Olivia was a successful ghostwriter until she had a run-in with John Calder, a fellow ghostwriter whose latest effort was for an “offensive and misogynistic” individual. What did you think of her confrontation with him? Was her ensuing ostracism deserved? Would there have been less blowback if the criticism had come from a male author? Do you think you’d be able to ghostwrite a book about someone you loathed?
Her confrontation was a clear example of the sexism and misogyny in the publishing world, as in many industries that are male dominated. Her sly commment about his prior work would have definitely been shaken off and laughed at if a man made that comment. Men are praised for supporting each other no matter how offensive and horrible their actions are. Clearly John Calder had no issue writing the bio for a morally questionable individual, and turned it into a big success. Men are also better at tooting their own horns than women are. But I digress.. I’d probably be able to ghostwrite a book of someone I loathed if I needed the money as bad as Olivia did. Perhaps I could find the good in that person and highlight that in the book over their faults, who knows? Sometimes you have to put your personal feelings aside to complete the task at hand!
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It was not deserved. As commonly happens with an ego like Calder’s, they lash out to destroy their competition. The fact that it happened to be a woman was only better in his mind. I don’t think I would be able to ghostwrite a book of someone that I liked, let alone loathed. 
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I absolutely believe the outcome would have been different had a male author make the same criticism of John Calder. Women are expected to be sweet, kind pushovers who don’t speak up. It’s very frustrating. I don’t think what she said should’ve been enough to cancel her.
I liked the way the author put an end to Calder even though Olivia had to pay the scoundrel off. We know Olivia is now sought after and hopefully Calder’s career is in ruins…forever!
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Calder was a blowhard and didn’t care what his actions meant for Olivia. I feel like a male author would have had a lot different experience.
The reaction to Olivia’s comment about John Calder went far beyond any action that would have been taken against the same comment by a male writer. The ensuing ostracism and lawsuit were done out of sexism and, I believe, jealousy because she was the better writer. There would have been much less reaction if she were male. I would find it very difficult to ghostwrite a book about someone I loathed. Olivia was trying to write about her own father who was suffering from memory loss and confusion, Plus Olivia had not come to terms with her own issues and feelings toward her father.
Okay, unpopular opinion here. While I agree that John’s actions were not great and his lawsuit against her was spiteful, she did slander him in public and intentionally inflict damage his career at an industry event. That is the definition of slander. It is illegal. And totally unprofessional. She acted out without thought and had to face the consequences. You can’t say whatever you think in public like that, especially against a person like that. There will be repercussions. Plus it was so unprofessional, it would have had negative implications on her career even if he hadn’t sued. I was not surprised at all by what happened. But I was kind of taken aback by her lack of responsibility. It doesn’t matter if she believed she was right in her accusations. She had no proof. And instead of letting it stop with one comment, she doubled down. That’s not to say I wasn’t pleased he was taken down at the end, but this time with evidence. And no, I would never take on an assignment with someone I did not respect. And no ghostwriter would be forced to do that.
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@Susan_L I totally agree. I loved the book, but one of the things that did bother me was that Olivia felt she wouldn’t have been treated the same had she been male. I completely disagree; as you said, what she did both ill-considered and slander, and her gender had nothing to do with the consequences, in my opinion.
I don’t think Olivia deserved the criticism nor the lawsuit that came from her comments. I firmly believe that if it had come from a man, they would have laughed it off and forgot about it.
I would not be able to ghostwrite a book for someone who I loathed.
The publishing industry is really small and jobs are tough to get. This behavior is not okay, no matter how powerfully she felt about it. There are other ways than slander to get your point across. Like you, I liked the book, but this part bothered me a lot. It was so unprofessional.
I picture this as Olivia holding back as long as she could and then she just let loose. Well good for her but unfortunately the egotistical male won out. It was an unfair fight.
I think she definitely crossed the line and I didn’t feel bad that she suffered the consequence. Though I’m sure that if she were male she either wouldn’t have gotten sued, or her punishment wouldn’t have been as severe. I don’t know if I would be able to ghostwrite a book on someone I didn’t like since there’s so much interraction that has to happen with them, I don’t see how you could civily do it if you hate them. But since this was her father, it’s different. Even if you hate a family member, they’re still family and there’s always some level a love underneath all the hate and the hurt.
I think we have all had times when we have wanted to just rip into a person, but we probably read the room a little better. Should Olivia been able to speak her mind? Absolutely. Could she have done it in a less slanderous way? Maybe. Would it have had the same results if it had been two men having this exchange? Probably not. Should Olivia been ostracized? No! She went to court and was being held accountable. Don’t ruin her forever for being passionate (and in the end justified) in her thoughts and comments.
I had a difficult time with this. I agree we still live in a white male dominated society, but I just found the whole lawsuit and her losing a bit confusing. I couldn’t figure out how that was defamation. People say stuff all the time, and what she said was true. So that was a thread, I struggled with.
I think that the outcome of the confrontation would have been completely different if it came from a male instead of a female. There’s no way that I could ghostwrite a book about someone that I didn’t like and respect.
Yes I totally agree with you. It is way too easy today with Social Media and texting to go off and say whatever you want and think it’s okay. It’s still very hurtful - there is no face to face accountability.