Over the past few years it has become increasingly evident that many publishing houses are avoiding taking on new and unknown authors in favour of inviting celebrities to write a book. The world seems fascinated by celebrity authors whether they can write or not; after all there are always excellent ghost writers.
This has recently been evidenced by Hugh Bonneville’s admission, or damaging slip, that television celebrities are “contractually obligated to write a children’s book”. Whether this remark was merely flippant, or whether the actor was being truthful about the current situation in publishing, the fact remains that, on scouring the bookshelves of many chain bookstores, at least three-quarters of the books displayed will be by celebrities; and celebrity sells. Not only through promotion by the publisher, but celebrities have a far broader audience they can reach and influence. How often do you see a celebrity on BBC television’s Breakfast programme promoting their latest book, which may or may not have been written by them? Even Katie Price was honest enough to admit that she asked her ghostwriter what her latest book is about.
Does this mean that the majority of British publishing houses concentrate almost exclusively on those books that will sell due to the name of the author, no matter who actually writes them, or how good they are? Does this mean that celebrities can write better novels than lesser known writers? Or that their memoirs are more interesting, more worthwhile reading than someone unknown who has gone through some genuinely fascinating and memorable, or adventurous and heroic experiences, but never gets the chance for the world to know about them because more money is made by ‘names’? This is an incredibly sad state of affairs when genuine writers spend time researching, writing, editing, and putting their heart and soul into creating characters and plots that could easily entertain readers, if they only knew about them. Lesser known authors can also gain their own wonderful readership who provide them with five-star reviews, but they will never see the high number of reviews, or have that elusive chance of promotion of their work that a celebrity can achieve.
By networking and personal connections, or through mutual acquaintances within the celebrity world, stardom alone is able to secure endorsements from other celebrities, often worldwide, therefore spreading the word about their books through channels unattainable to lesser known writers. This recommendation of a celebrity for another famous person’s book boosts sales within the populace, simply because of the famous name.
As Society of Authors local group organisers, past and present, we can point readers in the direction of many, many excellent writers within the East Midlands region, all of whom deserve the opportunity for their day in the sun, and for that reason, we are planning the Nottingham Book Festival which takes place in September. This is a vital opportunity to showcase regional and lesser known, talented authors who would otherwise have little opportunity to receive wider recognition, and will also benefit readers who would like to discover new authors to read.