Tom Clancy's name still on new novels

[AnneWest]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

This is not correct.

Sure, a publisher can acquire the right to an author's name, but this is most certainly not part of the normal author-publisher contract. Typically, a contract applies to one specific work. Some longer deals do happen, but they're usually with successful authors that have a proven track record, and they are invariably very specific - they're not some carte blanche for a publisher to slap an author's name on whatever it likes.

In the case of Tom Clancy, he probably received an extraordinary sum while alive in exchange for the continued use of his name. Such situations are only likely to arise when you have an author who is very successful.

Frankly, the only authors who do not own their names are ones who have made a bundle selling it off (such as Clancy) or those who poorly negotiated their contract with an unscrupulous publisher.

Tom Clancy had slowed his writing down before he died, because of the nasty divorce he went thru, and his wife claimed 50% of everything as a co-creator.

Also, take the late Vince Flynn for example. His publisher didn't want to end the Mitch Rapp series, so they've hired another writer to continue. I'm sure Flynn's name will still be plastered at the top of the covers.

Mitch Rapp series to continue after author's death

VC Andrews name was successfully argued by the IRS to be a considerable asset to her estate. Do you think her publisher would let that escape? They probably didn't own the name, but they surely had exclusive rights since they employed the ghost writer who penned them all.

[PegE]

New books are quite possibly written by ghostwriters. Funny I just posted about that and James Patterson who I believe is an admitted user of ghostwriters. Maybe we like to think of engaging with an author's mind by reading his or her books, but in some cases the author's name is just a brand. We are no more reading the work of one mind than we are cooking with Betty Crocker when we buy a box of cake mix.

[graceC]

Ghost writing is not new and it's been done for ages in order to keep milking a famous brand for money. As mentioned above, James Paterson is a good example of a marketing brand who uses ghost writers to make lots of money.

The majority of 'auto-biography' books of famous people (celebrities, politicians, some famous military folks, etc) were written by ghost writers.

[Mark S.]

Given that Clancy has been dead for years, talking of his books as the work of a "ghost writer" takes on a whole new meaning.