Welcome readers, writers, authors, and bloggers!
We're glad you're here! It's the First Wednesday of the month;
when we celebrate IWSG Day in the form
of a blog hop featuring members and guests of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Founded by
author Alex Cavanaugh (Thank you,
Captain!) and fostered by like-minded associates, IWSG is a comfortable place
to share views and literary news as we record our journeys. Check out our newsletter here
The awesome cohosts
for this month’s postings are: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Liza at Middle
Passages, JH Moncrieff,
and Jemima Pett!
Today’s
entirely optional question:
October 7th question - Many
people are calling for writers who use AI to disclose it. Most who employ
ghostwriters do not admit it - do you think authors who use ghostwriters should
have to disclose that, too? (Thanks Melissa Maygrove, for the question!)
No, I don’t think I
need to or should have to tell anyone if I paid a better writer (than myself)
to convey one of my occasionally brilliant ideas or remarkable life stories in
words I (temporarily, no doubt) could not come up with. Memoirs are seriously
personal business, and so is telling the world your well of words has run dry. Nope.
It can be my secret. And I don’t think I’m alone.
In fact, you couldn’t
have hammered that sort of information out of a single patron of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart either, as they desperately sought to be known as half the
composer that he was by playing the music he wrote for them. Secretly, of
course.
After all,
he (Mozart) was paid to keep it under his hat. It’s all part of the agreement. You
might be surprised how many authors use or used ghostwriters; Michael Crichton,
Ian Fleming, R.L. Stine, James Patterson, and even Mark Twain -to name a few. I’ve
lost track now of how many ghostwriters took part in writing the Bible, but I’ll
never forget the look on Grandma’s face when, referring to one on the table in
the library, I asked, “Who wrote this big book?”
My point is
that ghostwriters are (or were) real people with (in addition to intelligence)
emotions, experience, integrity, and (usually) empathy –none of which you’ll
glean from AI, a non-human compilation of cold, cursory answers that may or may
not be factual, to deep-rooted questions from warm-hearted humans.
In closing,
what a question! Good food for thought 😉
You have an interesting perspective on this. I think whether it should be disclosed depends on the situation, but that celebrities and other famous people who have authors write their books should disclose it.
ReplyDeleteHi, Natalie! I agree. And situations do vary. At least a nod to the ghostwriter would seem to be in order, but some do not care for the credit as it was just a job they were paid (very well) to do.
DeleteI think I'd prefer to know a book is ghostwritten, but it's up to the ghostwriter and the terms they negotiate. I don't think it using a ghostwriter is exploitive, but when we get to the point that someone denies employing a ghostwriter when they did, well that makes things different.
ReplyDeleteHi, Liza! It's hard to describe how disappointed I was to discover one of my favorite authors uses a ghostwriter. I wish I'd never found out. But, at least he didn't - and doesn't - try to hide it.
DeleteAs for the Bible, if you're going to have a ghostwriter you can't do better than God!
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteHa! You're certainly right about that ;-)
Yes, ghost writers get paid. Totally fair. AI, stole from the praticed and gave to the unpracticed. Mixed feelings there.
ReplyDeleteHi, Crystal!
DeleteExactly! And nowadays, you'd be better off asking a trusted elder about the good ol' days than relying on AI "opinions" passed off as history. Keeps us on our toes, doesn't it? ;-)
If I'm reading something that draws me in then I likely stop thinking about who wrote it. If AI "wrote" it and I'm entertained then it probably doesn't matter that much to me as a reader. I just move on to my next reading project.
ReplyDeleteI guess you could say that the Bible had the ultimate ghost writer: The Holy Ghost!
Lee
Hi, Lee!
DeleteSame here. If the story is good, I don't even think about who (what) wrote it until I finish the book and want to read more like it :-)
Ha! Yes, the ultimate ghostwriter!
I had no idea Mozart was a ghost composer. Fascinating stuff! I suppose it makes sense. When I was in high school, classmates tried to pay me to write their English stories for them, but the teacher knew my voice too well. It never would have worked. I wonder if people said, "Wow, this sounds like Mozart," when they heard those compositions?
ReplyDeleteHow cool to have a teacher who is also one of your fans ;-)
DeleteI guess it's possible that others knew Mozart's compositions. I can just hear a patron whispering (aw, shucks) after being exposed ;-)
Human will always be better than machine where it comes to creativity.
ReplyDeleteRonel the Mythmaker
Well, you are the first one who has taken this perspective, Diedre. I find it refreshing. As for me, I want my writing words to be my actual words. However, if I feel death approaching and I haven't completed my memoir, I might have to resort to a ghostwriter. 😂 AI ~ no way. All the best to you.
ReplyDelete