![]() ![]() Rensin and the late, legendary show-biz manager/producer Bernie Brillstein ( You’re No One In Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead!) were similarly well-suited. I think a lot of people laugh at Ozzy’s jokes, but when he saw just how helpless I was with laughter, he realized it was a genuine sort of connection, and that we really had the exact same sense of humor.” It was maybe the second or third session. “Ozzy had me laughing so much once I almost threw up,” Ayres says. It’s a complete back and forth.”Īnother key to success, Rensin and other ghosters say, is a good vibe. they’re all right there, meeting with me regularly, telling me their life stories, being funny about stuff, allowing me to be funny. And so whether you’re writing a book like Tim Allen’s Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man the other comedy ones that I’ve done. You can’t do it unless they are full participants. ![]() “The people I’ve worked with have worked very hard. Rensin (who prefers the term “collaborator” over ghost writer) stresses that both parties must contribute equally for these projects to work best. The author of two solo books, he soon became a go-to guy for other celebrities (especially comedians) in need of literary guidance: Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Jeff Foxworthy and several others. ![]() 1 best seller Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man. In the mid-’90s, Rensin assisted comic and then-sitcom king Tim Allen with his No. In the last five or so years, Morel says, her stable has grown from one to around 150. “In fact, if anything, I often come across cases where the celebrity feels as if they are doing the ghost writer a favor.”Īnd plenty of them, it seems, are eager to accept. “There is no correlation between what a celebrity gets and what the writer gets,” Morel says. Writers of multimillion-dollar celebrity books have taken a hit, too. That range has fallen in recent years to between $30,000 and $65,000, because author advances are down dramatically and the number of titles publishers buy has plummeted. New York literary agent Madeleine Morel, of Lowenstein-Morel Associates, says her hired guns (she represents ghost writers exclusively) used to earn between $50,000 and $100,000 per project. It’s seen as a decision that’s an important part of the creative process.” Who you choose as your collaborator is seen as almost part of the talent of the artist. It’s almost like when Madonna hires some unknown producer to make her album. They accept that most celebrities are way too busy and not practiced enough to turn out a whole manuscript by themselves. ![]() “In the old days, were slightly ashamed of having ghost writers,” says Ayres, whose Osbourne tome is his first foray into this growing niche. And they’re increasingly unafraid to reach out for help. They’ve got stories they need storytellers. The list is long and studded with stars - actors, pols, musicians, captains of industry. And hard-living rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s just-out tell-all, I Am Ozzy, already is going gangbusters thanks in large part to the toiling of London Times L.A. Edward Kennedy ( True Compass: A Memoir) enlisted the talents of erstwhile Sun-Times critic Ron Powers for his chart-topper. Tennis great Andre Agassi’s new-ish blockbuster memoir, Open, was put to paper by journalist J.R. Jenny Sanford, the scorned soon-to-be-ex-wife of cavorting South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, wielded a phantom pen for her new best-selling volume, Staying True. If not, healthy sales of other popular ghosted titles suggest, big whup. They just want information about that person. It’s authorized by Sarah, she’s approved it, she’s read it, she’s edited it, she talked to the. But the people who love Sarah Palin don’t care who wrote the damn book. Then again, says veteran co-author David Rensin, “He’s got a point that things are being marketed disingenuously. Somebody should sue.”Ī bit hysterical? Perhaps. “So many are just simply not written by the people the publisher tells you they are written by. Wolff added that such books are nothing but fake “brand enhancers.” “It was to be dismissed, or tolerated only with the clearest condescension.” “This sort of book once fell into a particular publishing category called a vanity book - it was not to be taken seriously,” author and Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff wrote of Going Rogue on his Web site,. There’s plenty of carping, though, and not just from Palin’s ideologically opposed critics. But that matters not to armies of admirers who have helped make it a monster hit. Sarah Palin’s cranked-out memoir, Going Rogue, was actually written by a comparatively obscure and subtly credited woman named Lynn Vincent. Chicago Sun-Times: Famous get published with a little help from these ghostsįamous get published with a little help from these ghostsīOOKS | The famous get plenty of assistance from professional writers in crafting their memoirs ![]()
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