I like to think I'm not naive, but every now and then I get evidence to the contrary. A recent article in Forbes magazine talked about the author-as-industry, noting that a fair number of authors don't even write their own books and some are long since dead. I had no idea!

James Patterson is a prime example. His multiple bestsellers are often ghosted, but generate revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Patterson isn't the only one by far, but he is, at least alive.

" Fantasy books "by" V.C. Andrews keep coming out, even though she's been dead for 16 years. The same is true for the late Lawrence Sanders, known for his frothy crime stories; his Archy McNally series marches on posthumously. Robert Ludlum, who died last year, continues to churn out new work: The Janson Directive appeared in mid-October. Even live authors take on ghostly scribes: Clancy's Net Force and Op-Center books are written by writers identified usually on an inside page; Janet Evanovich's romance series of Christmas novels and a line called Full House are co-written; and Clive Cussler's NUMA Files are penned with Paul Kemprecos.

While some people have sued, alleging fraud, according to Forbes, "literary agents, unsurprisingly, don't see a problem. 'If you're stuck thinking of authors as 'writers,' said one, 'you're never going to [understand branding],'" Branding, not writing. I wonder if that will ever extend to blogs. Considering that I largely quoted somebody else's article (Thomas Kellner), it probably already has.

Excuse me now. I have to work up the design for the "No Code" T-shirts and key chains.
2:35:05 AM    Comments?()