I’d like to give a shout-out to best-selling author Catherine Whitney and all others of her kind. Never heard of her? That’s because she’s a ghostwriter and a very successful one at that.

I decided to find out who Catherine Whitney was when I tired of hearing journalist Bret Baier tout his latest book about Teddy Roosevelt. I like Bret Baier. I think he often does a good job presenting both sides of an issue. Besides, he’s a DePauw University graduate, and some of my favorite people went to DePauw, a liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana.

But when you’re an author who struggles to get publicity and recognition for your work, it’s annoying to see celebrities rack up tons of free advertising and plaudits for something they didn’t really do. Call me jealous, but every time Bret talks about “my new book” I cringe.

Having been a former reporter, I know you can’t research and write books and hold down a fulltime job at the same time. To let people think that this is your work, is, in my mind, a literary sin.  

“Come on, Bret. I know and you know you didn’t write it or any of your other books,” I always say when he begins his spiel. It may have your “voice”, and I know you had input. Maybe it was your idea. But did you sit in front of your computer in the wee hours of the morning, sweating bullets to put prose to paper? Doubtful.

To give the devil his due, the real author’s name appears on Bret’s book cover. In much smaller type, I discovered Catherine Whitney and was immediately curious about her.

By the way, Kamala Harris does not afford the same courtesy to the “ghostwriter” of her latest book, Geraldine Brooks. But since Harris’ name was so prominently displayed on the cover maybe there wasn’t room.

Back to Catherine who lives in New York and has co-written and ghostwritten more than fifty books. A few celebrities who have capitalized on Catherine’s talent include Jane Pauley, Robin Roberts, Gretchen Carlson, Lee Iacocca, Maria Bartioromo, Judge Judy, and Donny Deutsch. She has also written her own books.

In an interview from a few years back, Catherine said that she saw ghostwriting as her “ticket to inhabit other lives, to get deep inside worlds I never could have experienced on my own.

“Over the years, when people were perplexed by my choice of career and wondered, ‘Don’t you want to write your own books?’ I realized that they had a narrow view of what it meant to be a writer.”

I like this woman.

Still, I have to admit that I’m old-fashioned. I have never cared for people taking credit for something they didn’t really do. Just like I’m not crazy about the idea of giving free stuff to people who don’t want to work.

I know it’s the thing these days. You can’t expect celebrities to work at being famous and also be successful writers, even though many like to splash their names in big type on book covers and claim authorship.

I say it’s time to give the real authors their due. Yes, pay them big money. But also put their names on the cover in large type and talk about their significant contribution.

Let me write a few words for you, Bret: “My newest book couldn’t have been published without the amazing work of author Catherine Whitney.”

It’s only fair.