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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Amph Are you *really* reading your authors?

Discussion in 'Archive: SF&F: Books and Comics' started by Excellence, Jun 19, 2006.

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  1. Excellence

    Excellence Jedi Knight star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2002

    It's commonplace practice, just not widely known. Big names of fiction often lend their names to someone's book. You'll see Dean Koontz's name swallowing a third of his book covers. It's called marketing, and paying for the use of it is yours. Much like Star Wars written by George Lucas, until you realise it's really Alan Foster.

    But in researching what little I can about The Risen Empire before deliberating on a purchase, Scott Westerfeld wrote someone's book. Which got me circuiting, just who are you really reading?

    Everyone has a voice; that style of writing that defines you. Duplicating someone can either be easy or inordinately challenging. Or perhaps you just skeleton the body, and the publicised author skins the rest. However it's done, do you notice soemthing isn't quite right with who you thought you were reading? Not quite the familiar prose, narrative voice?

    Just who really is penning their own novels these days?

    How much of Donald Duck is geuinely Donald Duck?
     
  2. sidious618

    sidious618 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 20, 2003
    I know author James Patterson doesn't write many of his own books. Plus, Robert Ludlum is writing from beyond the grave.
     
  3. Excellence

    Excellence Jedi Knight star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2002

    I wonder how prevalent this deception realy is. It's . . . deceiving. [face_thinking]
     
  4. Arwen Sith

    Arwen Sith Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 30, 2005
    Anne McCaffrey's coauthored a lot of books with Jody-Lynn Nye, Margaret Ball, S. M. Stirling, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, and most recently, her son Todd (Johnson) McCaffrey. In many books her role was limited to writing a plot outline and some of the main characters. She has even recently admitted that Todd wrote a lot of the threadfighting scenes as far back as Renegades of Pern.
     
  5. Excellence

    Excellence Jedi Knight star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2002

    Sorry, Arwen: I don't mean co-authoring a novel, I'm talking about people writing for a brandname author. And whether it's cheating, or feels the same reading, etc. :p
     
  6. Arwen Sith

    Arwen Sith Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 30, 2005
    Oops, my bad. I don't think I've ever read any ghost-written books...
     
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