So, celebrity authors need a break do they?

I’ll tell you who needs a break. The aspiring debut who’s spent literally thousands of hours honing their craft, who’s slaved and sweated over draft after draft after draft, only to be told their book doesn’t ‘fit the market’ or the risk-averse publishing world can’t see ‘where to place it’.

Somebody who’s famous in another field who allows their name to be added to someone else’s work? No, they don’t ‘need a break’.

Because let’s not forget, with a few notable exceptions (who also don’t ‘need a break’ because even though they put the work in, their pre-existing celebrity allows them to sail right past the gatekeepers that the rest of us constantly encounter) most of these celebrity ‘authors’ didn’t, and in fact couldn’t, write their own book.

I am all for positivity, mind, and yes, let’s champion the books that deserve it. But let’s not pity poor Keira Knightly, or pretend that because she’s (supposedly) a good actress that means she has every right to move in on any creative endeavour she likes and make it her own.

(Article in bookseller if you want to find and read it)/