Ghostbusting

I am one of at least seventy-five Christian novelists who have become increasingly concerned and dismayed about the practice of ghostwritten novels. Though most publishers do not do this, we know the practice is ongoing in the Christian publishing industry (because some of us have been offered these jobs), and we believe the situation is deceptive, a form of false advertising, and ultimately demeaning to the work God has called us to do.

Erickson’s Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology defines honesty as “truthfulness, openness, and fairness in all of one’s representations and business dealings.” Scripture tells us: “False weights and unequal measures—the Lord detests double standards of every kind” (Prov. 20:10). Ghostwritten novels deceive the book buying public, and scandals arise when it occurs even in the secular marketplace. Why should it be condoned in the Christian publishing industry?

What are we talking about? A ghostwritten novel lists one person as the author when someone else has actually written the book. It’s tantamount to plastering one of our names on a Picasso painting and taking full credit (and the sales price) when we don’t know the first thing about painting. Even if one of us said, “Picasso, why don’t you paint a one-eyed blue man?”, that’s not enough. Even if we supplied the paint, that’s still not enough to take full credit for work we didn’t do. Even if we paid Picasso for his labor, that still doesn’t give us the right to claim that we created the painting.

We are not talking about dual author teams where one person supplies ideas and research and another does the writing. We’ve seen many of these duos in recent years, and we have no complaint when the writers’ name is listed with a partner’s. We trust that they have come to an equitable arrangement to share the work, the reward, and the responsibility.

Our concern is with the purely ghostwritten novel. A novel is an art form that arises after years of work and studying the craft. We are committed to excellence in our fiction, and we write to glorify God. For a publisher to propose that a novel be cranked out, stamped with a celebrity’s name, and sold to an unsuspecting public demeans our work and dishonors our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Truth and tells the Truth.

~~Angie