Authors that don't write

The first time I wondered if writers actually write all of their own novels was when I was in grade five. I was in the library browsing the 39 Clues series. Anyone who is familiar with this series knows it has a bazillion books. Ok, maybe more like 26. But I knew that one author couldn’t possibly write that much; at the time I had the insane dream of writing my own novel, and after four months I was only 30 pages in. 

The secret to the length of the 39 Clues series was simply plastered on the front of each book. The series was a collaboration, and if I read carefully, I could easily recognize the distinct author’s writing; Gordan Korman’s contributions were my favourite.

How many authors aren’t transparent about their “collaborations”? 

Ghost writers are the first level of deception on the book writing iceberg. It takes one search and two clicks to find a professional ghostwriter on Reedsy. For as low as $25,000, you suddenly have a book to your name. 

This may seem like a lot of money. But the average salary for a writer is around $45,000. Keep in mind that authors with a brand make even more. JK Rowling, who wrote Harry Potter has an estimated net worth of $1 billion, Steven King, who wrote It, The Stand, The Shining, has a net worth of $500 million. 

If you think about it, hiring ghostwriters is an easy and simple way to make quick cash if the author already has a brand. 

An example of this is the novel The Babysitter’s Club. Ann M. Martin wrote the first 35 books in the series. But after she got her series and brand famous, Peter Lerangis started writing. FYI, Peter Lerangis also wrote books in the 39 clues series. While Ann M. Martin is completely transparent about Peter Lerangis’ writing, others are not. 

Nancy Drew is a children’s series with over 600 books. The name on the cover is Carolyn Keene, but with a quick Wikipedia search, I discovered that Corolyn Keene is a cover for multiple ghostwriters. 

Author’s aren’t writing all their novels. Especially if they have a bunch, which brings me back to Gordan Korman. He wrote over 80 books, but he’s only 58 years old. After doing some quick math, Gordon Korman wrote about 1.73 books a year. That’s a lot of books for only one hand writing. 

In 1997, Gordon Korman wrote 4 books, all part of the series Monday Night Football. Each book is exactly 96 pages. With an average of 450 words on a page, Gordon Korman wrote 172800 words in a year. 

Enest Hemmingway, famous author, wrote 500 words each day. In Stephen King’s book on writing, he said he wrote 2,000 words a day. 

According to a low estimate, assuming Gordan Korman wrote 500 words each day for 365 days a year, he would be able to write 182500 a year, which is higher than his insane output in 1997. However, writers can’t write every day all day. 

There are about 261 working days in a year. This would give Korman an estimate of 130500 words in a year, which is 40,000 words short of his estimated 1997 wordcount. Gordon Korman also spends his time visiting schools, conversing with his editors, and finding inspiration. 

Is it possible Gordan Korman wrote four books in a year? Yes. 

It is more likely that he has a band of ghost writers helping him? I think so. 

Gordon Korman, similar to many other writers, built a brand out of writing a lot of books, quickly. His books are formulaic. If I were Gordan Korman I would think: I’m writing a similar thing over and over again. There really isn’t a difference if someone else helps out, right?

As a reader, I think there is a difference. I think I can tell the difference between an author’s carefully placed craft compared to a ghostwriter’s indifference. And I think Gordan Korman is not writing all of his books. 

How many authors use ghostwriters? It might be more than we realize. 

References

The 39 Clues. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_39_Clues

Average Writer Salary in Canada. (n.d.). Payscale. https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Writer/Salary

Carolyn Keene. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Keene

The Daily Word Counts of 19 Famous Writers. (2017, December 4). Word Count. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://wordcounter.net/blog/2017/12/04/103207_the-daily-word-counts-of-19-famous-writers.html

Gordon Korman Books In Order. (n.d.). Book Series in Order. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/gordon-korman/

Korman, G. (n.d.). I Was John Elway: Quarterback Exchange: Book #1 by Gordon Korman. Goodreads. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160700.I_Was_John_Elway

Max, T. (n.d.). How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Ghostwriter for a Nonfiction Book? Scribe. https://scribemedia.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-ghostwrite-a-book/

Smyth, D. (n.d.). How Much Do Novelists Make? Work - Chron.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://work.chron.com/much-novelists-make-7670.html

Stine, R. (2018, March 28). 7 Surprisingly Ghostwritten Books. Reedsy Blog. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://blog.reedsy.com/ghostwritten-books/

Suarez, F. (n.d.). List of Nancy Drew books. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nancy_Drew_books