I was scrolling through Reddit at some ungodly hour (because that’s what we do now instead of sleeping), and I saw this post that said “hire ghostwriters.” And my brain, in all its sleep-deprived wisdom, immediately goes: Oh, cool, someone writes about ghosts for a living? Like, ghosts with actual names and backstories and everything?
It took me a full minute to realise that they were hiring someone to write “for them.” Like their book, their memoir, their inspiring life story, or whatever it was. And then just putting their own name on the cover like they sat down and typed every single word themselves.
I sat there staring at my phone like… wait, hold up. Is this actually legal? Is everyone doing this? Have I been lied to my entire life about who writes what? Are any of the books on my shelf actually written by the people whose names are on them?
Spoiler alert: yes, it’s legal; yes, people are doing it; and well, yes, probably half your bookshelf is a lie.
The Thing Nobody Talks About
Here’s what messed me up: I looked at my bookshelf. That business book from the tech CEO? Probably didn’t write it. That politician’s memoir? Maybe wrote some of it. That celebrity autobiography? Almost definitely written by someone who signed an NDA promising to never admit it.
How are we all just… okay with this?
This is a literal multi-billion-dollar industry out there, solely built on the fact that we are being cool with being lied to. We believe the person on the cover wrote every word, well, except somewhere in the background, there’s a writer who actually wrote it pretending they don’t exist.
The Levels of Ghostwriting
Level One: Someone writes their own book but needs an editor to make it readable. This seems fine.
Level Two: The celebrity does hours of interviews and rambles about their life. A ghostwriter takes all that, structures it into chapters, and makes them sound smarter. The ideas are theirs; the words are borrowed.
Level Three: The person on the cover shows up for two phone calls. The ghostwriter does everything — researches their life, develops arguments, and creates the narrative. The “author” reads it and says, “Yeah, sounds like me.” Published.
Legally? Fine. Ethically? Eh, well, that is the question.
When Politicians Do It
When it’s a celebrity cookbook, whatever. But politicians? When we’re using their book to decide if they should run the country, and they didn’t actually write it… That’s a problem, right?
We’re reading their books to understand who they are. But are we understanding them or the team that created a book-shaped campaign ad?
Business Books Are The Worst
Business books are like 90% ghostwritten. I mean, let’s be real, no CEO really has the time to sit down and write a whole book, which might just take months. Hiring a writer seems, well, more sensible.
That writer interviews the CEO for a few hours. And then proceeds to basically creates a leadership philosophy, invents frameworks, writes case studies. The CEO reads it and goes, “Oh yeah, I guess that’s what I think.”
Other CEOs buy it, thinking they’re getting proven wisdom. But they’re actually getting a professional writer’s interpretation filtered through corporate PR.
The Authenticity Problem
We’re obsessed with “real voices” and “genuine connection.” Social media promised direct access to famous people.
But that made it worse. That vulnerable Instagram post? Written by a social media manager. That Twitter thread? Communications team. That “personal essay” is ghostwritten.
We’re so hungry for authenticity that we created an entire industry manufacturing it.
Why Can’t They Just Admit It?
Simple: readers care. A book “by Malcolm Gladwell” sells way more than “by Malcolm Gladwell with Sarah Thompson”.
The celebrity’s name is the product. Admitting to a ghostwriter dilutes the brand.
The truly invisible ghosts — the ones who sign NDAs — make this feel like a conspiracy we’ve all agreed to ignore.
No Clean Answer
But, just a question: if a book changes your life or teaches you something valuable, or you just enjoyed reading it, does it really matter whose words they were? Maybe not. But it still does feel wrong, doesn’t it?
Maybe the ethics aren’t about who typed the words. Maybe it’s about what we’re promised versus what we get. When we buy books expecting authentic voices and get professionally crafted simulations, that’s the problem.
Maybe the next time I pick up a book, I’ll wonder if there is another person behind this who isn’t on the cover. Someone who spent a year trying to channel someone else’s voice — and then disappeared into thin air.
Those people exist. They have names and skills. They write books that millions read.
We just never learn who they are.
Maybe that’s the biggest ethical problem. Not that ghostwriters exist, but that we built a system where their invisibility is the entire point.