Zoella the ‘authorial manifestation’: how much of Girl Online did she really write?
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Version 0 of 1. Name: Zoella. Age: 24. Appearance: Down-to-earth, upbeat, irrepressibly cute. AKA: Zoe Sugg. Occupation: UK-based internet sensation. That’s her job? One of her jobs, yes: she posts hair, makeup and shopping video blogs – “vlogs” – on YouTube, attracting 12 million views a month from her legion of fans, mostly young girls. Nice work if you can get it. Name some of her other jobs. Marketing phenomenon, authorial manifestation. The first meaning she’s able to monetise her online popularity? Correct. And the latter meaning she’s written a book? Hmmm. “Hmmm?” Has she got a book out, or hasn’t she? Oh my, yes. Her debut novel, Girl Online, sold a record-breaking 78,000 copies in its first week. So by “authorial manifestation”, you really just mean author. Hmmm. Why do you keep doing that? Sorry, it’s just that it’s possible that Girl Online was actually penned by a ghostwriter. Have you got any evidence to support this outrageous allegation? In the acknowledgments, Zoella thanks Siobhan Curham, but doesn’t explain her contribution. Curham is the author of several novels for young adults, and in July wrote a since-deleted blog post about being asked to write a book in six weeks. Fine. Have you got any more? Another author also claims to have turned down £7,000 to ghostwrite Zoella’s book. That proves nothing. Maybe not, but publishers Penguin Random House have now admitted that “Zoe Sugg did not write the book Girl Online all on her own”, calling the novel “a collaboration between Zoe and her editorial team”. Does it matter? Celebrities use ghostwriters all the time. I bet Katie Price doesn’t even read her own books! Zoella’s popularity is based on her easygoing, girl-next-door authenticity. Her fans might not like the idea of her debut novel being a crowd-pleasing marketing exercise produced by an editorial team. She sold 80,000 books in a week. I should alienate my enormous fanbase so comprehensively. Your sarcasm has been noted. Do say: “Everyone needs help when they try something new,” as Zoella herself wrote. “The story and the characters of Girl Online are mine.” Don’t say: “But did she really write that, though?” |