Hello!
There's been a lot of controversy over the last few days involving Zoella ( Zoe Sugg ) and I wanted to offer up my opinion on it. If you haven't heard of her already you've probably been living under a rock but basically she is a blogger/ youtuber and she recently released her first book 'Girl Online'. Now, I pre- ordered the book a while back and now have it in my possession. The reason I haven't already read it all is partly due to my insane list of books I'm trying to make my way through and partly because of the fact her main character has anxiety and even in the first two chapters that I have read, there has already been a panic attack. Suffering from anxiety myself I found it difficult to read that part as it triggered the thoughts and feelings of my own panic attacks. However, I will get round to reading it asap.
Although I haven't read the book I am a regular viewer of her YouTube videos and have followed the process of the making of the book and can remember many times in which she's mentioned the fact that she's had help writing the book. Recently in the media there have been articles suggesting Zoe had very little involvement in the writing and has slapped her name on the cover purely for fame and recognition. Nowadays I am aware that a number of books, especially those by celebrities, are ghost written or are at least aided in the writing. Personally I don't see a problem with this as long as the reader is aware of the fact they have had help. It is clear Zoe has never denied this.
The articles that have come to light over the last few days, I believe have really shown the ignorance and manipulation of the UK press and their stories.
As you can see the story has completely manipulated the situation and made it more of a drama than the situation actually is. Personally, as a teenage girl, a sufferer of anxiety and someone who can relate to Zoe, I feel she is unfairly presented in the media and deserves more recognition for the help in destroying the taboo of anxiety and mental health. From this, we are shown that no matter how inspirational, kind or ambitious you are, the British media will always find a way to portray you as something you are not.
.gif)
I have to agree with you that I never had the feeling Zoe was writing the book alone as she always said she had meetings with people helping her in her vlogs. Maybe there was a ghostwriter and "only" characters and plot were created by Zoe, who knows? But does that matter? I mean, who would honestly have thought she could write a book Penguin would publish and people would enjoy reading all on her own when she doesn't have any real practice in writing alongside making YouTube videos and working on Zoella Beauty (which I hope/suppose she also had help with as I wouldn't want someone without knowledge of the chemistry behind it make cosmetics)?
ReplyDeleteI have to admit though I'm not a fan of putting a person's name on a book cover calling this person the author when someone else has written it but doesn't get any credit. You could also write "Zoe Sugg and XY" and could obviously enlarge Zoe's name or anything if you want to. But, honestly, it's a common concept to do this especially with books by celebrities and nothing to suddenly blame Zoe for. You could have a go at the whole industry practicing that if you don't find it okay but you can't really start bashing her for that.
darjeelingtealeaves.blogspot.com