Ghost Written?

GHOST WRITTEN?
Ricky Smith, December 2007

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Greetings Erdnase Scholars,

One of the topics that comes up during the discussions regarding who might, and who might not, have authored the Expert, is the possibility of ghost writers, mainly for the magic section, but possibly for the whole work. Having thought about this, I think, because I am mentally inclined to hope that Erdnase was a single individual, that a ghost writer is unlikely.

One reason has to do with the book being self published. I find it unlikely that someone would find they had a desire to write a book, only to have someone else do it. Further, if Erdnase had proposed the book and the book was written and guided by someone else, or the magic section added, it would seem that the consultant would need to have some kind of financial stake in the process. Why would you recommend that a magic section be added, incur the expense of a ghost writer, etc., unless a publishing group decided that they could turn it into some sort of profitable venture or had high hopes for the book? If someone had gone to those sort of lengths, I imagine the book would have been released with more fanfare, and the author would not have been left with so many copies to sell and advertise on his own.

Probably there are omissions and errors in my brief argument (the smart thing would be to consult with my boss prior to posting), or this topic is old hat, but I look forward to hearing other people’s thoughts and opinions on this topic.