Compost: Ghosts Who Tweet and Blog
June 22nd, 2009Recently there was a discussion on Twitter about folks who have others write their tweets for them – Twitter ghostwriters. Some people have ghosts write their blog posts for them, too. Is this kosher?
I’m a ghostwriter. I make my living writing books for others. I believe strongly that this is a perfectly legitimate way to get thoughts, ideas, and stories out into the world where they can do some good. Why should only those with writing talent (or the time to write) be able to share their stories in written form? You can hire decorators to help you beautify your house, and mechanics to keep your car running smoothly, and gardeners to prune your roses at the right time. It’s just as okay to hire writers to help you put your thoughts and stories down on paper in a way that other people will enjoy reading about them.
But that doesn’t mean that I think anything and everything written could be done by ghosts. For instance, I’m not so sure about hiring ghostwriters to tweet for you. A tweet is only 140 characters. It’s a tiny snapshot of what’s going on in your head at any given moment. Its purpose is to build relationships with other tweeters. I don’t think this is the kind of communication that lends itself to ghostwriting. Another obvious no-no for ghostwriters is term papers or other schoolwork.
What about blogs? Hmm, this is kind of gray area for me. I often ghostwrite articles, and blog posts are often short articles, so maybe this is sorta okay. But some people outsource articles and blog posts and all they do is give the ghostwriter a topic to write on – say, eagle nesting habits, or the history of Watergate, or how to grow tomatoes. But the thing is – ghostwriting is only okay – for any medium – when the ideas and stories actually come from the author, not the ghostwriter. They must be the author’s stories, ideas, tips, methods. If you outsource your articles and blog posts, you still need to tell the ghostwriter what you have to say about these eagles or tomatoes or Watergate. Otherwise you have no business claiming that article or blog post as yours.
By the way – I never outsource my writing. These blog posts are always written by me. Always.
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