draw his job , David Beckham ’s ghost order , " You get everything you’re able to out of them and put it in the first draught . Then they say , ' Oh God , it ’s too pitiless to my female parent . It has to be taken out . ' "
A ghostwriter helps the credited author tell their story. They can work on everything from memoirs to fiction books to Instagram captions. Most of the time, they’re uncredited, hence the “ghost” part of the name. Sometimes, however, the identity of a ghostwriter is made public — often when they have something to say about their subject that isn’t in the book.
Here are 14 ghostwriters who spoke out about the celebs and influencers they worked with:
1.In an essay that J. R. Moehringer, who ghostwrote the memoirSparewithPrince Harry, wrote for theNew Yorker, he described a late-night argument he had with Harry over how to end a “difficult passage” about a military training exercise when one of the participants playing his captor made a “vile” remark about his late mother,Princess Diana. Moehringer said, “Some part of me was still able to step outside the situation and think, This is soweird. I’m shouting atPrince Harry. Then, as Harry started going back at me, as his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed, a more pressing thought occurred: Whoa, it could all end right here.”
He continued , " Harry always want to cease this setting with a thing he said to his captors , a comeback that expunge me as unneeded , and jolly inane . "
He explained that Harry wanted to end the scene that means because " all his life , people had belittled his intellectual capability , and this flashbulb of cleverness prove that , even after being kicked and punch and deprived of sleep and nutrient , he had his card about him . "
However , Moehringer asked the prince to trust him with the floor and told him that he still would n’t be including that comeback because memoir is " a story carved from your life-time , a particular series of event take because they have the keen resonance for the wide-cut range of masses , and at this point in the story , those people do n’t need to know anything more than that your captors said a cruel thing about your mom . "
2.In a 2019 bombshell essay Natalie Beach wrote forthe Cut, she revealed herself as the ghostwriter for her ex-friend, influencer Caroline Calloway. She wrote, “From the moment we met [in nonfiction writing class], I focused instead on helping her tell her own [story], first in notes after workshop, then later editing her Instagram captions and co-writing a book proposal she sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Beach also said , " For almost a week she ’s been post always — how much she miss our friendship , how injure and ashamed she is about whatever she thinks I ’ll say here , how projecting she is that I broke the corporate trust in our human relationship so she can now write about me , too . It ’s been surreal watch out this unfold from my desk job in Los Angeles , but I ’m not surprised she ’s taken an essay of mine that did n’t exist yet and turned it into a narrative for herself . "
3.Maya Sloan, who ghostwrote Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s dystopian YA novelRebels: City of Indra, defended the then-teenagers from critics. She told theLA Times, “People are trying to take this away from the girls. But most art is collaborative. It was never, like, ‘Maya — go off and write 10 chapters and send them back to us.'”
She also say , " They did n’t expect me to be on [ keep Up with the Kardashians ] , and that did n’t hurt my feelings . "
4.In 2013, comedy writer Rick Polito accidentally revealed that he ghostwrote jokes for George Takei’s Facebook page, telling bloggerJim Romenesko, “Even at $10 a joke, it still feels like a validation to see so many people reacting to my humor. I have written jokes that got 10 likes per second for hours. The power of George is unbelievable. His fans are a viral army. He may not be a stockholder, but he owns Facebook.”
ToWired , Takei confirmed that Polito and other writer helped him regain memes to post , but all of the commentary was his own writing .
He say , " I have Brad [ Takei ] , my hubby , to help me and interne to assist . What is important is the reliability of my posts being there to greet my fans with a smile or a giggle every morning . That ’s how we keep on growing . "
In afollow - up interviewwith Romenesko , Polito rationalise , saying , " I just said that I ’d been looking for any mention of my Scripture I could get and that I had n’t meant to queer anything . I do n’t update his varlet . I ’ve had no verbatim contact with George . I ’ve sent him some memes , as have other comedian type , and I was glad for the picture . "
5.In 2016, Tony Schwartz, who ghostwrote then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s 1987 memoirThe Art of the Deal, told theNew Yorker, “I put lipstick on a pig. I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is. I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes, there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”
He also said that , a calendar month after the Holy Writ ’s sack , Trump held an extravagant party to celebrate it — then require Schwartz to foot one-half of the six - figure poster . Using a few things he ’d get a line during their fourth dimension together , Schwartz negociate it down to only a few thousands dollar mark , which he vow to donate to a charity of his choosing rather than give it to Trump .
6.In 2014, YouTuber Zoë Sugg (aka Zoella) was widelycriticizedfollowing the revelation that she’d worked with a ghostwriter, Siobhan Curham, on her debut novel,Girl Online. Addressing the hate she received on herblog, Curham wrote, “When I was offered the opportunity to help Zoë, I also saw the opportunity to help get important and empowering messages across to her incredibly huge fan-base. … But — and this is a big but — I did have some issues with how the project was managed.”
She continued , " Issues which I expressed on more than one occasion . Issues which I ’m afraid I ’m not allow to go into . And event which have nothing to do with Zoë … I think it would be really healthy to have a broader debate about transparency in celebrity publishing . But please , do n’t blame Zoë personally for a practice that has been going on for year . "
7.Zara Lisbon, who ghostwrote YouTuber Sierra Furtado’s novelLife Uploaded, toldMarie Claire, “Because my name was on the back of Sierra’s book, a few of her fans attacked me, saying that I was a liar for claiming to have helped her at all.”
Furtado choose to credit Lisbon as a co - author after witness the rebound Zoe Sugg faced for using a ghost .
8.Ariel Levy, who ghostwrote Demi Moore’s memoirInside Out, told theGuardian, “It’s pretty raw. She really went for it. She didn’t take anything out. I think she really wanted to communicate. She was sick of people trying to tell her who she should be.”
She also say , " If you had told me five long time ago I would be good supporter withDemi Moore , that she would be someone I could really the right way talk to , I would n’t have believed you . The most surprising affair was that we could relate at all . "
9.Tucker Max, who ghostwrote Tiffany Haddish’s memoirThe Last Black Unicorn, toldJezebel, “Writing is a distinct skill. Tiffany’s a fantastic storyteller and speaker, but she’s not a very good writer. My job was to get her whole self into that.”
He also said , " Definitely one of the reason they wanted me , too , is because she was n’t well - known at the time . If she tried to get a book deal now , she ’d get a huge deal easily . It ’d be a dictation warfare . There ’ll be one for her second book . But at the fourth dimension , she was a relative nameless . "
Max was very free-spoken about being Haddish ’s ghostwriter . However , his involvement drewbacklashbecause of his past work , often dubbed " fratire , " which has been knock as sexist .
10.Stephen Davis, who ghostwrote Michael Jackson’s 1988 memoirMoonwalk, told theBoston Phoenix, “I was with him for a very intense period — maybe eight months it took to get those texts together. And then, the book was published, it was the #1 NY Times Bestseller, and it also came out in England — and then, he refused to let a paperback come out. I think he and Mrs. Onassis [Jackie Kennedy] kind of fell out over it. Because he kind of blackmailed her into writing a forward, which sheneverdid [for her authors]. And I think she was kind of miffed about that. That was the take that I got on it.”
He also said , " The day it polish off the NY Times Bestseller list , it went out of print . It ’s one of the unearthly story in a ) my calling , and b ) in publishing history . you may look — I have it somewhere . Someone couch the Times Non - Fiction unspoiled - seller list that week and mail it to me . "
The memoir wasrereleasedfollowing Jackson ’s death in 2009 .
11.Brian Moylan, the ghostwriter behindThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hillscast-member Erika Jayne’s memoirPretty Mess, told theHot Takes & Deep Divespodcast that he didn’t think it was a “red flag” that her then-husband,Tom Girardi, didn’t read the book. However, he said, “I thought it was kind of a red flag that he didn’t make it to seeChicago[the Broadway musical she performed in].”
He also reassert that Bravo get hold of Jayne a " handful of time " to involve her not to verbalise to him for the volume .
12.In 2019, ghostwriter Alison Kingsley BakerreportedlysuedReal Housewives of Beverly Hillscast-member Kim Richards for not paying her any of the $300,000 advance she received for her since-canceled memoir.
Theyreportedlysettled , with Baker have less than 50 % of what Richards owe her so as to put the matter to catch one’s breath .
13.In 2004, Tom Watt, the ghostwriter behind David Beckham’s memoirMy Side, toldBBC News, “I wanted an outline of the story, and I wanted to spend my time with David talking about how he felt. … You get everything you can out of them and put it in the first draft. Then, they say, ‘Oh God, it’s too unkind to my mother. It has to be taken out.'”
He also say , " Why should David have a literary interpreter ? I ’m the author . It ’s just the need to get things down on newspaper publisher . … What surprised me about it was how closelipped it is to acting . When you act , you take someone else ’s words and do your best to bring them to life on stage or tv camera . "
14.And finally, in a 2023 essay forVanity Fair, Wayne Lawson, the ghostwriter behind Old Hollywood actor Gloria Swanson’s 1980 memoirSwanson on Swanson, set the record straight about who authored the book. He said, “It took four people to write the book: Swanson, her sixth husband, her lover, and me.”
He afterwards allege , " First of all , without Brian Degas [ her lover ] , there would be noSwanson on Swanson . Degas may have been down on his luck when he approached Swanson , but she was undoubtedly blandish to be approached — at 79 , after five flush it wedding and a 6th in trouble — by a bewitch 44 - class - old producer . In short ordination , Degas did marvelous thing for her : the London heading show and a best - selling autobiography . Most importantly , he made love to her and made her finger young again . He did for her what only director Billy Wilder had been able to do before him , withSunset Boulevard . He gave her back her stardom . He also catch a nice sum of money for [ her sixth husband , William ] Dufty , for a Word of God I am positive Dufty was incapable of drop a line on his own . He pay me the opportunity of a lifetime , which became the basis for a prospicient career in publication . "
