Newest Best-selling Mystery Writer

OK - here it goes. The latest mystery writer isn't real. Richard Castle is the title character in the ABC TV series, Castle.

This fictional character now has a best-selling mystery novel, Heat Wave:

http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Wave-Richard-Castle/dp/1401323820

If writers, in this case, mystery writers, didn't have enough to contend with in getting published.

Scroll down and take a peak at the rating and reader reviews.

Ann

It's a great marketing strategy, but you are exactly right Ann, in that it takes up one more slot on the shelves that some new author might have been able to land. Not that many new authors really get that shot, but at least without the back door inclusion of a fictional writer's work, someone might have broken through. It's another case of a large corporation wanting to make every dollar they can for themselves, and they don't give a damn if anyone else ever makes one or not.

There are a lot of people who will say this is free enterprise and capitalism at it's best, but there are some of us who'd like to pose the question: When it enough, enough?

There's some executive in a board room somewhere chuckling at this latest success story, because it will mean more and bigger bonuses for him and the others in the room, and more and more earnings for the stock holders of the company. The problem comes when we stop and realize how easily American television viewers are led. The Castle show is not bad, and I'm a fan of Nathan Fillian, but Castle is a fictious character, and not a real author. Anyone who buys the book and gives it a five star review is spitting in the face of all of us who are doing all we know how to do to find and agent and secure a good publishing contract.

This is, however, a prime example of what I have been so vocal about on these websites. I'd like to ask Brenda Hill, KDU, LC, and some others where the true author of this new Castle book fits into their scheme of write and polish, submit and get rejected, and then repeat until you get a contract. This is a best seller, and how many of the above things did the author do? - 0 - ZERO NONE NADA NOT EVEN ONE. This book completely bypasses the system that you guys have so much faith in, and proves beyond a doubt that you can have a best selling book without going through the conventional channels. This author didn't search for an agent for months or years, he or she didn't send out query letters and get rejected. He or she didn't have to wait for a major publisher to give them a nod. They were hired to write a book that was assured of being a best seller before it ever hit the market. So much for the road to major publishing being a cut and dried one lane street.

"This book completely bypasses the system that you guys have so much faith in"

Let us know how this works for you. Seriously, this not the exception that proves the rules wrong.

And more competition in my section of the bookstore (at least mine shelves horror and mystery together).

kdu, until you do some serious showing instead of just some big talking, I for one will continue to think that your opinion is useless.

Let's see some examples of that award winning writing you're aways bragging about, and while you're at it please post a link to your latest best seller and the major publisher who advanced you that last quarter million.

Don't want to do that? Yeah, I thought so.

I did a little research on "signature sheets" and this is a practice used by anthology publishers. Large boxes containing smaller boxes containing sheets of paper to be signed and sent on to the next contributor until all contributors have signed -- something DK might be interested in doing. Extra sheets are added to allow for spoiled sheets.

Shroud Publishing (Horror Magazine) do this for their books and anthologies:

http://www.shroudmagazine.com/anthologies.html

The Creeping Horror of Signature Sheets:

http://www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/brain/2006/07/creeping-horror-of-signature-sheets.html

So, kdu, how many signatures on the signature sheets you signed? Who published the book? What is the title? What name did you write under?

It's a mystery.

With all due respect, kdu does have a point. This is by no means an uncommon practice in the publishing industry, nor is it new. And to 'diss' the author behind the scenes who wrote the Castle book is not very fair either. To be asked to write these types of books, you have had to pay your dues, and typically editors/houses or whomever is responsible for contracting this work will ask established writers if they would like to do so.

Some fairly well-known examples of this are the Nancy Drew mysteries, the Sweet Valley High series, and the For Dummies series. This is often referred to as book packaging or ghost writing. Another aspect includes tie-ins for movies and t.v, which is exactly what the Castle books (I assume there will be more) are. Max Allan Cullins writes CSI tie-in books, and has also written movie-novelizations of hits such as The Mummy. The only difference is that in this case the author writes under his own name. Kevin Ryan and Dave Galanter write for Pocket Books Star Trek series under the direction of the Star Trek editor Margaret Clark. In fact, in the most recent episode Castle was approached to ghost write what was hinted at as a 3-book James Bond deal. Iam Flemings' James Bond novels have been continued by authors such as John Gardner and most recently Sebastian Faulks. Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series was continued after his death by various authors, among them Eric Van Lustbader.

I personally do not view these types of books as replacing one that I may some day get published. I firmly believe that good books of all types create more readers and the ripple effect that can have is nothing but good for the rest of us.

Just my humble opinion.

For the record, lovesamystery, until you tell us who you are and what you've written, your opinion is worth about the same as kdu's.

For the record Mr. Harpe, if you'd read my post carefully you would have seen this:

"I personally do not view these types of books as replacing one that I may some day get published."

Furthermore, a simple search would verify that every single thing I stated below is true, and save for the last paragraph nothing is my opinion. If you prefer to dismiss it, that is your choice.

As to my identity, well, with all due respect, it is really none of your business.

I will no longer post here as it is my opinion that the majority of folks here are not open to any information that goes against their held-fast beliefs and opinions. I wish those serious about becoming genuine published authors the best of luck and hope that some day we'll share shelf space.

I would also like to say congratulations to Mr. Stodghill for his SMFS Derringer nomination, it was well-deserved. I am sorry I did not get a chance to meet you at Bouchercon, it would truly have been an honor.

I deleted my original reply because this is just more of the same old stuff we've been over here several times in the past, and these people just aren't worth the time it takes to answer them.

Sorry I wasn't at Bouchercon to meet you, but it was a little more than either of us could handle although we once hit nearly all of them.
About a hundred different writers wrote the old series by Nick Carter and in the gone-but-not-forgotten Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine many writers wrote new Mike Shayne stories although Brett Halliday had been dead for many years. It is a long-standing practice and there have been many examples of it. It isn't a bad thing because some writer has to do the job.