1538 Ghost Writers in the Sky

1538 Ghost Writers in the Sky

What can more boring than a Broadway musical about working in a Broadway musical?  A writer writing about writing.  

Be prepared to be bored.

A friend of many years standing has written a book for a Very Famous Person, but has been given no credit for the work, which is creditworthy.

Not knowing his arrangement or contract or whatever the two men (they’re both men) agreed to, it’s hard to be critical.  And making a buck writing stuff doesn’t come easily these days.

So, no disclosure… no names here.  

It’s not a complete secret. The names were mentioned in a newspaper story and on a website. But it was way down in the item, low enough to where most people won’t read. And the website is so obscure that it’s almost a collection of job- specific classified data.

So the subject gets a writer credit and plenty of praise for his skill with words.  And the actual writer gets a paycheck but can’t put the book on his resume.

In movies, television and music it’s often just the opposite.  People who have done no writing get credit in the credits or on the label.

Movie and TV writing often is collaborative.  So a bunch of people sitting around a table hash out plot and dialogue.

Songwriting also is collaborative, but when you see three or four names on a label or a piece of sheet music, the chances are the first two are the writers and the third and any others are Very Famous People who helped promote the song to an artist or publisher and had nothing to do with the creation.

Royalties, if any, are split into equal parts.  So everyone gets a paycheck.  But the check is lower because the deadweight VFP takes a cut for nothing more than making a phone call or writing an email.

None of these scenarios is fair to the actual writer.  But a job’s a job. And this post is far shorter (and cheaper) than “42nd Street” or any other mind numbing, eye glazing play about plays.

Shrapnel:

--Gov. Walker (R-WI) is expected today to announce a master plan to eliminate unions for federal employees and the NLRB.  That may be the dumbest proposal since we brought stability to the middle east.  But anything to be heard above the roar created by and about Hurricane Donald.

--Rick Perry has a “very bright future.” We know this because President Trump says so and he’s never wrong.  We don’t know what that future will be, but here’s one possibility:  Model for eyeglass frames that make him look like his IQ is above room temperature.

--This looks like a good time to bring up the Albert Einstein quote “The world is run by C Students.” Einstein was talking about c- students in the physics department at Princeton.  The adage remains true, only now it’s about C students in the gender studies or media departments at Goddard College or diversity majors at Liberty University.

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com

© WJR 2015