Tuesday 16 June 2009

I believe in ghosts

It looks like much of my output this year will be entirely invisible. At least, I'll be invisible - you'll still be able to read the words. By early 2010 I'll have written close to 200,000 words of fantasy fiction and chances are you won't even know it was me.

Ghost-writing might sound like a thankless job - why slave away if there's no prospect of recognition at the end of it? Well, as most writers know, it ain't the fame it's the gig. And as gigs go, this one's pretty good. I get to spend my time doing what I was built to do ... and get paid for the privilege. I get to work with talented collaborators, so I'm free to enjoy the characters and the language while somebody else sweats over story arcs and pubishing deals. Is all that worth having to keep my lips sealed and assume a false identity? Hell, yes. The public image of an author is usually as much of a fiction as the characters that author creates - ghosting just takes that to its logical conclusion.

So in answer to the question, "What are you working on at the moment?" I'm afraid I have to answer, "None of your business ... but you're gonna love it!"

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