8.1 Ghostwriter

Do you know what a ghostwriter is? Is it someone who writes ghost stories?  Or is it the ghost of a dead writer?

 

Actually, a ghostwriter is a person who writes a book for someone else. 

Many books by famous people were written by ghostwriters. One famous example is the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage. For years, people thought it was written by John F. Kennedy, the former American president. But in 2009, Kennedy’s speechwriter, Theodore Sorenson, admitted he wrote many parts of the book.

So, why do people hire ghostwriters to write books for them? In some cases, they are too busy to write the book on their own. Other people simply don’t have enough writing skills or experience.

The next time you read a book by someone famous, don’t be surprised at his or her writing talent. The book may not be their own creation.