” from the client. i’m also a professional freelance editor and proofreader, but my edited articles and resumes don’t say “edited by carla” etc. etc. sure, maybe authors should get credit for their work, but then shouldn’t all other freelancers?
I guess you could say it is unethical to put a signature if you like and want to give some commitment to what he writes. Taking charge of what he says and does is ethical and responsible.
I think sometimes these things can be seen in the same way and yet also respect you want to remain anonymous so as not to customize, if done in this way should be some degree of accountability on what is written. Good post
After stumbling on your article I wanted to make one point: Your comment about graphic designers is not even close to the same thing. It would be the same if they created a website for someone and then the client boldly proclaimed that they created the design of the website.
Placing a person’s name on the cover of a book means to me that they were the person who thought up the idea and went through the process of writing it. If for some strange reason I wanted to read a book by some celebrity, I would want it to be their words, not the polished words of someone writing for them. I plainly think it is insulting to the reader.