BOO!! Let's talk about Ghostwriters! 👻 (Updated)

At one time, I thought a ghostwriter was someone assisting a less experienced person in authoring a book. For example, maybe a celebrity or public figure wanted to write an autobiography and needed help putting it together. Of course, I also didn't give the topic a lot of thought one way or another. It was no big deal.

And then - get this - I spoke to someone who told me that it was common for famous writers to have someone else do the work. He specified romance novelists, but I got the impression that it didn't start and stop there. I believe some pretty famous authors also use ghostwriters.

Why do I care?

Well, like most of us, I don't respect anyone who allows another person to do the work and then take the credit themselves. That's not cool. Furthermore, if I buy your book, I want YOUR book. I don't want a book with your smiling face on the back cover and someone else's words on the pages. Isn't that kind of like buying a knockoff purse? Sure, it might say Louis Vuitton bag, but if you paid $20 to a guy selling purses in the back of his van, you're purchasing a counterfeit purse. Except, of course, ghostwriting is legal. Also, you're going to pay the same price for the book authored by the ghostwriter as you would if you bought the same book authored by...well, the person it's supposed to be authored by in the first place.

Some argue that writers run out of ideas, don't have the time to write, etc, and I have to tell you, I have no compassion. I work and squeeze in writing, social media, and all marketing for my book in my spare time, so you aren't going to get any sympathy here. Furthermore, when did an author's name merely become a trademark rather than something that represents integrity?

And what about the ghostwriters? I realize they're getting paid, but if they write a best-selling book with someone else's name on it, why aren't they also getting the credit? I sincerely doubt the super famous author will publicly acknowledge that someone else did the work for them, nor give them credit for their 'brand' becoming more successful as a result. However, I could be wrong. And hey, maybe I don't fully understand the situation. Maybe there's more to it than I know. 

What do you think? How do you feel about ghostwriters? Does it matter? Would you feel differently about your favorite writer if you learned that they had someone else write their books?