Top thriller-writers bank on their ghosts

Unwitting readers lap up work of unknowns as big-name authors embrace 'partnership writing'

They are some of the best-selling authors in the world. Their fame guarantees blockbuster sales for their publishers. But unfortunately for legions of fans, judging their books by the heavily embossed name on the cover may be a mistake.

Big literary players including Tom Clancy, James Patterson and Clive Cussler are all part of a growing publishing phenomenon labelled "partnership writing", where blockbuster novels are writen in tandem with a lesser- known author who in some cases completes the bulk of the novel. The finished product then appears on the shelves heavily branded with the more famous name.

Clancy, arguably the world's most successful author, in particular, has taken partnership writing to the extreme. The celebrated author of the Jack Ryan series brought out his most recent novel, Cutting Edge, in December. However, despite his name taking up a quarter of the cover, Clancy contributed only those two words to the entire book.

Cutting Edge was actually written by Jerome Preisler, a journeyman author of TV and movie tie-ins and one of a stable of writers responsible for titles in Clancy's spin-off series, Op-Centre, Power Plays and NetForce. According to his publishers, Penguin Putnam, Clancy comes up with the ideas and the writers execute them.

The acclaimed American author James Patterson has enjoyed three bestsellers in the last two years. But two were written in conjunction with Peter de Jonge, and the other with Andrew Gross.

Adventure writer Clive Cussler, who has sold over 100 million books, is no stranger to partnership writing either. His latest work, The Sea Hunters II, was a collaboration with Craig Dirgo – whose name can be made out in small print under Cussler's on the cover.

Even Stephen King, the world's most famous horror writer, is not immune to the benefits of partnership writing: his latest novel, Black House, was co-written with Peter Straub.

The US phenomenon has been condemned by the British author J G Ballard. "The whole thing is completely mercenary," said the author ofEmpire of the Sun and Crash. "The only objective appears to be merchandising more copies. People might collaborate on a film script or a play, but writing a novel is an intensely personal activity."

But the practice may be heading across the Atlantic, according to publishing industry expert Tom Holman of The Bookseller, the industry's trade magazine, and editor of Books in the Media: "The handful of blockbuster authors are attracting more and more marketing money, so spin-off series and co-authored books might be a logical next step in the UK. Whether it would work here is another question. The markets are very different and audiences might be reluctant to see their favourite authors diluted in this way."

Marianne Velmans, publishing director of London-based Doubleday, said: "As long as you make it clear who has written the book and the public are more interested in the brand name than the original author then it's fine."

According to Kate Pool of the Society of Authors, publishers are simply looking for consistent performers: "With a flooded market, people tend to focus on what they trust."

The hit men: who wrote what

TOM CLANCY: Reportedly the world's highest-paid author. Multimedia empire includes feature films and video games. Latest two-book deal for Jack Ryan novels cost Penguin Putnam (New York) $45m (£28m)

Cutting Edge (Power Plays series), December 2002. Written by Jerome Preisler

Mission of Honour (Op-Centre series), July 2002. Written by Jeff Rovin

Runaways (NetForce series), September 2001. Written by Diane Duane

JAMES PATTERSON: Fourteen bestsellers in the past 10 years. Four box-office hits and made-for-TV movies. US publishers Little, Brown budgeted $1m for publicity in 2002. Estimated annual income $50m

The Jester, March 2003. Co-authored with Andrew Gross

The Beach House,July 2002. Co-authored with Peter de Jonge

2nd Chance (Women's Murder Club series), April 2002. Co-authored with Andrew Gross

CLIVE CUSSLER: More than 120 million copies in print. Own non-profit foundation searches for sunken ships; range of diving watches (RRP $1,049)

Fire Ice (NUMA Files series), March 2003. Co-authored with Paul Kemprecos

The Sea Hunters II, December 2002. Co-authored with Craig Dirgo

Serpent (NUMA Files series), July 2000. Co-authored with Paul Kemprecos