Andrew Crofts (author)

For the Wales international footballer see Andrew Crofts (footballer)

Andrew Crofts
Born 1953
Occupation Author

Andrew Crofts (born 1953) based in England, is a ghostwriter.[1] Many of his subjects have been international and have topped the best-seller charts of United Kingdom and other countries. Because of the secrecy surrounding the business of ghostwriting it is never known exactly how many books that have been credited to other people were actually written by him, but in recent years more and more publishers seem to be insisting on placing his name alongside the "author's" in order to boost sales. In 2014 he published a memoir "Confessions of a Ghostwriter" (published by Friday Project). Although the book is filled with anecdotes about the ghostwriting profession the Daily Telegraph noted that "when it comes to famous clients, he is as silent as Jeeves".

Early days and development of his career

Born in 1953 in England, Crofts was educated at Lancing College, a school renowned for producing writers, (Evelyn Waugh, Tom Sharpe, Jan Morris, David Hare, Christopher Hampton and Tim Rice).

Moving to London at 17, Crofts took a variety of jobs as he struggled to establish himself as a freelance writer, (including a stint running a modelling agency in London's Bond Street), while submitting work to every kind of magazine and publisher. For a number of years he worked as a freelance business journalist and then a travel writer, spending a great deal of his time in the Far East, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. His career as a ghostwriter seems to have started seriously in the early 1990s.

In 2006 his name was openly linked to a book by the popular winner of Big Brother, Pete Bennett, who wrote movingly about his childhood and the problems of having Tourette syndrome in Pete-My Story (Harper Collins).

In 2007 thriller writer Robert Harris quoted Crofts's ghostwriting book at the start of every chapter of his bestselling The Ghost. The book was subsequently filmed by Roman Polanski with Ewan McGregor playing the ghostwriter. Crofts, in turn, has commented that The Ghost was "a gift from the gods. Harris did us all a huge favour."[2]

Crofts' ghostwriting career has involved writing for dictators, politicians, arms dealers and billionaires, and visits to palaces and tax havens in Monaco and Bermuda. His experiences led to Secrets of the Italian Gardner, a novel set inside a dictator's palace during the Arab Spring, narrated by the dictator's ghostwriter.

Crofts' fees are substantial, averaging six figures.[2] He has stated that because a ghostwriter has no need to invent plots or do lengthy research, "it is perfectly feasible to produce four books a year."[3]

Known ghosted titles

Authored books

Controversy

Pete Bennett caused some controversy at the time of publication by cheerfully admitting to a Guardian journalist that he hadn’t even read the book he was supposed to have written. Rumours have circulated about other controversial titles and how much or little input Crofts might have had in their creation, particularly since Robert Harris's book The Ghost, was widely presumed to be about Tony Blair, who has always stated that he did not use a ghostwriter for his own autobiography.

Through his blog Crofts has also been a vocal champion of electronic publishing for authors and traditional self publishing for those who need their books published privately. He was one of the first ghostwriters to launch his own website.[2] In 2012 he joined the Management Committee of the Society of Authors.

References

  1. ↑ "Andrew Crofts – Ghostwriter". andrewcrofts.com. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 McCrum, Robert (27 July 2014). "Bestselling ghostwriter reveals the secret world of the author for hire". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ "Their life in my hands". The Guardian. 22 November 2008.

External links

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