Every so often I get hate comments about my ghostwriting career. The other day, I got a particularly harsh one that made me think about what I do to pay the rent (you didn’t think I made a living from my own books, did you?). So I did a little digging.
Ghostwriting has been around forever. You might call it the second oldest profession, dating back to Ancient Greek philosophers. In Egypt, pharaohs assigned scribes to pen their “legacies,” the memoirs of their day.
Though he gets most of the credit, Moses probably didn’t write the Torah, especially since Deuteronomy describes his death.
Biblical scholars believe the gospels were also ghostwritten. I’ve always been a fan of Luke’s work, especially his Prodigal Son. Knowing it was ghosted doesn’t diminish my fandom.
The word “ghostwriter” is largely credited to Christy Walsh, the father of sports agents. Walsh represented Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne among others and got the idea to hire writers he called “ghosts” to pen short books attributed to the sports stars he represented.
Newspapers have employed ghosts since the printing press. They just call it “rewrite.”
Politicians have used ghosts as long as people have been voting. Ted Sorensen, not John F. Kennedy, likely wrote the “Ask Not” speech.
The idea that ghostwriters are hackneyed charlatans dismisses some of the greatest literature and speeches ever written. It also disparages a craft that helps bring important voices into the world that would otherwise be silent.
So hate away, haters. I’m fine with what I do.
