Who is a literary negro?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The author, who publishes dozens of books every year, is the envy of colleagues and the doubt of readers. Is it really possible for one person to produce such an impressive amount of text without outside help? Perhaps the so-called literary negro helps him in his literary activity. Or even a group of ghostwriters. Who is a literary negro? Who needs such a specialist? And how highly valued is the work of an unnamed author?

Who is a "ghost writer"?

A literary Negro is a hired author, whose books are widely known, the surname is not. He creates an artistic and journalistic work or its individual chapters and receives a monetary reward for such work. He does not even dream of fame in the literary field, since his creations are published exclusively under the pseudonym of a famous person or a well-known author.

The literary Negro is often part of the creative team. That is, a team of authors works within the framework of a specific project, the result of which is the publication of a book. These specialists are called differently. The word "Negro" has long been unethical even in Russian society. Therefore, in the domesticIn the literary world, you can hear equivalents and borrowings from the English language: “ghost of a pen”, “booker”, “literary ghost” and so on.

Un titled Author Award

There is no exact data on how much a literary slave earns. No prolific author ever admits to being "handled" by a few bookers. In fact, this activity violates copyright law and does not command respect in society.

In the West, the creation of an artistic or journalistic work according to this scheme has been little practiced in recent years. Abroad, the tax system is more stringent. It is not as difficult for a resident of Germany, France or Sweden to publish his own book as for a Russian. Yes, and the mentality of the inhabitants of Europe and America is somewhat different from the Russian.

Specialists in the field of book publishing and literature argue that if people write books under a pseudonym for which they do not have a patent, then they cannot hope for big earnings. In addition, there is an opinion in the publishing world that it is not worth paying a lot to the “ghosts of the pen”. After all, in this case, they will write less. The roy alties from each book that is created under this scheme are divided between the publisher, the official author, and the so-called ghostwriter. The latter gets the smallest part of the profit. It should be said that a significant factor that negatively affects the earnings of both the author and the "literary ghost" is network piracy. In recent years, there has been a general declineinterest in the book.

The laws of publishing

In order to understand what literary ghosts do, one should delve into the system of book publishing. The publication of any book is aimed at making a profit. And therefore, in this area there are laws that are the same for any type of business. A publisher is a specialist who invests money in a literary work. But he does this solely for selfish reasons.

Authors from all over the country send their creations to small and large publishing houses. Among them are talented writers, people who dream of huge fees, and just graphomaniacs. It is not so easy for an editor to extract from a large number of manuscripts the one that can bring income to a publisher.

Publishing a book for an author whose last name is familiar to potential readers is not difficult. It is almost impossible for an aspiring writer to publish his work. At least that's what those who have published or attempted to publish their literary work say.

Twisted alias

The name of the author of large-circulation publications is a kind of brand. The book, on the cover of which his name flaunts, will certainly be bought. Consequently, the more he writes such works, the more impressive will be both his fee and the income of the publisher. But few people can create a work every month. A famous person sometimes does not have enough time, energy, and often talent for this. An anonymous author is a specialist who helps to solvesimilar problems. He receives a clear task and completes it within the time frame.

The specifics of the work of the "literary ghost"

Working as a literary Negro implies the presence of writing abilities. And therefore, among the ghost writers, there are often students of the Literary Institute. Gorky. Such a specialist creates a work taking into account a number of requirements: compliance with style, storyline, and the required volume. But this work has little in common with real creativity.

Often a “literary slave” writes low-quality fiction books solely to improve his material well-being. And in his spare time he indulges in his favorite pastime. That is, he creates works that have literary value. At least he thinks so. But for a number of reasons, these creations are not accepted by any publisher. Some writers believe that the work of a "ghost writer" has a number of positive qualities. And the most important of them is the opportunity to gain creative experience.

Who uses the services of "literary blacks"?

Who is the author of books that tell about the life of a famous ballerina, a flamboyant politician, a legendary music performer? Today, memoir prose is very popular. These stories are spoken in the first person. But that doesn't mean anything. The desire to tell the whole world about your achievements is not enough to write a book. And the dream of making money on the publication of facts from personal life will not come true withlack of literary ability.

Who is the author of a celebrity autobiography, the reader may not know. He will not find the name of the "literary ghost" on the cover of the publication. And this is the main difference in the meaning of such concepts as "nameless author" and "co-author". Also, do not confuse "ghost writer" with "literary editor". The name of the first, as already mentioned, is unknown. The second receives his fee on the basis of the concluded contract. The editor's name can be seen on the back cover.

How to become a "ghost writer"?

The opportunity to earn and gain invaluable experience in literary work is a good motivation for finding such a job. How to become a "literary negro"? You will not find vacancies for this position on the Internet. The reasons for this are clear. But if you set a goal, you can still find offers of cooperation that begin with the words "Writer required." Members of this mysterious profession sometimes find employers by posting their creations online.

Literature or Fiction?

Fiction books have always been in high demand in our country. But the time has come for consumer goods. Modern readers often pronounce a phrase that begins with the words: "my favorite writer" and ends with the name of the author, whose activity has little to do with literary. Perhaps the whole thing is in the modern rhythm of life. Man has no time to think about the eternal. Reading serious literature requires emotional and mental stress. And the phrase "My favorite writer is Dostoevsky" can be heard by everyoneless often.

Shop shelves are full of books with colorful covers. Their authors amaze with the level of productivity. From ten books a year. These people often combine assembly line work with a secular lifestyle and participation in various television shows. Therefore, readers and critics have suspicions about the honesty of such authors.

How do experienced modern writers feel about the work of an unnamed author? Some of them claim that they have never met representatives of this profession. Others believe in their existence, but in every possible way reject cooperation with them. But ghostwriters have been, are, and will be. Their work will lose relevance when people stop reading. And that is unlikely to ever happen. Because publishing books is nothing but a profitable business. But, unfortunately, the nameless author earns a little. Most of the book's profit goes to the person whose name is on the cover.

Linguistic expertise

It is theoretically easy to prove authorship. For this, there is a so-called linguistic expertise. This event allows you to analyze the style of the author. But underground workers easily imitate the peculiarities of the construction of sentences and the characteristic speech turns of this or that writer. And the promoted authors, without fear of exposure, continue to "create", churning out twenty to thirty works every year.

Authors of doubt

Professional writers assure that no more than two novels can be written a year. Those who write more are either taking advantage of the labor of the underpaidauthors, or give out low-quality text. But tabloid prose continues to be popular, despite all kinds of criticism. Books by Daria Dontsova, Tatyana Polyakova and Marina Serova were bought and continue to be bought.

The plots of modern popular books, which are published, as a rule, in paperback, do not have uniqueness. The characters in these stories speak the same language. There is no need to speak about the presence of artistic images in the work of promoted authors. Their creations are the result of an advertising campaign. And therefore, the veracity of the words of the writer, who writes low-grade detective stories with incredible speed, that he does it on his own, can not be questioned. It is impossible to create ten novels in a year. It is quite possible to write a dozen mediocre books.

Daria Dontsova

One of this author's colleagues once said that only one person can write so mediocre and vulgar. But not a collective of "ghost writers". Dontsova's literary blacks is a topic that has been covered in the press more than once. This writer has the biggest circulations.

Ninety-five percent of Russian authors receive no more than one hundred thousand rubles for publishing a book. Dontsova's fee reaches one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month. This author is the most prolific in the modern literary world. Both the quality of her works and the speed with which she writes them are subjected to tough discussion.

But Daria Dontsova does not pay attention to criticism, but continues to create. Author of books in the genre"ironic detective" not only writes, but also receives literary awards for his creations. In addition, he finds time for frequent appearances on television. But if we put aside the issues of the artistic quality of the works, we can come to the conclusion that the project "Daria Dontsova" brings pleasure to millions of readers, profit to the publishing house, an impressive fee to Agrippina Arkadyevna Dontsova (real name of the writer). And if we admit the version about the use of the labor of hired literary workers, then unknown authors also have the opportunity to earn money and gain experience.

Marina Serova

The name of this writer is the pseudonym under which the group of authors works. Collective work under a certain brand is common in the literary world today. The project brings income to each of its participants. Books are popular. And it should be said that today many "ghost writers" have migrated to television, where they also have the opportunity to apply their talents. And under the name of a famous screenwriter, "literary blacks" can work. And therefore, they are representatives of a separate profession in demand.