I do not watch Zoella’s YouTube videos, though I had heard her name tossed around before the news broke that her recent book was written by a ghostwriter.
She apparently was breaking some record with this book and people were comparing her sales to J.K. Rowling’s (which is like comparing the Mona Lisa to a spiral notebook doodle, but that’s beside the point). The point being, she is not J.K. Rowling. Her “medium” was barely similar. And this just further highlights the issues within the publishing industry/Big 6.
Here’s why Zoella’s book being ghostwritten matters:
1) It matters because it is a lie. You put your name on something, that should mean you made it. Maybe just endorse a book next time if you aren’t going to be the one who wrote it.
2) It means the publisher didn’t have faith in Zoella’s abilities as a writer. And, since it is clear they didn’t, then why did they offer her a book deal? Doesn’t this show that big publishers are more interested in buying brand names than artists?
3) It means that Zoella didn’t care enough about her fans to actually create something for them.
Granted, she’s probably a busy woman. Making all those videos. Then again, maybe she should just stick to making videos. That seems to be what she’s good at. That, and taking our money.
-BLA
[“BLA and GB Gabbler” (really just a pen name) are the Editor and Narrator behind THE AUTOMATION, vol. 1 of the Circo del Herrero series. They are on facebook, twitter, tumblr, and goodreads.]