Another day, another children’s book written by a ‘celebrity’ author.
They seem to be gathering in both momentum and number; there soon, it seems, won’t be a ‘celeb’ who hasn’t taken their turn in writing a book for that particular market.
And little wonder.
For the publisher that has the financial resources to ‘buy’ a famous name to put on the front of a book that will have been written by someone else, the ‘name’ in question is enormously valuable.
And they are prepared to back their endorsement by paying any asking price for the famous name in question.
Take, for example, The Bench, written by Meghan Markle in 2021 for which she received a reported advance of £500,000 (source: Forbes magazine) from Puffin, the books publishers.
You’d expect, what with the astronomical advance paid to Markle by Puffin, that they’d anticipated her book being a worldwide best seller, topping all of the book lists in most of the English speaking nations of the world, not least this one.
Yet, according to Nielsen BookScan (the world's first continuous retail sales monitoring service for print books who base sales figures upon worldwide electronic point of sale data), The Bench has only sold around 8,000 copies.
Which translates an a massive commercial flop and huge loss maker for Puffin.
It didn’t go down too well with the critics either, with the respected book critic of The Times, Alex O’Connell writing, ‘…it lacks the crucial ingredients for a successful tale for this age group: a good story and basic rhythm’.
Ouch.
I doubt that Puffin, or too many other publishers for that matter, will be too keen to thrown half a million pounds at Ms Markle again.
But at least she wrote it. Because there is no way it would have lacked those two vital storytelling ingredients had it been penned by a ghostwriter.
She’s not the only famous face that has put pen to paper in recent years.
Amongst the other names in the celebrity children’s book authors stable are David Baddiel, Mariah Carey, Simon Cowell and David Walliams.
Cowell decided, back in 2016, that he was going to write a children’s book as, in his opinion, the current offerings available for the nations young readers was ‘boring’.
A statement that immediately blew any credit that he might have had out of the water as it depicted him, immediately, as someone who was completely and utterly ignorant of the market at that time.
Clearly, for a start, he hadn’t heard of JK Rowling.
Or, for that matter, Jeff Kinney, Suzanne Collins, Julie Donaldson and Axel Scheffler or Lindsay Mattick.
Again, the critical response to his book, Wishfits, has been largely negative with most reviewers pointing out its lack of depth and narrative quality, whilst others have questioned as to how much involvement Cowell had and how much, with that in mind, was actually written by his son Eric.
Who is ten.
Not that this is a concern to the people who matter of course. The book sold well and made everyone involved a lot of money.
Because, after all, ‘…it was written by that Simon Cowell bloke and he’s the one off the telly….’
Would it have generated such enormous interest and high sales numbers had it been written by Steve Cowell, a forty year old postman from St Albans who has always wanted to write a children book?
Of course not.
Infact, had Steve sent the finished manuscript of Wishfits to ten different publishers, each and every one of them would have consigned it to their WPB* file without even bothering to look at it.
There are, of course, in the interests of balance, several books for children that have been written by celebrities that also have, rightfully, been praised by critics, book sellers, fellow authors and readers alike.
But they are very much the exception as many of these ‘authors’ will still rely on ghost-writers or co-authors to help produce the works in question, much in the same way as some of the world’s greatest works of art were partially composed and painted by one or more of the named artists apprentices rather than the known artist him or herself.
Take, for example, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci certainly conceptualised and designed the iconic fresco in Milan's Santa Maria delle Grazie but scholars and art historians believe that some portions may have been executed by his workshop assistants under his guidance.
Here are some observations worth making with regard to this practice also being carried out in the book market (ie) a work that is claimed to have been planned and written by a famous name which was not, in reality, written by him or her at all.
Time Constraints:
Celebrities often have demanding schedules that leave little time for writing, which is a very time-intensive process. Collaborating with professional writers allows them to produce a book without dedicating the necessary long hours to the craft.
Limited Writing Expertise:
Writing for children requires specific skills, such as understanding age-appropriate language, engaging storytelling techniques, and cultural sensitivity. Many celebrities lack this expertise, making professional assistance crucial.
Publishing Industry Practices:
Publishers often approach celebrities to capitalise on their brand, knowing their names will drive sales. These deals frequently include ghost-writers who work to translate the celebrity's vision (or public persona) into a marketable story, a win-win situation for all, especially for the ghost-writer who will gladly, in most cases, sacrifice having their name on the cover in exchange for a mutually agreed fee.
Ghostwriting:
Ghostwriting is a common and accepted practice in publishing, especially in genres like children's literature. While this isn't inherently negative, it can raise questions about authenticity when the celebrity's name is prominently marketed as the author and the focus is on them rather than the book.
You want examples?
Both Madonna and Elton John published children's books that were widely publicised but reportedly involved significant editorial support whilst The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, openly acknowledged working with collaborators on her Budgie the Little Helicopter series.
Some celebrities, such as Jimmy Fallon, are transparent about the collaborative nature of their books but others maintain the illusion of sole authorship. Critics argue that this can mislead readers into believing the celebrity possesses a talent they may not actually have.
In summary, while celebrities undoubtedly contribute ideas or themes based on their experiences or public personas, professional authors often shape these contributions into finished works.
This arrangement satisfies publishers' marketing goals but raises ongoing debates about, here’s that word again, authenticity and credit.
Authenticity and credit may not, of course, be of any interest at all to the parents of any eight year old child who has discovered the joy of reading and books, thanks to a series that were, publicly at least, written by their favourite CBBC celebrity.
And if we all want our children to spend time in front of a book rather than a screen then does it really matter that everything is not as it might seem?
Maybe it doesn’t.
Maybe there is a bigger picture here.
Maybe, as an iconic figure from children’s literature, Mary Poppins claimed, this is a very genuine case of a spoonful of (celebrity) sugar helping the medicine go down?
But shouldn’t the truth matter as well?
Should we be pulling the wool over the eyes of young readers and encouraging them to read via celebrity default?
What do you think?
*Waste Paper Basket.
