A few years back, during a book signing event at East Hampton Library, something interesting happened. As I sat quietly behind my table, piled by my different books, two friendly writers, whose tables were next to mine, like myself, waited for the book byers to show up. The book event, was organized by Alec Baldwin – who himself was a few table away, with his own book. There were most probably over twenty writers present that summer day at the library’s large garden. We had all donated twenty copies of each of our different books to benefit the library.
While I quietly waited, a TV cameraman and a reporter holding a mike, approached my two neighboring writer ladies and began taping and questioning them. I soon realized that they were married to two well-known movie stars. Naturally, I felt like nobody, sitting meekly in my corner. Why aren’t the reporter and the cameraman paying any attention to me too, I thought to myself? I am also a writer. What can I do… that’s life, I pondered. Then, as soon as the TV crew left, the woman sitting by my right side, asked, “Did you write all these books yourself?”
“Excuse me!” I said looking baffled. “What do you mean?”
She gave me a lopsided smile. “What is so difficult to understand? I simply asked you if you genuinely wrote your books.”
“Naturally…!” I said. “Didn’t you write yours?”
She, now, gave me a friendlier smile and answered, “Of course not. I got myself a ghost writer.”
“How about the other well-known lady sitting next to you?”
The so called author shook her head, which of course meant ‘no’.
Can you imagine? All these celebrities who come out with a memoir, use other authors to write for them. I suppose the ghost writers are authors like me, who have given up on building a name. So, how else can they use their talent but to sell them?
Host