Ghostwriting For Influencers Is Becoming An Increasingly Popular Career Choice (Report)

If ghostwriting is a bit of an open secret within the influencer sector, it’s also becoming something of a booming career choice for would-be young writers.

Marie Claire chatted with several prominent ghostwriters in the space, who are tasked with authoring books, blog posts, Tweets, Facebook status updates, and more on behalf of digital stars. Some, including 27-year-old Young Adult novelist Zara Lisbon — who has ghostwritten two influencer novels and co-written a book alongside creator Sierra Furtado — describe breakneck deadlines and not much contact with the stars whose voices they are supposed to be embodying.

“At one point,” Lisbon says of a memoir she was working on about an teen Instagram star who was entirely removed from the process, “I got the publisher to put me in touch with her dad, and he answered a few questions for me — just basic stuff about her childhood.”

Others, including Faith Xue, describe a more hands-on relationship. In her role as a writer for various influencer lifestyle blogs, Xue said she typically met with creators once a month, and many were happy to invite her into their lives to form collaborative partnerships — and, in some cases, even friendships.

Opting to use ghostwriters can be a bit of a slippery slope for digital stars, whose careers are predicated upon an authentic and unfettered relationship with followers and fans. When news broke in 2014 that a ghostwriter had penned the debut novel by Zoe ‘Zoella’ Sugg titled Girl Online, many fans were outraged, Marie Claire reports. Though some creators, including Lilly ‘Superwoman’ Singh, choose to do it all themselves. Singh wrote her just-released, best-selling book, How To Be A Bawse: A Guide To Conquering Life, entirely on her own over the course of many years, according to the outlet.

For more on influencer ghostwriting, check out Marie Claire‘s report right here.