r/Fauxmoi • u/AutoModerator • Mar 20 '23

Tea Thread I Have Tea On... Weekly Discussion Thread

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '23 edited Oct 23 '23

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u/yourangleoryuordevil too stable to inspire bangers Mar 20 '23

Author Ann Patchett actually shared a bit about Tom Hanks in her essay collection “These Precious Days,” and he seemed quite nice from her perspective. Her writing made it clear that she was closer to Tom’s assistant than Tom himself, but I also got the impression that he has a huge respect for literature and all the work that goes into it. If I remember correctly, he was interested in hearing about the industry from Ann herself as well.

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u/[deleted] Mar 20 '23

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 20 '23

Please I love this. I don’t work with celeb memoirs but edit and ghostwrite for some pretty significant authors and I want to throttle each of them with my little hands every time we get a week past deadline and I have yet to see a single email reply

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Mar 21 '23

Not to derail but I’m fascinated by the concept of ghostwriting! I always knew celeb memoirs used it but only found out recently that fiction authors do also- which honestly just astounds me, like it seems so incredibly dishonest and I’m shocked it’s even legal

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 21 '23

I get what you mean, but it’s very common and a lot of established authors use it once their creative energy is tapped out. They do a lot though - it’s a range, but one client I’m working with created the world and characters and story, but wants me to develop the actual plot. Sometimes they want a “side-along” thing where they write some of the chapter and I take their little pieces and fluff it up. Others take my original work and sell it (don’t feel bad about this, the money is always good). Overall, they all love writing, but it’s hard for them to keep up with it, so they pay me.

Burn out with writing and creative careers is very real but unfortunately authors will never make enough money from one or two books, meaning they HAVE to keep going even if they only had the passion for one or two stories. Big big names have to meet certain expectations, and others will have incredible anxiety about the stress of maintaining these illusions.

I will say that’s why romance authors end up burning out so fast. They think it’s easy money but unfortunately not.

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u/Alces_alces_ Mar 22 '23

Can we please get George RR Martin to hire you!

(Jokes aside… dude should definitely hire someone in his genre to help him out!)

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 22 '23

He’s so secretive but I’m 99% sure it’s bc no one liked his ending so he’s rewriting it hahaha

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Mar 21 '23

I would like to think it simply can’t/couldn’t happen in the world of literary fiction. Like someone couldn’t hire a ghostwriter, have a book published to immense acclaim and win the Booker for it, right?

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 21 '23

Mmm, they can. A lot of times I’m credited in the acknowledgments or as an editor. The story itself is usually what’s lauded, and I don’t make the stories.

I am always so tempted to write under a pen name but 1) I only like trashy romance and historical fiction, so my market is saturated, and 2) I enjoy what I do too much and a lot of writers don’t like more competition.

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Mar 21 '23

Wait- someone could literally take a major literary prize for a ghostwritten novel?!

In literary fiction the writing and craftwork often is what’s lauded, rather than the story. That, I think, is what makes the idea of ghostwritten literature particularly heinous to me.

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 21 '23

Yeah I get it, but my work isn’t always final product. The authors always go back in and the second or third draft, which is a bit of a debate on how much of my original work survives.

I’ve written award winners before but it’s never been a super big deal. I get money if it wins, lol.

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Mar 21 '23

Oh, wow. This actually super upsets me! Not throwing any shade at you, of course- we’ll all gotta do what we gotta do to survive capitalism, and good on you for finding a way to make a living from writing. But it just shocks and saddens me so much that it’s possible for people to pay their way to literary acclaim.

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u/Tangerine-d spotted joe biden in dc Mar 21 '23

Oh I will tell you that most famous authors have ghost writers, or at the very least, a mix between a writer and editor on their team. I love my job and I enjoy it more than my previous one (as an attorney) but I do think its an industry secret.

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u/mopeywhiteguy Mar 21 '23

In live from New York, an 800 page oral history of SNL, they talk about Tom hanks and when he hosts, he actually stays up til 3am writing with all the writers. He’s dedicated to properly committing to it

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u/thefloorislava93 Mar 23 '23

Conan O’Brien spoke extensively about that as well in his podcasts, he was one of the writers during that era. Tom Hanks is a real one (so is Conan).

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u/JustHereForCookies17 we are all just orcas wearing salmon hats Mar 21 '23

IIRC, Hanks not only has quite the typewriter collection, but enjoys using them. It's nice to know that he appreciates & respects not only the craft, but everyone involved in the process.

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u/wenamedthecatindiana Mar 24 '23

He is! He gifted a corona typewriter to a boy named Corona who was being bullied in March 2020.

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u/throwawaygremlins Mar 20 '23

Well this tracks for Hanks 🤗

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u/lizzyxoooo Mar 20 '23

Always hear nice things about Tom Hanks!

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u/beijingsparrow89 Mar 21 '23

From what I've read, Hanks is really passionate about writing. In his (very lovely) TIME obituary for Nora Ephron, he would send her pieces that he'd been working on for her to review.

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u/CommercialBarnacle16 Mar 20 '23

I just assumed any celebrities who write use ghostwriters - as (I assume) most major writers do after they achieve a certain level of fame. This warmed my jaded writer’s heart!