<
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/12/liam-pieper-celebrity-ghost-writer-author-bestselling-book>
"A few years back, a long-held dream of mine came true: a book I wrote became a
runaway hit.
You’ve probably read the book. You’ve definitely seen the book. Four years
since it was published, it’s still selling like Taylor Swift tickets. It’s
still in airports, still displayed face out in bookshops. It pops up at Airbnb
libraries, on friends’ bookshelves and in conversation when people tell me it
changed their lives and ask me if I have read it.
They don’t know I wrote it. For one thing, my name isn’t on the cover. For
another, it’s a very good book, authored by a very good man. The sort of book
you give to a friend when they are going through a tough time. A book that’s
inspired many, many people to live a more hopeful and generous life; full of
hope and kindness and wisdom.
I’m an unlikely person to have written this book, because I’m not known for my
kindness or wisdom. Actually, I’m known for not being known at all, because I’m
a professional ghost writer.
Like most ghosts, I became one unexpectedly – when a publisher I’d previously
worked with on my own memoir (which, while it didn’t set the world on fire, was
enough to destroy my own life and kill any possibility of future gainful
employment) asked if I would be any good at writing someone else’s. I said I’d
never tried.
Then the publisher told me what my fee would be, at which point I agreed, on
reflection, that I was perfect for the job."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
