AboutBobbie Christmas Expertise As the author of the triple-award-winning book on creative writing, Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), I help writers power up their prose, edit and revise their manuscripts, and increase their chances of selling to a publisher. I also help writers polish manuscripts for self-publishing and sometimes assist in the process.
Experience Experience: I have more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of the publishing and communications industry and have run my own book-editing company since 1992
Organizations:
Board of Advisors, Georgia Writers Association (past president)
South Carolina Writers Workshop (past vice president)
Florida Writers Association (charter/lifelong member)
Atlanta Writers Club
Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature (SPELL)
International Guild of Professional Consultants
Publications:
Write in Style (Union Square Publishing), A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation), A Cup of Comfort for Friends (Adams Media), A Cup of Comfort for Mothers and Sons (Adams Media), Haunted Engounters (Atriad Press), Remembering Woolworth's (St. Martin's Press), First-Time Home Buyer magazine, HomeBusiness Journal, Apparel Industry Magazine, Edge Magazine, Atlanta Jewish Times, Time Travel Australia, American Writers Review, Points North, That's Entertainment, Atlanta Parent, Agnes Scott Alumnae Magazine, and several dozen other places
Education/Credentials:
Journalism: University of South Carolina
Three decades of on-the-job training in publishing, marketing, communications, advertising, newspaper and magazine production/writing/editing, book publishing, etc
Awards and Honors:
First Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers Annual Contest, 2005
First Place, education, Royal Palm Literary Award, 2004
Best in Division, Georgia Author of the Year Awards, 2005
Finalist, Best Books 2005, USA BookNews
Third Place, nonfiction, Georgia Writers, 1999
Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year, 1998
Many other awards
Past/Present clients:
Olin Frederick (publisher), The Writer's Machine (publisher), Russell Dean & Company (publisher), Keith Harrell (author of books for John Wiley & Sons and Hay House), Dale Butler (member of the Parliament, Bermuda) and hundreds of writers. I also edit books for print-on-demand companies that help authors self publish.
Question When publishing a book, how do you list the authors when you have a co-writer? The book arose out of my life's story. The co-writer is now at the point of doing the cover and she has listed the credits as: authors (her name first, and then my name). Please advise if this is correct. Additionally, I have paid her to write the book.
Answer You paid her to write the book, so unless you signed a contract that states otherwise, she works for you. When you contract to have someone write your book, you should have complete control over the contents, cover, and everything else, including the byline (credits). More often than not, such contract writers get no byline at all, which is the reason we are called ghostwriters.
The next part is going to be my opinion, based on the fact that I’ve ghostwritten many books, and sometimes the best I’ve gotten is my name buried in the acknowledgments page without an explanation. More times than not, I received no recognition at all. Therefore, in my opinion, if you should be so kind as to give your coauthor credit on the cover, it should be secondary and in smaller type than your name. It is your story, and you should have top billing. I find it offensive and surprising that a professional writer would put her name first, when the story is yours, but then that’s just my opinion.
Should you decide to give your writer credit on the cover, another way to handle it is to put the title and then this: by (your name) as told to (your coauthor or ghostwriter). Here’s a sample I’ll conjure up: Life in the Trenches: a Story of Survival in the Inner City by Joe Smith as told to Mary Bloom.
I cannot emphasize enough, though, that it is your story, not your coauthor's story, and therefore without a doubt your name should go first if both names are listed.
