Later this year a book will come out that will almost certainly be a Top Ten bestselling mass market paperback. Every title this author puts out (and I've been keeping track for a couple of years) reaches the top ten, usually the top five.
I doubt you can guess who the author is. It's not the usual suspects. If I didn't know who it was, I probably would have never guessed that this particular author sells so well. I think he sells in big numbers in places like Walmart.
I can't hint any more than this. Please don't ask. If I tell you more, I'll have to kill you.
Anyway, my writing life is in a weird space right now. I'm not really doing a whole lot of writing, but things are happening anyway. I wrote this particular book years ago--I've been waiting for it to come out for a long time.
I wrote this book in hopes that the publisher--who is distributed by Penguin Random House, by far the biggest publisher in America--would publish something under my own name. Instead, the editor ignored every submission I sent. I would have understood if they were rejected--instead, I didn't get an answer for years.
Finally, the editor cheerfully contacted me about rewriting the ghostwritten book.
I responded less than enthusiastically and they did the final rewrite without me. (I still got paid more than I've ever made from a book.) Truth was, by that time I realized the direction they wanted to take the story was one that I didn't want to go, so they did me a huge favor. By that time, if I could have, I would have bought the book back.
I doubt I'll ever read the final product. From the description, it still sounds like my book, but with a lot more guns. Heh.
Other than this, I don't think I'll speak of it again.
One thing is for sure. I'll never ghostwrite again.
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