I never read any of the romance ones, just one of the crime novels she wrote under another pen name, JD Robb. It was awful, and not the kind of awful that could almost be considered good. But hey, $60 million a year in royalties ain't exactly couch cushion change, is it?
I assume people like her and Barbara Cartland etc use ghost writers. In fact I think I read that BC definitely uses ghost writers. One day I'm going to do some proper reading about ghost writers because the whole thing confuses me greatly.
You would certainly think so, or at least an army of high impact editors. Not sure if she uses the James Patterson technique of producing reams and reams of project outlines that go off to his minions. Assuming 2k words a day (I can do that) would be 90k every 45 days, so if the pipeline remains steady, I guess it's possible.
For most writers, 2k is pretty good. I've been doing that recently but only because the book has possessed me and I'm at the end, the climax if you will. On the other hand, churning out thousands of words every month or so just to keep the numbers up and to satisfy the fans seems like a soul destroying exercise.
Via a medium? She could be a ghost (writer) herself now; she's been gone a couple of decades I'd say. I saw a fly-on-the-wall type documentary on her once, probably that long ago. I remember it for its surreality. She was rolled out in her flouro-pink sheer net overclothes on a chaise, caked in cosmetics, and verbalising a story (novel I'd wager) to what appeared to be a secretary, who was struggling to keep up even in shorthand. I assumed it (whatever was scribbled) went from there to a ghost writer. I thought 'Christ, success makes stuff easy'.
Totally didn't know she was dead but surely that'd make it easier to find ghost writers? Yes, finish the book! How close to the end are you?
About 95% and currently at around 110k words, which I'm estimating will end up as 115k first draft, pre-editing. I know the end and have already written the last but one chapter in skeleton form, mainly as a marker that I could lead up to. Positioning the characters for the final event, not to mention the timing, has been important because those two aspects are what determine the outcome. It's challenging but also enormous fun and I've lost myself in it, not to mention having to kill off a character that another character was particularly fond of (as was I).
Something weird happened and I've ended up at 121k and am about to start the last chapter which should be no more than about 3000 words. It's funny how you just know when you've reached the end, even though you also know that you could have packed a lot more in. Anyway, I've reserved any more inspiration that I may find for the polishing up/editing. My brain now feels like mush, but it's also amazing what a good night's sleep can do.
Well, I've effectively reached the end of the first draft and I'm leaving the last chapter completion for when the main editing is finished. On the first readthrough, it's clear why it's a first draft... Many sentences too long Unsuitable adjectives and verbs used, when simpler forms would work better. Repetition Certain characters need beefing up...and quite a lot more. Loads of work to do and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, although I may drop it for a few days to clear my head.
