It’s time for ghostwriters to get the credit they deserve

I've nothing against celebrities using them – I just want to know who I am reading, writes Katy Brand

‘I don’t mind celebrity authors. If it gets people reading, good luck to them’ (iStock/Getty)

It is autumn and with it comes the crackle and snap of the “celebrity books for the Christmas market” season, a time when writers with hard-earned experience of their craft have to watch while someone who played rugby for England in the 1990s and did Christmas Strictly in 2012 becomes a bestseller.

Or perhaps it’s a member of girl band who has a new children’s book out about a little girl who grows up to become a member of a girl band. Or maybe a former politician has a crime thriller about being a former politician to sell.

I don’t mind celebrity authors. If it gets people reading, good luck to them. Some might think this is bit rich coming from me as I was on telly before getting a book deal. But I would only say in my meagre defence that I write every single word. And then I rewrite every single word. So I promise, if nothing else, I am doing the work.