Found out my book club's favorite novel was actually ghostwritten

Last week while digging into our monthly pick for book club, I stumbled on an old interview with the author's editor. Turns out the author didn't write half of the novel themselves, a ghostwriter did all the heavy lifting for a flat fee. I checked the copyright page and the acknowledgments gave zero hint of this. Has anyone else found something like this about a book they thought was totally original?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mila25d ago

My friend Sarah found out her favorite thriller was ghostwritten after she saw the real writer's name in the copyright fine print.

sullivan.spencer25d ago

Hold on, @the_mila, you mean her name was literally in the fine print? That's wild. I always assumed the ghostwriter's name was buried somewhere in the acknowledgments or just kept totally secret. Did Sarah say if the author she thought wrote it ever responded when she asked about it?

grantmartinez20d ago

The copyright fine print? That's insane, @the_mila. I can't believe it was hidden in the legal boilerplate like that. You'd think they'd want to keep it more low key but I guess the lawyers make them put it in there. Did Sarah say if the famous author ever even answered her email? That part would drive me nuts, just getting ghosted like that.