Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I just came back from visiting a big bookstore in downtown Montreal and saw (again) a few action fiction books with 'TOM CLANCY' written on very large letters on the cover, then the title in smaller letters under it and, further down on the cover and in even smaller letters 'written by....'. I know that Tom Clancy passed away some eight years ago already but I find it profoundly dishonest to advertise a book by using his name in big letters on the cover of a work someone else wrote. If you write a book, even to continue a series started by a now dead famous author, then advertise it under YOUR name, instead of riding the coat tails of another author. You may mention his/her name as a source of inspiration but don't deceive potential readers. Here are some examples of what I mean: , , , , .

What do you think about this practice, even if those authors say that Tom Clancy's family authorised them to do so?

I don't see anything dishonest about it, it says right there on the cover the book is written by someone else.

Nor is it a new practice. The IP holder can use that asset however they want. Anne McCaffrey's world of Pern is continued by her son Todd. James Patterson has a team of authors under him writing his books and his name is always in the much larger font. Then there was the last Wheel of Time book written by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan died.

Hi Michel, in the case of the 'Tom Clancy' books it is not the authors fault. They have been commissioned to write the work by whoever owns the Tom Clancy IP rights. That author has no say in how the book is presented or marketed. The misleading cover design is down to the publisher and the rights holders. No doubt the person who did the work would prefer their name in big print.☺ As Mellie pointed out, this is in any case nothing new. It is up to the reader ultimately to decide if they are happy with the 'impersonation ' of their favourite author. I do agree though that although common place, it does constitute what in other industries might be considered 'sharp practice.' it is harmless enough though and it is giving someone a job and exposure at a level they might not otherwise get. I have no problem at all with family members, former collaborators or close friends continuing a book series after the originators death as in the examples Mellie gave, or such as when Christopher Tolkein used his father's notes and sketches to add to the Middle Earth ouvre.

Robin wrote: "Hi Michel, in the case of the 'Tom Clancy' books it is not the authors fault. They have been commissioned to write the work by whoever owns the Tom Clancy IP rights. That author has no say in how t..."

I didn't know that these substitute authors had no say in the making of the covers. Those IP owners should honestly reflect on their cover design methods and give more obvious credit to those substitute authors they employ.

I agree, and it's doing the actual author a profound disservice. It reminds me of the creative writing course I took at university (my main subject was geology), where we had assignments that involved imitating the style of other writers. I thought that was dishonest, and just plain weird. And there was the time when I was asked by a well-known publisher "Who do you write like?" My answer was, "I don't write like anyone else, I write like me!" Needless to say, I didn't get any further with that person, but I found his question quite offensive. I have definitely been influenced by other writers whom I admire, and we can all learn something from other writers' books, but I also expect to be valued as a writer by what I write, not by who someone else compares me to, even though I understand that this is because publishers want to market new writers as "The new JK Rowling" or something similar. But even new authors have their own voice and want to be valued for that. Thanks for posting this question, Michel!

Maybe I should put "Arthur Conan Doyle" in big letters on my next Sherlock Holmes book, Think I'd fool anybody?

Well Timothy he was a big believer in the afterlife and spiritualism so maybe you could put 'dictated (very slowly) through a ouija board ' in the fine print... Somebody might believe you.☺

Anthony Hororwitz, a resonably well-known Screenwriter and Novelist in his own right. Quite prolific indeed (Foyle, anyone), has been comissioned and written both Sherlock Holmes and James Bond novels on behalf of the Conan Doyle and Fleming estates. So they are not always unknowns.

It is a common practice to extend the life of a valuable IP and tends to rely heavily on the original brand recognition. The look of the cover will, as Mellie says, be down to the Publisher and rights holder. Family members in the case of Tolkien or Herbert are perhaps a bit of a different case, but the issue/problem is the same. Lee Child transfered the whole Reacher franchise including his penname to his actual brother. Of course, after 27, I too would get bored of the formula.

Sadly, brand recognition trumps all personal desire/ambition for a particular author. Indeed many political, celebrity autobiographies and other genres have ghostwriters and don't even get the credit on the cover. So, not fair, but sadly not uncommon.

Barbra Cartland died in 2000, and so prolific in her own lifetime, the estate still releases new books. Albeit written years if not decades ago and that too is not unknown. Finishing off the unfinished, like Beethoven's 9th.

To quote Bob Dylan, Death is not the end. :)

This new one I saw today, I found hyterically funny.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19623240/

Don't look if you don't want your childhood memories ruined. :)

Michel wrote: "I just came back from visiting a big bookstore in downtown Montreal and saw (again) a few action fiction books with 'TOM CLANCY' written on very large letters on the cover, then the title in smalle..."

It's off. Tom was a great writer. Pretty sure he isn't that anymore. It feels a little "Weekend at Bernie's'

Timothy wrote: "Maybe I should put "Arthur Conan Doyle" in big letters on my next Sherlock Holmes book, Think I'd fool anybody?"

Well, Conan Doyle famously said to Wm Gillette - (paraphrasing) "Marry [Holmes] or murder him or do whatever you like".

As for the initial situation: a literary estate may allow another author to continue a series character after the author's death. This is the situation with the late Vince Flynn's "Mitch Rapp" series. And Conan Doyle himself completed a serialized novel for his dying friend, Grant Allen.
Of course, anyone may take on the work of a public domain author/character, but not if the work is still protected by copyright.