Ghostwriter

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A ghostwriter (literally: ghost writer), also contract writer , is an author who writes in the name and on behalf of another person.

Ghostwriters work on behalf of a publisher , a mediating agency or an author, especially if the author named in the front cover does not have enough time or skills to write "his" work himself. The term ghostwriter does not require any clearly defined skills.

activities

Ghostwriting takes place, for example, with works by celebrities, such as life stories, biographies or series of novels, but also with corporate books and as speechwriters for speeches by politicians and other public figures.

Ghostwriting was already common in the academic and political fields in ancient times. Occasionally, even today, chair holders have texts created by employees. However, this is not considered good style and can become embarrassing if it becomes known and legal consequences.

In some cases, students can also have their final, diploma or bachelor theses written by authors placed by ghostwriting agencies. This is not permitted according to the examination regulations.

Ghostwriting agencies act as intermediaries between customers and authors. There are different types and ways of working, often on the verge of legality .

Demarcation

A distinction must be made between ghostwriting and plagiarism , i.e. the copying or unauthorized use of a text or parts of it that have already been used or published elsewhere.

In addition, there is quite legal commissioned work, for example in public relations or as authors for lyrics, compositions, etc. This is not referred to as ghostwriting. The brokerage is occasionally carried out by text brokers or other specialized agencies or platforms.

Attribution

Ghostwriters do not appear on the book cover or in the front cover. The ghostwriter undertakes to renounce his own authorship of the text and to allow the client to publish it as his own. According to a landmark ruling by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court on September 1, 2009, such an agreement was not objectionable.

In other cases one does not speak of ghostwriting, but of co-authorship, for example when a well-known journalist has been recruited as a co-author for the biography of a celebrity. In this case both names are given. Occasionally the co-authors are mentioned by name at least in an acknowledgment, occasionally also in the imprint of the book.

Legal consequences of scientific ghostwriting

Anyone who employs a scientific ghostwriter for university work is liable to prosecution if he makes an affidavit that a university paper actually written by the ghostwriter was written by him independently and without outside help. The ghostwriter also makes the aid punishable if he becomes aware of this fact. In reality, however, criminal prosecution of this aid would be very difficult to enforce, as ghostwriters and ghostwriting agencies generally secure themselves through contractual provisions and terms and conditions, in which it is stated that the work created may only be used as a template. Because a criminal case of the ghostwriter would require that he had demonstrably knowledge that the work should be submitted without changes as a separate examination. Due to the aforementioned contractual provisions, such knowledge and thus intent can only very rarely be proven.

The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court ruled in February 2011 that the term “academic ghostwriter” was misleading because this term itself could not exist here. The second part of a ghostwriter agreement could not be realized: The namesake was not allowed to present the ghostwriter's work as its own to the (university subject) public. Every ghostwriting agreement in this area is thus immoral and void (and therefore illegal).

Providers who offer coaching or comparable support in writing academic papers operate in a gray area. This sometimes also includes ghostwriting agencies that only offer project help such as synopsis, preliminary studies or the like and support the client in his academic work. Also in February 2011, the Cologne Higher Regional Court ruled that as long as academic ghostwriters (offer) academic university theses as “drafts and examples that their customers are not allowed to present as their own work”, the word combination “buy thesis” in the HTML text of a ghostwriter could even be used -Website stand. Such a provider has "... a legitimate interest in informing those interested in illegal ghostwriting services about its legal offer of support in the preparation of scientific papers."

In the summer of 2012, the German University Association asked the legislature to create a new criminal offense , 'scientific fraud' , with regard to qualification theses for obtaining an academic degree or academic title . The managing director of the University Association, Michael Hartmer, publicly repeated this request on April 8, 2015.

Austria

The Austrian Science Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner (ÖVP) demands that against academic ghostwriting agencies "an inclusion in the criminal provisions of the University Act 2002 (UG) (...) in the course of an amendment to the UG (is) put up for discussion".

Switzerland

In May 2015, the Swiss universities of Bern and St. Gallen filed a criminal complaint against a provider of academic ghostwriting services with the respective cantonal public prosecutor's offices for “complicity and assistance in forging documents and fraud”. The ghostwriting agency in question describes itself as international and as one of the largest ghostwriting agencies in German-speaking countries or even the largest. While the Zurich public prosecutor's office closed its investigation in mid-January 2016 due to a lack of “evidence of a specific case of ghostwriting”, the St. Gallen public prosecutor's office “initiated initial investigations ... and (taking) the matter very seriously (...). You research together with the University of St. Gallen for students who have submitted purchased work. “A few days after this criminal complaint became known, the defendant company initiated its liquidation in the commercial register.

Ghost dating

Ghost dating is a special form of ghostwriting . A person or agency is paid to initiate and flirt contacts in writing for another person in singles exchanges , social media , chats, etc. Reasons for such an assignment can be the lack of skills, low chances of success when flirting and lack of time. Problems can arise because the Ghostdater raises false expectations or the matter is exposed for other reasons. The philosophy -Professor Philipp Hübl writes that one does not, fall in love with the writer, but in a fantasy figure that we invent to the words. A ghostdater can also act as an advisor and supporter. However, the costs are usually exaggerated.

In the literature

The protagonist in Javier Marías ' novel My heart so white works u. a. as a ghostwriter for Spanish politicians and ironically describes this activity in his novel.

Jennie Erdal describes her life as a ghostwriter for a London publisher in her novel Ghosting . She writes love letters , newspaper articles and novels for him . The novel is based on real events. In 2004 he is in German as Die Ghostwriterin: I was his mind and his voice appeared.

In the novel Ghost by Robert Harris , the ghostwriter for a former British Prime Minister who gets too close to explosive political secrets in the course of his research, just like his predecessor, is killed by the CIA . The book was filmed as The Ghostwriter by Roman Polanski .

literature

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Ghostwriter  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Fraud in Studies. Von Geisterhand “ , Der Tagesspiegel from November 15, 2010, last accessed on August 15, 2014
  2. ^ University of Flensburg: Declaration of independence. In: https://www.uni-flensburg.de . University of Flensburg, March 23, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Case law of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court, 01.09.2009 - 11 U 51/08. In: https://dejure.org/ . Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Marcel Kopper: Ghostwriting: Is that a criminal offense, what is allowed? In: eRecht24. eRecht24 GmbH & Co. KG, January 1, 2016, accessed on April 14, 2020 .
  5. ^ Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf 2011
  6. ↑ Ghostwriter - the plague of universities. In: Further education Rostock. March 23, 2019, accessed on March 23, 2019 (German).
  7. ↑ Ghostwriting. Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
  8. ^ Higher Regional Court of Cologne 2011
  9. ^ "Kempen: 'Science fraud is criminal'" , press release of the University Association from August 6, 2012, last accessed on August 15, 2014
  10. ↑ Fraud - "I am outraged by the arrogance of many ghostwriters" . Interview by Marie Gamillscheg and Oskar Piegsa with the Managing Director of the German University Association Michael Hartmer, in: Zeit Online Studium from April 8, 2015
  11. ↑ "University department: penalties for ghostwriters conceivable" , "Die Presse" from 22./23. December 2015
  12. ^ "No Zurich investigations against ghostwriting agency" , summarized from "Der Bund" from January 14, 2016
  13. ↑ "The whole story is a bit dubious" , FM1 Today of January 11, 2016
  14. ↑ heise online: Ghostdaters flirt and thread dates for those looking for a partner. Retrieved on February 13, 2018 (German).
  15. ↑ Nicola Erdmann: Online Dating: Five dates are included - then it costs extra . In: THE WORLD . July 21, 2013 ( welt.de [accessed February 13, 2018]).
  16. ↑ New flirt trend 'ghost dating' . In: www.t-online.de . ( t-online.de [accessed on February 13, 2018]).